The democratisation of unlisted assets refers to the gradual opening up of asset classes such as private equity, private debt and infrastructure, which were previously reserved for institutional investors or the very wealthy, to a wider audience of individual investors. Private Corner, an independent management company aiming to institutionalise access to unlisted assets, is actively participating in this opening up, particularly through its fully digitalised investment platform.
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Private Corner: reconciling institutional excellence and asset-based access to private assets
At a time when private equity is becoming more democratic, unlisted assets are attracting growing interest from private investors. The emergence of rigorous and ambitious models is therefore becoming imperative in order to structure access to them in a sustainable manner. Founded in 2020, Private Corner embodies this requirement. Under the leadership of Estelle Dolla, its co-founder, the management company is committed to institutionalising the experience of high-net-worth clients in the unlisted market, by building a model that is technological, operational and ethical. Estelle Dolla, guest on the Private Equity Vox programme, presented by Antoine Sage, discusses the foundations of a unique and profoundly structuring approach for the ecosystem.
From entrepreneurial intuition to the creation of a strategic bridge
The genesis of Private Corner is based on a dual observation resulting from a rare background, at the crossroads of management companies and fund administration service providers. On the one hand, wealth management professionals seek to diversify their clients' portfolios beyond listed markets, by accessing qualitative, transparent underlying assets, aligned with a long-term vision. On the other hand, private asset managers express a strategic need to diversify their investor base by opening up to private clients, as has been done successfully across the Atlantic.
Private Corner was thus born out of the desire to create an operational, regulatory and technological bridge between these two worlds that have long been sealed off from one another. The founding ambition is clear: to allow private clients to access the institutional universe of unlisted companies, without distorting its codes or compromising its standards.
Read the interview with Estelle Dolla and Marc Lefèvre, President of the Federation of Individual Investors and Investment Clubs, on the challenges of democratising private equity.
A platform designed to serve the advisory value chain
Within this growing trend towards the democratisation of unlisted assets, Private Corner stands out for its resolutely B2B positioning. Access to funds is exclusively reserved for the clients of distribution partners: wealth management advisors, family offices and private banks. This choice is not insignificant. It stems from a strong conviction: advice cannot be dispensed with in an asset class as complex, illiquid and heterogeneous as the unlisted.
The internally developed platform makes it possible to digitise the entire life cycle of an investment, from the initial contact to reporting, integrating regulatory requirements, the logic of progressive calls for funds and the needs of asset consolidation. It thus fulfils a dual requirement: to streamline the user experience in an increasingly constrained environment, while restoring the conditions for quality advice, free from administrative red tape.
Discover our non-listed investment platform.
Transparency, rigour and education: the pillars of institutionalisation
At Private Corner, transparency is not a marketing argument, but a prerequisite for building trust. Each link in the chain – advisor, platform, management company, manager – bears a share of the responsibility for preserving the final value. It is therefore essential to understand, explain and document each structuring, each expense, each flow.
Estelle Dolla emphasises that access to private assets should not be confused with their indiscriminate democratisation. The watchword is clear: institutionalise the wealth management experience, and not dilute it in a mass market logic. This implies high standards: on the quality of the selected managers, on the structuring of the vehicles, on the alignment of interests at each level.
Preserving the essence of private equity: time as an ally
One of the key assumptions of Private Corner is that time is a strategic asset, not a hindrance. In the world of private equity, performance cannot be decreed: it is built up, patiently nurtured, and crystallises. It is therefore essential that the structuring of the funds offered to wealth management clients faithfully reproduces the life cycle of the underlying funds, without seeking to artificially smooth the calls for funds or to promise illusory liquidity.
By acting as an institutional investor with managers, Private Corner manages to significantly reduce operational and economic friction and to give investors back most of the performance generated by the GPs.
A distribution model built on support
This democratisation has led to an expansion in the range of unlisted products on offer. Although necessary, this trend has led to a saturation effect for many distributors. Faced with this abundance, advisors may legitimately find it difficult to assess the real granularity of the vehicles on offer or to interpret the regulatory intricacies of a fund.
This is why Private Corner places education at the heart of its mission: content creation, personalised meetings, deciphering sessions. The objective is not to impose a model, but to give partners the keys to exercise their professional judgement, in complete autonomy.
A coherent value chain, where each actor retains his or her function
In the Private Corner model, each actor is recognised in his or her specificity and responsibility. The advisor remains the point of contact for the end customer; Private Corner builds the offer, aggregates the flows, data and tools, and the selected managers deploy the capital over the long term.
The aim is not to disintermediate, but on the contrary to re-engage each link in a virtuous logic, where the service provided is tangible, documented, and replicable over time.
A controlled ambition: to set a European benchmark
With more than 800 million euros raised in four years, and a network of 400 distribution partners, Private Corner now intends to consolidate its position as leader in its domestic market, while beginning its deployment on a European scale.
This ambition is not fuelled by opportunistic growth, but by a methodical desire: to export a demanding model, based on French regulatory rigour, institutional transparency, and proprietary technology at the service of efficiency.
Towards a new balance between institutions and private clients
As private equity becomes more democratic, the current context – a slowdown in institutional subscriptions, consolidation of the ecosystem, development of the secondary market – calls for a rethinking of the balance between the different types of investors. Private Corner is part of this reorganisation, not as a substitute, but as a complementary institutional investor, serving managers and wealth management clients.
The objective? To contribute to a sustainable balance, based on mutual respect, shared trust and operational excellence. These are the pillars that will enable the unlisted asset class to establish itself on a long-term basis in private wealth, without losing its character.
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