Neil Clark, Head of Apex Unitas and Apex Ventures Fund Services

Imagine navigating the world of investments with the ease of managing your stock portfolio, but with the added excitement and potential of private equity, venture capital, and unique private company investments. High-net-worth individuals ("HNWIs") are no strangers to the benefits of investing through brokerage accounts and segregated managed accounts ("SMAs") in the stock market, as well as using these tools for futures and cryptocurrencies. However, the realm of private assets has long been less accessible and more complex.

Rising demand for private assets

The demand for private asset investments is growing among wealth managers, private client services, and life insurance providers, driven by differentiated and less volatile assets that often yield superior returns. Investors are also eager for opportunities in private equity and venture capital, and there's a push from regulatory bodies to enhance access to these asset classes.

Challenges with traditional investment structures

Yet, traditional investment structures—though effective for large-ticket investors—are often cumbersome and costly for smaller, individual investors. Options like setting up separate entities or pooling resources into complex funds introduce significant challenges. These include the requirements for management functions, boards, banking, accounting, and compliance for each investment entity, making them less practical for broad adoption.

A streamlined solution for private asset investment

To address these challenges, a solution exists: a tax-transparent investment vehicle that caters to all private market investments for all investors. The platform provides an infrastructure layer between wealth managers' investors, GPs, and investments, offering:

·Wealth Managers: Aggregation of investor capital to enable investment access to private assets such as private equity, private debt, venture capital, company investments, and real estate, with meticulous accounting, administration, reporting, and secure custody.

·GPs: Access to aggregated capital through a single limited partner / shareholder contracting party, simplifying investment administration, investor services, including reporting, capital calls, and distributions.

By using a nominee structure managed by a regulated custodian, the platform removes the need for creating new entities or managing long-term administrative tasks. It ensures that all critical functions, from transferring investment funds to maintaining control and reporting, are efficiently handled.

With more than a decade of experience, Apex Unitas has become a leading solution for venture and private equity fund managers, serving over 40,000 investors and their advisors.

Fund manager's perspective

·Capital raising: From a capital-raising perspective, Apex Unitas allows fund managers to extend private equity fund access to wealth managers and private banks, potentially increasing fund capital significantly. This is achieved through a single aggregated investor, streamlining investor relations and reporting, and includes the potential to reduce the impact on the fund's internal rate of return until funds are drawn from the platform.

·Capital deployment: For capital deployment, SMAs are becoming popular among fund managers as a cost-effective investment structure. They offer lower fees for specific opportunities and enable control of co-investments and custom strategies without creating complex new fund structures. While traditional partnership funds remain ideal for high-value, relationship-driven capital raising, SMAs provide a faster, lower-cost solution for high-volume capital raising, allowing fund managers to leverage their brand and team effectively.

Ready to simplify your investment journey? Contact us today to discover how Apex Unitas provides unparalleled access to private assets.

Apex Unitas operates an FCA-regulated private company custody service, well-established with over 60 fund managers and more than 40,000 investors and advisers on the platform. We have facilitated investments into private funds and thousands of portfolio companies on behalf of clients and wealth managers. Apex Unitas handles all fund administration and accounting, including onboarding and AML checks, transaction and cash management. Full fund and investor reporting is available to investors, advisers, and fund managers through an Apex client-branded portal.

Learn more about Apex Unitas

Disclaimer: This document is not intended to constitute legal or regulatory advice. Any client wishing to enter a relationship with Apex Unitas Limited should take its own independent legal, regulatory and taxation advice. This material (and the information contained herein) is not intended to constitute a financial promotion and is not intended to be investment advice.

Apex Unitas Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN 591814.

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