The need to expand or “democratize” access to alternative investments has been a recurring theme in the RIA space in recent years — and Pennsylvania-based asset manager Hartford Funds used that refrain with the launch of its Hartford Schroders Private Opportunities Fund today.
The actively managed closed-end tender offer fund is focused on private equity strategies — particularly small- and medium-sized buyout and growth-stage enterprises with values in the range of $50 million up to $1 billion, which are not usually accessible to accredited investors.
“Over the course of this market cycle, we have witnessed meaningful change to traditional investment practices, including the increased democratization of alternative markets for retail investors,” said Hartford Funds Chief Investment Officer Vernon Meyer. The firm’s new offering boosts exposure to private markets by offering “lower investment minimums, periodic opportunities for liquidity, and familiar 1099 tax reporting, as compared to traditional private equity funds,” Meyer added.
The fund is targeting direct and co-investments in primary and secondary private equity funds in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and will generally focus on the five sectors: healthcare, technology, consumer, services and industrials.
Schroder Investment Management North America, which has been a Hartford Funds partner for seven years, is sub-advising the fund. Benjamin Alt, head of global private equity portfolios and head of private equity consumer investments at Schroders Capital, and Ethan Vogelhut, head of buyout investments Americas at Schroders Capital, will act as portfolio managers.
As of June 30, Hartford Funds and Schroder’s Capital claimed $129.9 billion and $85 billion in assets under management, respectively.
