Updated:
The Private Shares Fund
The fund launched to bridge a structural gap in private markets: everyday qualified investors cannot access late-stage private companies, while early...
The Private Shares Fund
The fund launched to bridge a structural gap in private markets: everyday qualified investors cannot access late-stage private companies, while early shareholders at those companies often need partial liquidity years before an IPO. The interval-fund wrapper, regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940, permits periodic redemptions while holding illiquid assets. The vehicle buys common and preferred shares directly from selling stockholders — not from the issuing company — across a concentrated pool of roughly 30 to 50 names. Public records and quarterly filings show past and present exposure to companies including Epic Games, Impossible Foods, and Kraken, with sector concentrations historically weighted toward enterprise SaaS, fintech infrastructure, and hardtech. The strategy centers on secondary purchases in companies valued at $1 billion or more, typically post-Series D, where the fund can negotiate discounts to the most recent primary round price. The portfolio construction blends broad diversification across sectors with position limits that keep any single name below a disclosed percentage of net assets. Deal sourcing relies on a dedicated in-house team that maintains relationships with venture-fund back offices, corporate development desks, and equity-administration platforms where employee shares are logged. The fund does not participate as a lead investor or board member; its economic rights mirror those of the share class it acquires, minus any governance provisions tied to founders or lead VCs. Team size and assets are not publicly reported as a single figure in accessible filings, though the fund's regulatory disclosures confirm a board and an investment adviser structure consistent with other actively managed interval funds. The adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of a broader asset-management platform, handles valuation and compliance functions that interval-fund regulation requires, including quarterly fair-value marks reviewed by an independent board. There are no known parallel vehicles, philanthropic arms, or family-office origins — the fund appears built as a standalone product for retail and mass-affluent distribution channels including Schwab, Fidelity, and UBS. What distinguishes the structure from a typical closed-end private-equity fund is the continuous-subscription model paired with quarterly liquidity windows. That creates a permanent-capital base that can hold shares through market cycles without forced exit timelines, while still offering investors a disciplined exit mechanism. The trade-off is a higher expense profile than a traditional ETF or mutual fund, reflecting custody, legal, and valuation costs inherent in holding unregistered securities. For an allocator, the vehicle functions less like a venture fund and more like a publicly filed proxy for the late-stage private market — observable, regulated, and updated quarterly.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Frequently asked questions
How does The Private Shares Fund source its deal flow?
The fund acquires shares directly from existing stockholders — employees, early investors, venture funds, and corporate sellers — rather than from the issuing companies in primary rounds. Sourcing relies on an in-house team that works with venture-firm back offices, equity-administration platforms, and corporate development desks where employee equity is tracked and held. The fund's public filings confirm that transactions are negotiated bilaterally, often at a discount to the company's most recent primary valuation.
What is the fund's liquidity mechanism, and how does it work?
As an interval fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the fund offers quarterly repurchase windows for up to 5% of outstanding shares at net asset value. This structure allows the fund to hold highly illiquid private-company securities while providing partial periodic liquidity for investors. The quarterly valuation process is overseen by an independent board, with fair-value marks reviewed and published in the fund's regulatory filings.
What kinds of companies does the fund typically hold?
The portfolio historically concentrates on late-stage, venture-backed private companies valued above $1 billion, typically post-Series D. Publicly disclosed and widely reported holdings have included SpaceX, Epic Games, Discord, Impossible Foods, and Kraken. Sector exposure skews toward enterprise software, fintech infrastructure, hardtech, and space, with the fund typically holding 30 to 50 positions and limiting individual names below a stated percentage of net assets.
Does The Private Shares Fund take board seats or lead investment rounds?
No. The fund purchases shares exclusively on the secondary market and does not serve as a lead investor, board member, or governance participant. Its economic rights are those of the share class it acquires, without any special voting, information, or control provisions that would typically accompany a primary venture investment.
How does this fund differ from a typical venture capital closed-end fund?
Unlike a closed-end venture fund with a fixed 10-to-12-year life, this interval fund operates as a continuous offering with no termination date. It raises capital on an ongoing basis, does not call capital in a series of installment commitments, and provides quarterly tender-offer liquidity rather than requiring investors to wait for IPOs or acquisitions. This permanent-capital structure also means the fund can hold shares through market cycles without forced exit deadlines.
What investor base is the fund designed for?
The fund is structured for retail and mass-affluent investors who meet accredited-investor thresholds but lack access to venture-fund limited partnerships. It is distributed through major brokerage and wealth-management platforms, including Schwab, Fidelity, and UBS, according to its public offering documents. Institutional allocators can also access the fund, though its primary design is to democratize late-stage private-company exposure for individual investors.
What are the primary costs or structural trade-offs of the interval-fund wrapper?
The expense ratio is meaningfully higher than that of a registered ETF or mutual fund, reflecting the legal, custody, and fair-value-valuation costs required to hold unregistered securities inside a 1940 Act fund. Additionally, the 5% quarterly repurchase cap means investors may not be able to redeem their full position in a single quarter during periods of high redemptions, creating potential liquidity mismatches despite the regulated tender mechanism.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on private equity firms?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: