DEEN

Knowledge

Private markets are opening up to retail investors: ELTIFs and evergreen funds make investable what was long reserved for large institutions. So that you can use those opportunities with confidence, here are private markets without the jargon — a compact course in six stages plus a checklist. Every stage closes with an expandable in-depth section for advanced readers and advisers. You can start anywhere.

By · last reviewed 23 Aug 2026

01Semi-liquid funds explainedFundamentals & core concept · for beginnersWhat private markets are — and how evergreen structures govern entry, NAV and redemption. With the ELTIF 2.0 background and the price of that flexibility.→02Private EquityAsset class · explanation + fund listBuyout, secondaries, co-investments: how evergreen PE funds actually build their portfolios — plus the returns debate, told fairly.→03Private CreditAsset class · explanation + fund listDirect lending, unitranche, PIK & non-accruals: what the return is really made of — and how to spot credit quality in a fund report.→04InfrastructureAsset class · explanation + fund listWhere the stable cash flows come from, where they end — and what inflation protection really means.→05Real EstateAsset class · explanation + fund listGerman open-ended property funds vs ELTIFs, the NAV mechanics and the lessons of 2008, 2016 and 2022.→06Multi-AssetAsset class · explanation + fund listThe one-fund solution examined: the cost cascade in a fund-of-funds, real vs measured diversification — and the vintage argument.→✓Five questions before you subscribeChecklistEverything you have read, in five questions — each answerable straight from the database.→

Practice & depth

Eight chapters for going deeper — from the core risk of gating through NAV, performance and secondaries to buying, tax and criticism.

01When a fund is “gating”The core riskWhen more investors want out than the fund allows: how gates protect those who stay invested, what proration and queue clauses govern — and the BREIT case in figures.→02Liquidity management tools in detailIn depthSwing pricing, side pockets, redemption in kind: the full liquidity management toolkit — and how to read it in a prospectus.→03Valuation & NAVIn depthMultiples, DCF, appraisals: how valuations come about — and why NAV reacts more slowly than the stock market in a crash.→04Understanding evergreen performanceIn depthIRR, TVPI, time-weighted return: what the factsheet figures really say — and how to compare evergreens fairly with ETFs.→05Understanding secondariesIn depthWhy fund stakes change hands below value, how the price is formed — and what GP-led deals mean for investors.→06Buying an ELTIF in practicePracticeHigh-street bank, platform, neobroker or straight from the provider: where ELTIFs are available, how subscription works mechanically — and what the distribution channel costs.→07Tax on semi-liquid fundsPracticeAdvance lump-sum tax, partial tax exemption, custody-account practice: what the German tax authorities want from your ELTIF — with a look at Austria and Switzerland.→08ELTIF criticism fact-checkedContext“Too expensive”, “leftovers”, “liquidity illusion”: the six big objections, checked against figures and sources — what holds, what does not, and how to spot a good offering.→

Look up every term

Gate, proration, notice period, NAV — every technical term explained briefly in the glossary of the interactive view.

To the glossary →