Wealth Club introduced the UK’s first fund supermarket for semi-liquid private equity investments, giving high-net-worth individuals direct access to funds managed by Apollo, Brookfield, Hg, and EQT.

The investment platform, the largest non-advisory service in the UK, has already secured £25m from clients since launching in November and expects this figure to reach £100m by year-end. Historically, private equity has outperformed public markets by 6-8% annually since the 1990s, yet access has remained limited due to high minimum investments and rigid structures.

Wealth Club’s new service aims to simplify private equity investing, offering a model akin to unit trusts while allowing investors more liquidity. These evergreen or semi-liquid funds have gained significant traction in the U.S., where they have raised over $380bn, attracting affluent individuals such as retired professionals and business owners.

Founder and CEO Alex Davies likened private equity to an exclusive “party” that ordinary investors were previously unable to attend. He noted that a hypothetical $10,000 investment in private equity funds in 1999 could have grown to $200,000, compared to $37,000 in global public equities over the same period.

The minimum investment on the platform is £10,000, with an annual charge of 0.5%, alongside an initial and dealing fee of 0.5%. Fund-specific fees range from 0.55% to 1.8%, with some also applying substantial performance fees. The initiative marks a significant step in democratizing access to top-performing private equity funds in the UK.