Schroders Capital has received regulatory approval for its first long-term asset fund (LTAF) focused on the UK wealth market.

The firm described the approval as a “significant milestone” in providing investors with a broader selection of access points to private markets.

The majority of LTAFs to date have been aimed at enabling defined contribution (DC) pension investors to access private markets, and have been structured as authorised contractual schemes.

However, the newly launched Schroders Capital Wealth Solutions LTAF has been designed as an open-ended investment company (OEIC), which means it can be made available to the UK wealth market.

The first fund launched will be the Schroders Capital Global Private Equity LTAF, a feeder fund into an existing strategy, the Schroders Capital Semi-Liquid Global Private Equity Fund.

Managed by Schroders Capital head of global private equity portfolios, Benjamin Alt, the fund is focused on small-mid market buyout and growth investments globally, encompassing US and European SME buyouts and Asia growth companies, with a strong focus on technology and healthcare sectors.

Commenting on the announcement, Schroders director, private markets, James Lowe, said: “This is a significant step forward; we believe that for the UK wealth community LTAFs will provide another access point to private markets and we expect this LTAF to be a complementary tool to existing private markets structures – like investment trusts - offering new flexibility in how UK investors will be able to meet their objectives via private market investments.”

Schroders Capital head of global private equity portfolios, Benjamin Alt, added: “We are now able to bring the best of our expertise in private equity to UK private clients in a UK-approved structure.

“This means access to the most attractive segments of private equity markets globally through a well-established fund with a proven track record.

“Private equity enables investors to access different parts of the economic ecosystem, bringing the potential for robust investment performance and the benefits of diversification.”

LTAFs are funds authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and are designed to enable UK investors with longer-term investment horizons to invest in illiquid assets.

The Schroders Capital Wealth Solutions LTAF is the firm’s fourth LTAF, having launched the UK’s first in April 2023.

---