Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price Launch Interval Fund
(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. are launching their first interval fund for the masses as Wall Street races to bring private investments to Main Street.
The T. Rowe Price Goldman Sachs Private Markets Fund, which will invest across four alternative asset classes, will be open to all, with no accreditation needed, and have a minimum investment limit of $2,500, according to an emailed statement.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management will provide allocations in private equity, private infrastructure and real estate, while T. Rowe will contribute the liquid part of the fund alongside late-stage venture capital. T. Rowe’s Oak Hill Advisors will add private credit allocations, according to the statement.
Many alternative asset managers have partnered with mutual fund houses to create products that would be easier to sell through their distribution networks because their names are trusted by retail investors. Last week, Blackstone Inc. launched its first two products for the masses in a partnership with Vanguard Group and Wellington Management.
Goldman said last year that it would invest as much as $1 billion in T. Rowe and teamed up with the money manager to create and sell private-market products. The two firms have since rolled out a range of model portfolios for the wealth market. They’re also preparing to introduce a range of target-date funds later this year for retirement accounts that will invest in private assets.
Their new product will debut amid a rough patch for private credit funds that had promised retail investors access to private markets with the ability to exit easily. After a client stampede in the first half of this year, many managers restricted withdrawals and the industry is now removing the words “semi-liquid” from product pitches.
Read More: Private Credit Ditches ‘Semi-Liquid’ Term After Redemption Wave
The interval fund will have “periodic liquidity opportunities” typically amounting to as much as 5% of outstanding shares, according to the statement. But the fund should be “viewed as illiquid” because it may repurchase as much as 25% of outstanding shares, the companies said.
Kevin Collins, who heads T. Rowe’s wealth and retirement intermediary distribution business in the US, said it’s important for people to understand exactly what liquidity they can access and when. Investing in several different areas protects investors from the ups and downs of one specific asset class, he said.
“We bring decades of active management and portfolio construction expertise,” Greg Wilson, GSAM’s co-head of third-party US wealth, said in the statement. “Individual investors can now confidently access opportunities once reserved for institutions.”
