One of the most persistent sources of frustration in the nontraded and semiliquid real assets universe is not performance. It’s liquidity — or, more precisely, how liquidity is misunderstood.
Interval funds, nontraded REITs with share-repurchase programs, and other evergreen real asset structures are often described — sometimes too casually — as “liquid alternatives,” “more liquid than private funds” or “semi-liquid funds.”
That framing, while directionally true, has led many investors to develop expectations that simply don’t align with how these vehicles are designed to function, particularly during periods of elevated redemption demand.
When those expectations collide with reality, the result is disappointment, confusion and, in some cases, misplaced blame directed at fund managers who are doing exactly what the structure requires them to do: protect longterm investors from the adverse effects of forced liquidity.
LIQUIDI
