Private market investment funds have been growing quickly in Europe. According to a 2026 study by Scope Fund Analysis, the European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) market reached at least €34 billion in assets under management by the end of 2025, a 55% increase on 2024. A record 113 new ELTIFs launched in 2025 alone, almost double the number in 2024.¹

For investors who have not yet looked closely at this area, that pace of growth raises a straightforward question: what is driving it, and does it matter to me?

What is an ELTIF?

An ELTIF is a regulated EU investment fund that gives investors access to long-term assets such as real estate, infrastructure, private equity and private debt, which have traditionally been the preserve of large institutional investors.

A significant regulatory update that came into force in January 2024, known as ELTIF 2.0, made these funds considerably more accessible by removing the previous €10,000 minimum investment threshold and simplifying distribution across EU member states.

Learn more – What is an ELTIF? A Guide for Retail Investors

Why is the market growing so fast?

The ELTIF 2.0 reforms are the primary catalysts. They created the conditions for a much wider range of products to reach retail investors across the EU, and asset managers responded quickly. Scope Fund Analysis found that at least 74% of ELTIFs are now accessible to retail investors, and the number of products open to this group has grown faster than the market for purely institutional products.¹

The reform has also drawn in a new class of manager. Global private markets firms including Apollo, Blackstone and Carlyle have all obtained ELTIF authorisations since the rules changed, alongside smaller and more specialist managers.²

Ireland has also grown quickly as an ELTIF domicile. Irish Funds reported 13 ELTIF registrations in Ireland by May 2025, level with Italy at the time. By the end of the year, Ireland had 20 compared with 14 registered with Italy’s Consob.¹ ³

There is also broader demand at work. Commentary published by the World Economic Forum has put the potential assets held by individual investors at an estimated $80 trillion.⁴ That figure represents a potential pool of capital rather than money already invested in private markets.

That said, appetite and adoption are not the same thing. Morningstar notes that the ELTIF market remains geographically fragmented and that private market investing continues to involve important complexities around liquidity, fees and valuation.²

Real estate is a small part of the market – but a popular one

The ELTIF market is currently dominated by private debt (34% of assets under management), infrastructure (28%) and private equity (22%). Real estate accounts for around 7%¹, a relatively small slice of a fast-growing market.

That gap is partly explained by the illiquid nature of property. Buildings can take months to buy and sell, which makes managing investor redemptions in an evergreen or semi-liquid fund structure more complex.

There are nonetheless signs of considerable retail interest in private real estate. Research published by Apex Group found that real estate was among the top asset classes attracting retail interest in private markets, cited by 55% of the asset managers surveyed, second only to private equity at 67%.⁵

Those figures are not directly comparable. One measures real estate’s share of ELTIF assets, while the other reflects asset managers‘ perceptions of retail interest across private markets. They do, however, suggest that interest in private real estate may be greater than its current representation within the ELTIF market.

Greenman NEXT sits within that 7%. It invests in supermarket and grocery-anchored retail properties across Europe, a focused strategy built around tenants whose businesses serve a basic, recurring need. The fund aims to generate rental income from long-term leases with major grocery operators, many of which incorporate inflation-linked rent adjustments. It holds physical property let on long leases rather than making equity or credit investments in companies, which is the main structural difference between a real estate ELTIF and its private equity or private debt counterparts.

The market is maturing – now is a good time to get informed

The growth of the ELTIF market means retail investors now have considerably more options in a space that was previously much harder for them to access. But these products are still early in their development. Much of today’s ELTIF universe was launched in 2024 and 2025, track records are short, and the Scope report notes that reliable performance data will take several years to build.

The Scope study also found that just over half of asset managers consider investor education absolutely essential to the sector’s success.¹ In December 2025, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached agreement on an updated Retail Investment Strategy aimed at improving investor information and protection, increasing transparency around costs and supporting financial literacy.⁶

The questions every investor should ask before committing to any ELTIF go beyond what the fund invests in. How long will the money be committed? Under what conditions can it be accessed, and can withdrawals be delayed or restricted? How are the underlying assets valued? What are the total fees and costs? And does the manager have relevant experience in the asset class?

The 55% increase in ELTIF assets during 2025 shows how quickly the market is developing, but headline growth alone does not make an individual fund suitable or attractive. Getting familiar with how these products work, including their structure, liquidity and risks, is increasingly important as the range of choices expands

Important Considerations

• The value of investments can go down as well as up
• ELTIFs are long-term investments; investors should not commit capital they may need in the short term
• Past performance is not a reliable guide to future results
• Liquidity in certain fund structures can be limited; investments of this type are intended for long-term investors
• Investors should consider their personal circumstances and, where appropriate, seek independent financial advice before making any investment decision
• This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors should consider their personal circumstances, read the relevant fund documents including the Key Information Document (KID), and where appropriate, seek independent financial advice before investing.

Greenman Investments is authorised and regulated as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM). The funds referenced in this article are Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) regulated under the European ELTIF framework.

Interested in learning more about ELTIFs? Visit our website for educational resources and regular updates on our strategies.