Berenberg partners Moonfare to offer private equity solutions

German private bank Berenberg has teamed up with digital private assets investment platform Moonfare to offer its clients access to private equity funds.

Moonfare, based in Berlin, enables individuals to directly invest in selected private equity funds. The minimum investment requirement is €200,000 ($225,433).

Typically, the minimum threshold in private equity is very high which makes it popular only among institutional investors and UNHW families.

Moonfare founder and CEO Steffen Pauls said: “Historically, access to private equity funds was exclusive for institutional investors committing more than 10 million euros per fund. By allocating 25% or more to alternative investments, this exclusive group boosted their portfolio returns over decades.

“We are delighted that our partnership benefits investors by combining Berenberg’s wealth management expertise and tailored advice with Moonfare’s technology and unmatched access to the best private investment opportunities.”

The alliance with Moonfare will enable the advisers of Berenberg to incorporate top-tier private equity funds to their portfolio recommendations if they match the client’s investment goals.

The private bank will select the funds it considers to be the most promising from a selection of such funds chosen by Moonfare’s Investment Committee.

The committee includes experts from the private equity industry.

Berenberg head of Wealth Management Germany Klaus Naeve said: “The selection of private equity offers, combined with low minimum levels of investment for this asset class and a completely digital process, is unique in the European market.”

In February 2020, Moonfare has exceeded €250m ($275m) in assets under management (AuM).

According to the fintech, Moonfare is now in the top five German fintechs by AuM.

Founded in 2017, it now has market presences in Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Luxembourg, and also Hong Kong.

Users can invest in blue chip private equity opportunities with a minimum investment starting at €100,000.

Moonfare has a community of qualified HNWIs and wealth managers, with over 5,000 users. Sign-ups increased by 650% in 2019.

In addition, over 50% of investors make more than one investment with an average portfolio of €480,000.

Can’t stop reading? Read more