Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Democratizing Private Assets: Trailblazing ETF Launches

Read MoreHide Full Article

Private asset investing is no longer limited to the ultra-wealthy.  ETFs are opening the world of private assets to retail investors.

The SPDR SSGA Apollo IG Public & Private Credit ETF (PRIV), which began trading today, is the first of its kind to own private credit directly. It brings one of the fastest-growing asset classes into investors’ favorite wrapper.

The actively managed fund primarily invests in investment-grade debt securities, both public and private. It can also allocate up to 20% to high-yield securities, with private credit generally comprising 10–35% of the portfolio.

According to State Street, PRIV enables investors to achieve high-quality income and improved risk-adjusted returns compared to traditional fixed-income strategies. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.70%.

The Private Assets Market

Private assets—debt and equity investments in privately owned companies—have experienced rapid growth in recent years. Institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals have increasingly sought out their potentially higher returns.

According to BlackRock, private markets could grow from $13 trillion to more than $20 trillion by 2030. However, these assets are generally illiquid and difficult to value, making them traditionally unsuitable for an ETF wrapper that offers intraday liquidity and pricing.

The SEC places a 15% limit on open-ended funds holding illiquid investments. An investment is classified as illiquid if it cannot be sold within seven days without significantly impacting its market value.

What’s Unique About This ETF?

Apollo Global is a leading alternative asset manager with approximately $750 billion in assets under management. State Street Global Advisors, with about $4.4 trillion in assets under management, is a pioneer in the ETF industry, having created the first U.S. ETF—and the world’s most traded ETF—the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) .

This new ETF follows a novel approach: Apollo will act as a liquidity provider for private credit instruments. Apollo will sell these instruments to the fund and commit to repurchasing them at State Street’s request.

Will BlackRock Be Next to Launch Private Asset ETFs?

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is making a major push into private markets, investing nearly $28 billion to acquire private-equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners, private-assets data provider Preqin, and private credit manager HPS Investment Partners.

CEO Larry Fink aims to bring retail investors access to private markets through ETFs.

SpaceX in ETFs?

The Entrepreneur Private-Public Crossover ETF (XOVR - Free Report) is the first ETF to hold a private company. It has seen a surge in inflows recently after adding SpaceX through a special-purpose vehicle (SPV).

Read: Invest in SpaceX? What You Need to Know

However, SPVs may charge fees as high as 25% of any gains, and it remains unclear how these fees will impact the value of its SpaceX position.

Additionally, there is little transparency on how the ETF will determine a “fair value” for its SpaceX holdings, as required by the SEC.

Nonetheless, the flood of new money into the ETF underscores investors’ appetite for this emerging asset class.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) - free report >>

ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF (XOVR) - free report >>

Published in