BlackRock and Partners Group launch industry first private markets SMA

BlackRock and Partners Group have launched a “first-of-its-kind” multi-alternatives Separately Managed Account (SMA) for wealth platforms.

According to the managers, the solution gives access to three SMA strategies – income, balanced and growth – through a single subscription document. It is designed to give financial advisers easier access to private market opportunities for their high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

The SMA strategies provide exposure to private equity, private credit and real assets through seven underlying evergreen funds managed by BlackRock, HPS and Partners Group.

The SMA strategies are available on the Morgan Stanley wealth platform.

“This launch transforms the delivery of alternatives from standalone products into a portfolio solution and helps simplify how financial advisers access private markets for their clients,” said Jon Diorio, head of alternatives for BlackRock’s US wealth business.

The launch of the Private Markets SMA comes as financial advisers’ allocations to private markets remain modest at around seven per cent, reflecting fragmented client experiences and limited scalability.

“This solution represents a transformational step forward in how private markets are delivered to the wealth channel,” said Rob Collins, co-head of private wealth at Partners Group. “By embedding diversified private markets exposure into a scalable, outcome-oriented SMA structure, we are helping advisers move beyond product selection towards a more holistic portfolio solution that provides access to an increasingly important part of the real economy.”

Asset manager BlackRock currently oversees more than $250bn (£181.1bn) in assets across its SMA platform, while private markets firm Partners Group has 25 years’ experience in managing evergreen funds and oversees $185bn of total capital.