Glossary › Leverage
Leverage is the use of borrowed money to invest more than investors have paid in – it magnifies gains as well as losses.
Semi-liquid funds borrow for two reasons: to finance additional investments and to bridge redemptions or capital calls from underlying funds until money flows back. The prospectus states a ceiling, usually as a percentage of net asset value. For ELTIFs open to retail investors, the ELTIF Regulation limits borrowing to 50% of net asset value; ELTIFs for professional investors only may go up to 100%.
The ceiling is not the actual debt – many funds use it only in part. There is also leverage that does not sit at fund level: buyout companies are themselves indebted, and credit funds partly finance themselves through their own credit lines. When comparing funds, ceiling, current use and reference basis should therefore be read together.
124 of the 139 active funds state a ceiling for borrowing. The median is 50%, 51 funds use the 50% ceiling for retail ELTIFs in full; the range runs from 4% to 200%. The ceiling is not the actual debt.
Lowest, middle and highest borrowing limit · as at 16 Oct 2026
the chapter on semi-liquid funds · all terms in the glossary