For decades, private real estate has been the preserve of institutions, sovereign wealth funds and the ultra-rich. Retail investors, if they wanted exposure, had to make do with listed property companies or open-ended funds, which often came with liquidity mismatches and gating crises. That may be about to change.
A new survey from Wealth Club, a British investment platform, suggests that real estate managers are preparing to court ordinary investors through so-called “semi-liquid” funds. More than two-thirds of managers questioned said they intended to target the retail market in this way within the next few years, with 70% planning to launch products within one to two years. A small but notable minority (15%) expect to move even faster, introducing vehicles within 12 months.
Semi-liquid funds offer investors access to illiquid assets such as property or private equity, but with periodic redemption windows — quarterly or semi-annual — intended to provide a compromise between traditional closed-end structures and the daily dealing of open-ended funds. In theory, this makes private markets accessible to a broader pool of investors while reducing the risk of destabilising runs on assets that cannot easily be sold.
- Fund performance: Who were the winners and losers in 2025?
- Janus Henderson to go private at $7.4bn valuation
- Empiric Student Property reports drop in occupancy levels
The enthusiasm of fund managers is evident. Around half of those surveyed expect minimum investment thresholds to fall in the range of £15,000–£20,000, with another third pitching entry costs slightly lower, at £12,000–£15,000. That is still high enough to screen out casual investors, but low enough to attract affluent professionals and wealthy retirees. Managers are betting that this investor cohort is eager for diversification, yield and perceived inflation protection.
Retail allocations are expected to remain modest at first. About 40% of managers forecast that individual investors will account for 5–6% of inflows within five years, with another 40% predicting slightly higher proportions. Yet given the size of the global real estate market, even single-digit shares represent meaningful sums. Managers overwhelmingly expect retail money in private-market funds to rise by between 25% and 50% over the next two years.
The timing of this retail push is striking. Sentiment towards property has been bruised by rising interest rates, sluggish commercial demand and lingering questions about the future of offices and retail space. Yet as expectations of monetary easing grow, managers sense an opportunity to draw fresh capital back into the sector. If valuations have bottomed, semi-liquid funds could allow new investors to buy in at relatively attractive levels.
Broadening the menu for property investors
Until now, most semi-liquid offerings have focused on private equity, credit or infrastructure. Real estate strategies have been relatively sparse. A shift towards property would therefore broaden the menu available to individuals, giving them access to global portfolios previously accessible only to pension funds and insurers.
Globally, the trend is uneven. In America, large asset managers such as Blackstone and KKR have already tested semi-liquid structures, though recent redemption freezes in private credit and property funds show the risks when retail enthusiasm collides with illiquidity. Europe, by contrast, is moving more cautiously, constrained by patchier regulation and lingering memories of British open-ended property funds suspending redemptions after the Brexit referendum. In Asia, regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong are exploring frameworks that might open private real estate to wealthy individuals, viewing it as part of a broader push to make financial centres more competitive.
Still, enthusiasm should be tempered with caution. Liquidity mismatch remains a risk. Even with quarterly redemption windows, managers facing heavy withdrawals could be forced to gate funds or sell assets at distressed prices. Retail investors, less accustomed to the nuances of private markets, may prove fickler than their institutional counterparts. Regulators, scarred by past crises, will be watching closely.
Market for semi-liquid assets is expanding
For fund managers, however, the prize is large. The market for tokenised and semi-liquid real assets is expanding rapidly, with forecasts of exponential growth over the next decade. If managers succeed in building trust and delivering returns, private real estate could become a mainstream holding in retail portfolios, much as index funds did a generation ago.
Whether this democratisation of property finance proves a durable shift or merely the latest investment fad will depend on how well these funds navigate the next downturn. For now, at least, the walls of the private-market citadel appear to be opening — albeit with controlled gates.
Related investment trusts
Would you like your funds listed here? Contact us
Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust AIC UK commercial property
LON:SREI / GBP 
