Wellington, Vanguard, Blackstone launch funds targeting wealthy investors

By Isla Binnie

NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) - ‌Wellington Management, Vanguard ​and Blackstone ​are launching two funds that will offer investments in both public and private markets for a growing cohort of wealthy individuals, the companies said on Wednesday.

Investments in most ‌private equity, private infrastructure, private real estate and private credit traditionally have been ⁠dominated by institutional investors like pension funds. Asset managers are increasingly offering them to people seeking better returns on their ‌personal wealth.

One of the new vehicles, ‌the WVB All Markets Fund, will blend public equities, fixed income and index strategies and Blackstone's private markets offerings, while the WVB Blackstone All Privates Fund will give access across Blackstone's platform, ​the companies said in a statement.

They will be available to high-net-worth and mass-affluent people who are Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank clients through their advisors, the companies said.

"Our clients are ⁠increasingly seeking broader access to private markets," said Mark Sutterlin, head of alternative investments at Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank.

Globally, ​the wealth of high-net-worth individuals climbed to $98.3 trillion by the end of 2025, according to Capgemini.

For asset managers, retail investors have offered a new source of ​fundraising as many struggled to cash out of their ‌investments, sapping payouts and reducing the appetite of some institutions to commit new funds. Authorities including U.S. President Donald Trump's administration have advocated for broadening access to ⁠private markets.

Wealthy individuals have been taking money out of private credit and some private equity funds in recent months amid worries over asset valuations and deep exposure to software companies whose businesses could be weakened by the rise ⁠of AI.

Top asset management executives have emphasized that the exit from private credit funds has been driven by perceived ​concerns around the asset class, rather than the underlying performance of the funds.

In some cases, investors have tried to withdraw much more of their capital from funds than the percentage that managers usually offer to buy every three ‌months.

The WVB All Markets Fund plans to offer to buy 10% of its outstanding shares every quarter, and the WVB Blackstone All Privates Fund intends ‌to offer to buy up to 3% per quarter.

While inflows into some private credit strategies have slowed, private ⁠equity posted strong inflows in June, Blackstone ‌President Jon Gray previously said.

In Wednesday's ​statement, Gray said private markets gave wealthy individuals access to "premium returns, lower volatility, and diversification."

(Reporting by Isla Binnie and Arasu Kannagi Basil; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and ‌Will Dunham)

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