Something unusual is happening in private markets, and not everyone is talking about the downside.
For decades, institutional investors accepted a straightforward deal: give up liquidity for 10 years, absorb the J-curve, and collect a return premium for the trouble. The model worked because the constraints were real. Closed-end structures forced patience, disciplined deployment and a mandatory exit horizon that kept managers focused on creating value rather than gathering assets.
Today that bargain is being renegotiated on terms that favor the managers offering the new deal.
Evergreen funds (perpetual, open-end vehicles allowing periodic subscriptions and limited redemptions) have become the preferred structure for delivering private market exposure to the wealth management channel. Interval funds, tender-offer funds, nontraded REITs, nontraded BDCs and a growing roster of semi-liquid feeders now collectively manage well over $1 trillion. Large asset managers ha
