How ELTIF 2.0 Is Shifting Asset Allocation in Europe’s Private Markets


Growing Private Markets: Scale & Location
Preqin’s recent ‘‘Private Markets in 2030’’ report, now under BlackRock ownership, forecasts that global alternatives (which includes private equity, credit, infrastructure, real estate, natural resources, etc.) will reach around $32 trillion in assets under management by 2030. Europe’s private markets are expected to exceed €5 trillion in AUM in that same period. These forecasts suggest both a considerable scale-up and structural permanence for private markets in the investment landscape.

Private Credit and Infrastructure: Asset Class Drivers
Europe-focused private credit is forecast to more than double—from over €450 billion in 2025 to over €800 billion by 2030. Infrastructure is already the second-largest private capital asset class in Europe and is expected to grow from nearly €600 billion now to around €1.1 trillion by decade-end. These classes benefit from demand for real-economy exposure, technological build-out (AI, data centres, energy transition), and a decline in traditional bank lending.

Access: Regulation, Products, & Investor Base
Recent developments—such as ELTIF 2.0 in Europe, evergreen private vehicles, improved liquidity windows and lower minimum investments—are eroding barriers that historically restricted private markets to ultra-high-net-worth and institutional clients. These product innovations, together with regulatory support and changing investor risk/return preferences, are broadening participation among wealth investors.

Portfolio Alchemy: Allocations & Strategic Implications
Portfolio frameworks are being rethought. Many forecasts anticipate institutional and high-net-worth portfolios moving from a typical 60/40 equity-to-fixed-income split toward something along the lines of 50/30/20 (equities/bonds/alts). This reflects expectations of higher returns, illiquidity premiums, and diversification benefits from private markets. However, increased exposure brings trade-offs—liquidity risk, fee compression, and the necessity of strong manager and product selection frameworks.

Open Questions and Risks

Valuation and exit risk: With slow public market exits and tougher IPO environments, realizing liquidity and fair valuations may lag fundraising.

Regulatory fragmentation: Differences in ELTIF implementation across EU jurisdictions may affect product efficiency and investor protection.

Fees, transparency, and data: As access broadens, investors will demand higher disclosure and benchmark quality; BlackRock’s acquisition of Preqin underscores this need.

Macroeconomic headwinds: Inflation, interest rate cycles, and geopolitical risks—especially around energy and supply chains—could stress sectors like infrastructure and credit more than private equity in some scenarios.

Strategic Implications for Market Participants

Asset managers who build strong multi-asset private-market platforms (covering credit, infra, private equity) and integrate regulatory-compliant vehicles will gain competitive edge.

Technology, data, and operational infrastructure (e.g., reporting, risk modelling, fund structures) will be a differentiator.

For wealth managers: offering scalable products tailored for smaller investors (via lower minimums, evergreen structures) will be key.

Institutional investors need rigorous due diligence and partner selection to manage liquidity risk and fee pressure.