From Wall Street to Main Street: The Fintech Revolution in Private Equity

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Europe’s private equity (PE) access is shifting from a niche, high-minimum domain for institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth-individuals (UHNWIs) to a digitally enabled, retail-inclusive market, powered by ELTIF 2.0 and a new wave of fintech offerings, placing private markets alongside ETFs and savings plans in everyday fintech superapps.

The regulatory catalyst is ELTIF 2.0, the updated European Long‑Term Investment Fund regime that took effect in January 2024 and was completed with final regulatory technical standards (RTS) in October 2024, clarifying eligible assets, retail access, and liquidity management for semi‑liquid funds.

ELTIF 2.0 and a new era of private markets investing

Final regulatory technical standards resolved practical questions on redemptions, liquidity tools, and cost disclosure, which let managers design predictable semi‑liquid ELTIFs for wealth channels with confidence. With the framework live and clarified, launches and distribution partnerships accelerated in Europe, with 55 new ELTIFs in 2024 pushed total volume beyond €20 billion, and projections toward €65–70 billion by 2027, as pipelines expand across private equity, private credit, and infrastructure.

In particular, ELTIF 2.0 has enabled the following key changes:

• A broader scope of eligible assets and qualifying investment vehicles.
• Lower minimum thresholds for eligible asset allocation, opening the door for smaller investment tickets.
• Higher permitted borrowing and gearing limits for funds.
• Introduction of more frequent redemption opportunities and liquidity events for investors.
• Greater flexibility in how funds can be structured.
• Permission for co-investment arrangements alongside professional investors or the fund manager.
• Use of advanced liquidity management tools and measures to effectively handle redemptions.
• Improved access for retail investors, made possible by simplified rules that align suitability assessments with MiFID II and eliminate the need for local facilities in the distribution process.

This matters because it gives managers operational certainty while allowing fintech distributors to aggregate retail demand, facilitating a wave of launches. In Europe, private equity ELTIFs alone accounted for roughly €1.2 billion raised in 2024 across 22 vehicles.

Fintech pioneers in private equity

Germany is emerging as Europe's fintech powerhouse for private equity democratisation, with most of the leading platforms based here in Berlin. This concentration reflects the country's unique position as Europe's largest economy, combined with a vibrant fintech ecosystem.

Some key fintech companies that launched private equity offerings for retail investors are:

Moonfare, a Berlin‑based digital platform that has been a pioneer in this space by providing eligible individual investors and family offices access to institutional-quality private market opportunities. Moonfare is exclusively focused on private equity and offers curated access with minimums starting at €25,000 for their Secondary Fund, €50,000 for portfolio funds, and €100,000 for feeder funds (depending on jurisdiction). Moonfare is reported to be "trusted by over 5,000 investors", with "€3.5 billion in assets under management (AuM)."

Trade Republic, a Berlin-based neo-broker that has become one of Europe's largest retail investment platforms, serving over 10 million customers across 18 European markets with €150 billion in assets under custody. Trade Republic made headlines in 2025 by partnering with Apollo and EQT to offer mass-retail private markets access with €1 minimums and monthly internal liquidity mechanisms.

Scalable Capital, a Munich-based fintech company that operates one of Europe's largest investment platforms, offering brokerage, ETF savings plans, and managed portfolios to millions of users. Scalable Capital has recently expanded into private markets through partnerships with BlackRock, providing access to private equity via open-end structures with €10,000 minimums and quarterly redemption mechanics integrated directly into their broker-plus-savings fintech superapp.

NAO, a Berlin-based alternative investment platform focused on democratising co-investment opportunities in private equity and venture capital. NAO provides access to PE/VC deals starting from €1,000 in one-off investments, or €1 in savings plans, through partnerships with banks and asset managers. NAO has started to expand across EU markets, including the Netherlands in 2025.

Liqid, a Berlin-based digital wealth platform that blends discretionary portfolio management with alternative investments access for mass-affluent clients. Liqid is widening retail private equity access through "LIQID Private Equity NXT," an ELTIF 2.0 semi-liquid product developed with Neuberger Berman that lowered entry barriers to €10,000.

Across the EU, these models compress minimums by two orders of magnitude versus classic €100k - €1m private equity investment tickets, while offering curated access and platform-native education and controls.

​Why private equity matters for portfolio differentiation

Over the past three decades, private equity has, on average, outperformed public equities and bonds, offering a compelling case for diversification.

Looking at global data in the 2025 McKinsey Global Private Markets Report, buyout funds have delivered average net internal rates of return (IRRs) of approximately 14–16% over the past ten years, outperforming broad public-market indices such as the MSCI World, which have annualized closer to 10–13% over the same period, depending on currency and timing.

Over a twenty-five-year horizon, global private buyouts have generated net IRRs of 13-14%, while the MSCI World has returned 6.9% per year, reflecting the premium private equity commands despite differing liquidity profiles and risk exposures.

Overall, including a modest allocation to private equity can smooth overall portfolio volatility and enhance long-term growth potential. Yet, higher returns come with longer lock‑ups and complex valuation mechanisms.

As fintech platforms open retail access to private markets, investor education and transparency will determine whether participation scales sustainably across Europe.