Public Windows into Private Capital – Why Listed Vehicles Still Matter

Market euphoria around anything labelled “private” shows no sign of abating. Assets under management in global private markets hit $13.1 trn in 2024, up 12 % year-on-year despite a tougher fundraising climate. Deal value even accelerated by 18 % – the second-best tally on record. Closer to home, UK PE deal flow improved 4-12 % through 2024 as lower inflation and clearer politics thawed the mid-market.

Yet the liquidity mismatch is glaring: Bain counts $3.6 trn of unsold portfolio companies worldwide, the weakest distribution ratio since 2008. Founders are perfectly happy to stay private; exit windows remain fickle. For retail and wealth-manager portfolios the question is: how do you grab a slice of that growth without sacrificing daily liquidity?

The “quotidian” route: listed fund managers

Company	Fee-earning AUM	2025 YTD share move¹	My quick take
Intermediate Capital Group (ICG)	$75 bn (+8 % YoY)	-14 % from Feb peak	Operationally firing – management fees +19 %. But the stock trades >2× stated NAV (859 p vs 1,990 p share price), so multiple expansion looks capped. Rating: Hold.
Petershill Partners	$234 bn partner AUM	flat	Growth slowed (fee-eligible AUM +3 % YoY) but distributable earnings jumped 28 %. A pure-play GP-stakes model – more cyclical, but cheaper at c. 10× forward PER.

¹ Share-price moves to 2 June 2025, LSE data.

These managers monetise the picks-and-shovels end of the PE boom – earning management and carry streams without locking you in for a decade. Valuations already imply this: ICG trades on c. 13× earnings, a premium to UK asset-manager peers around 10×. I like the quality but need a wider margin of safety before upgrading.

Listed PE & hybrid trusts – discounts too big to ignore

Trust	Discount to NAV	Private asset share	Note
Pantheon International (PIN)	-47 %	100 % PE funds	FX headwinds dragged April NAV to 493 p; buy-backs barely dent the discount. Patience – or an activist – is required.
ICG Enterprise (ICGT)	-37 % (buy-back avg)	100 % PE funds	Secondary sales at 5 % discount show underlying marks are realistic; dividend up 9 %.
Scottish Mortgage (SMT)	-9 %	≈28 % privates (51 holdings)	Liquidity is helped by aggressive buy-backs (£1.9 bn last year). Quasi-tech-VC exposure suits long-term growth investors but raises mark-to-market risk.

My read: discounts at 30-50 % price in a recession and a further 10-15 % NAV haircut. That feels punitive given public-market comparables re-rated 25-30 % off lows. Selective averaging-in makes sense, but size positions modestly – liquidity can evaporate when everyone races for the exit.

MY VIEW

1. Don’t over-index to one wrapper. I blend a fee-stream name (ICG) with a deep-discount trust (PIN) so I’m not hostage to either mark-downs or management-fee compression.

2. Watch duration and cash-flow visibility. GP-stakes vehicles like Petershill rely on managers raising the next flagship; if fundraising stalls, forward carry slides.

3. Expect more secondaries. Cash-hungry LPs plus dry-powder-heavy funds equals a bid/ask spread finally narrowing – evidenced by ICGT’s sale at only a 5.5 % discount. That should help NAV realisations over 12-18 months.

4. Macro is the swing factor. UK real rates have eased, but volatility (and the US election tariff noise) keeps IPO windows choppy. If bond yields back up, listed PE discounts can easily re-test the 2023 lows.

Bottom line

Private capital’s moat – patient money and less scrutiny – is exactly what retail investors lack. Publicly traded feeders such as ICG, Petershill or the big PE trusts bridge that gap, offering daily liquidity, transparent pricing, and (right now) some attractive entry points. Just remember you’re buying a proxy, not the underlying J-curve itself. Size positions accordingly, diversify, and keep an eye on that cash-flow coverage.