Moonfare is an example of a platform that has, it says, widened access to private equity and similar assets which were once the preserve of the ultra-wealthy and large institutions, typically mediated via investment banks. The sector has changed significantly since the 2008 financial crisis.

Germany-headquartered Moonfare, one of a cluster of firms providing affluent and HNW individuals with access to private equity and other alternative investments, has opened its doors in Australia.

The firm’s platform has more than €3.3 billion in assets under management and almost 5,000 investors. Once a market restricted to UHNW individuals and large institutions, access is opening, or being “democratised” by Moonfare, CAIS (US) and iCapital (also US-based). 

Moonfare was founded in 2016. Its system allows investors to tap into curated funds from private equity managers such as KKR, EQT and the Carlyle Group. Direct investments and Moonfare proprietary strategies are also available.

"There is clearly a growing appetite for private equity investing in Australia. But so far access has been limited, especially for people wanting exposure to non-domestic managers and strategies. Moonfare’s digital private equity platform plans to fill that gap by providing seamless access to globally leading top-quartile managers," Steffen Pauls, Moonfare’s founder and co-chief executive, said in a statement yesterday. 

Moonfare, citing various sources such as UBS, said that Australia’s private wealth sector has the highest proportion of private wealth investors across the APAC region, with high net worth assets under management standing at more than $1 trillion.

Moonfare's proprietary portfolio investments gives a range of strategies in private equity such as buyout, growth equity, venture and infrastructure. Investments in secondaries, private credit and co-investments are also available, while family offices and those able to invest at larger scale can invest directly in select companies alongside general partners.

Investors using the platform also gain access to a secondary market platform with institutional participation by Lexington Partners. This comprises a twice-yearly auction for investors wanting to sell existing stakes in Moonfare's funds or acquire new ones.

With its Berlin HQ, Moonfare operates in 23 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and America, with offices in New York, London, Zürich, Singapore, Paris, and Luxembourg. This news service has asked Moonfare whether it intends to open an office in Australia, and may update this article in due course.

In September last year, it hired Blackstone and EQT alumnus Adam Banks as its new Singapore-based head of the Asia-Pacific region. In January 2022, the firm opened up in the US market. In November 2022 it launched a private market investing platform for eligible family offices.