One Year On: Can the Private Asset Market Go Faster After ELTIF 2.0?

By James Abram, Account Manager, and Isabell de Wit, Regional Director, Multifonds

Is the ELTIF 2.0 market finally beginning to scale? Almost two years after the revised regime launched, the signs are more encouraging: assets and product launches are rising, distribution is widening and more managers are entering the market. But growth remains uneven, with liquidity management, investor education, distribution and operational scale still determining how quickly Europe’s retail private markets ecosystem can develop.

Key takeaways

The ELTIF market has expanded meaningfully, reaching nearly €28 billion across closed-end and open-end structures by Q3 2025.
Product launches accelerated in 2025, with 268 ELTIFs registered by year-end and 113 new funds launched during the year.
Liquidity management has become a real-world test as semi-liquid ELTIF structures bring illiquid underlying assets into products offering periodic redemptions.
Distribution is broadening beyond traditional bank channels, but investor education and suitability remain critical as retail access expands.
The next phase of ELTIF growth will depend on infrastructure, automation, liquidity controls and scalable fund administration as much as regulation.

How large is the ELTIF 2.0 market today?

The ELTIF market is accelerating, but growth remains uneven.

A year ago, ELTIF 2.0 showed promise but had yet to deliver breakout growth. Twelve months on, the picture is more encouraging, though still complex.

The market has expanded meaningfully. The combined ELTIF universe, across both closed-end and open-end structures, reached nearly €28 billion by Q3 2025.¹ On the back of this, Scope Fund analysis estimates ELTIF volume between €65 billion and €70 billion by the end of 2027, at least three times larger than in 2024.²

Product proliferation has also accelerated. By the end of 2025, 268 ELTIFs had been registered, including 113 new funds launched in the year. Of the funds launched in 2025, a variety of asset classes were represented:

Multi-asset ELTIFs grew by 79%
Infrastructure strategies increased by 48%
Private equity expanded by 31%
Private debt rose by 28%

This diversification signals a maturing ELTIF market, with managers exploring different ways to package private assets for a wider investor base.

Why is liquidity management a critical test for ELTIF 2.0?

Liquidity management is becoming one of the clearest tests of whether semi-liquid ELTIF structures can scale while maintaining investor confidence.

If 2024 was about regulatory clarity, 2025 was about real-world stress testing.

The suspension of redemptions by an Irish-domiciled ELTIF late last year marked the first gating event in the European market. While isolated, it highlighted a fundamental challenge: reconciling illiquid underlying assets with semi-liquid fund structures.

This is not a new issue; similar tensions have long existed in other jurisdictions, but its arrival in the ELTIF space is significant. It underscores that liquidity management is not just a technical requirement, but a core determinant of investor confidence.

For managers, this has sharpened the focus on the operational and technology capabilities needed to support:

Robust liquidity frameworks
Clear redemption policies
Stress testing under different market conditions

For investors and regulators alike, it reinforces the need for transparency around how ELTIF products behave under pressure.

How is ELTIF distribution changing as retail access expands?

ELTIF distribution is broadening, but traditional bank-led channels still dominate and investor education remains a key constraint on wider retail adoption.

Traditional bank-led channels still dominate. Large institutions continue to invest heavily in adviser education. For example, one major European bank has trained more than 2,000 advisers across dozens of sessions to support ELTIF distribution. This reflects both commitment and complexity: private market products require a fundamentally different sales approach compared to traditional funds.

At the same time, digital platforms are beginning to reshape access. Neo-brokers and online banks are entering the space, opening ELTIFs to a broader retail audience. This is a crucial step toward true “retailisation.”

However, wider access does not automatically mean better understanding. Semi-liquid structures, long investment horizons and complex underlying assets require a level of investor education that digital channels must work hard to deliver.

The result is a market at a crossroads:

Broader access than ever before
Ongoing questions around suitability and investor comprehension

Why does scale remain concentrated in the ELTIF market?

Despite more product launches, ELTIF assets remain concentrated among a relatively small number of larger funds and established providers.

The top 10 open-end ELTIFs account for nearly 70% of total open-end AUM, highlighting a strong first-mover advantage and the importance of brand, distribution reach and operational capability.

Most managers are still testing the waters:

The majority have launched just one ELTIF
Only a handful are building multi-product strategies

At the same time, large global private market firms are entering the space, expanding the competitive landscape and raising expectations around product design, distribution and performance.

Under ELTIF 2.0, we are seeing more traditional, liquid-focused fund administrators step into the space, more able to cater to the technology demands of semi-liquid products than pure private asset specialists that historically dominated the regime.
James Abram, Account Manager, Multifonds

Domicile trends also reflect the market’s structure:

Luxembourg remains dominant, hosting the majority of ELTIFs
France is a strong second, supported by local incentives
Other jurisdictions – including Ireland, Germany and Spain – are gradually gaining traction

This shift highlights both the framework’s increased flexibility demands and the broader convergence between public and private markets.

What are the biggest barriers to faster ELTIF growth?

The main barriers are no longer regulatory design alone. Liquidity management, fragmented distribution, investor education and the ability to operate at scale now sit at the centre of ELTIF growth.

Another year on, the original challenges have not disappeared; they have simply evolved.

Liquidity management is still front and centre, requiring more sophisticated frameworks and clearer communication.

Distribution is improving, but remains fragmented, with education and technology still key bottlenecks.

Operational scale continues to favour larger players, as servicing a broader investor base demands automation, integration and ongoing engagement.

And importantly, investor understanding must keep pace with access. Without it, the risk of misalignment and potential reputational damage to the market remains.

What is the outlook for the ELTIF market?

The outlook is for steady acceleration rather than exponential growth.

The ELTIF market is no longer in its infancy, but it is not yet fully mature.

The trajectory now looks clearer:

Strong pipeline of new products
Increasing participation from large asset managers
Expanding distribution channels
Growing retail engagement

But growth is likely to remain measured rather than explosive.

If the past year has shown anything, it is that building a retail private markets ecosystem in Europe is not just about regulation, it is about infrastructure, education, and trust.
Isabell de Wit, Regional Director, Multifonds

ELTIF 2.0 has laid the foundations. The next phase will determine how far – and how fast – the market can truly scale.

What do managers and fund administrators need to support ELTIF growth?

Supporting ELTIF growth requires an operating model that can handle both private-asset complexity and the higher-volume servicing demands associated with broader distribution and semi-liquid structures.

For managers and fund administrators, efficiently supporting the demands of ELTIF funds is critical. Multifonds combines its cross-border UCITS expertise with capabilities in private assets, enabling a unified, multi-asset platform. This allows clients to manage traditional and alternative investments within the same environment, with the scale, liquidity management and distribution capabilities required for ELTIF strategies.

Sources

1. EFAMA, Asset Management Report 2025: https://www.efama.org/sites/default/files/files/asset-management-report-2025_0.pdf

2. Scope Fund Analysis, ELTIF Study 2025: https://www.scopeexplorer.com/files/get/?name=news.ReportFile/bytes/filename/mimetype/Scope_ELTIF_study_2025_ENG.pdf