The growing access to private markets is just beginning. These investments are already becoming more accessible to individuals working with financial advisors through semiliquid vehicles like interval funds. Now, a potential executive order from President Donald Trump could accelerate that trend by allowing private market investments in 401(k) plans through semiliquid funds.
However, many established semiliquid funds—which are registered funds that provide less-than-daily liquidity to investors and typically invest in illiquid asset classes like private credit and private equity—aren’t managed by the familiar asset managers behind mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. To help investors make more informed decisions about these funds and shed light on less well-known aspects like who the largest providers are, Morningstar recently published The State of Semiliquid Funds, a report designed to provide deeper insight into this quickly evolving space.
The report focuses on semiliquid funds available to investors who don’t meet the high-net-worth threshold to be a qualified purchaser, who must have at least $5 million in investments, excluding a primary residence or business. Retirement plans will have a broader pool to pick from because of their scale, but many of the same firms offering semiliquid funds will likely play a central role.
In this article, we’ll highlight the biggest semiliquid fund providers and which familiar names are making big pushes to join them.
The 10 Largest Semiliquid Fund Providers
Semiliquid fund assets are largely managed by alternative asset managers with limited involvement in traditional public market funds.
Blackstone, the largest alternative asset manager globally, dominates the semiliquid space. It oversees the two largest semiliquid funds: Blackstone Private Credit, a nontraded business-development company, and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, a nontraded REIT. In 2025, Blackstone expanded its offerings with the launch of its first interval fund, Blackstone Private Multi-Asset Credit and Income BMACX.
Another key player is Cliffwater, which manages the largest interval fund in the market—the private-credit-focused Cliffwater Corporate Lending CCLFX. In 2024, the firm acquired Cascade Private Capital CPEFX, broadening its portfolio to include private equity.
Among the top 10 semiliquid fund managers, Pimco stands out as the only firm primarily known for managing public market assets. It entered the interval fund space in 2018 with the launch of Pimco Flexible Credit Income PFLEX, at a time when traditional closed-end fund IPOs had slowed down. Since then, Pimco has introduced six more interval funds, mainly focused on public credit and municipal bonds. While these funds don’t concentrate on private markets, they do use leverage and may include less-liquid securities in their portfolios to help enhance returns.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced in 2024 that it would acquire HPS Investment Partners, a well-known alternative investment firm. That deal closed at the end of June 2025, leapfrogging BlackRock into a top-10 position.
Vanguard, Capital Group, and Others Are on Their Way
BlackRock isn’t the only traditional firm making a big push into private markets. There’s been a growing trend of traditional firms teaming up with alternative managers to offer semiliquid funds. Vanguard, for example, is partnering with Wellington Management and Blackstone to offer what’s believed to be a series of interval funds, with the first expected later this year. Capital Group has launched a pair of interval funds focused on public and private credit in collaboration with KKR. Earlier this year, State Street introduced SPDR SSGA IG Public & Private Credit ETF PRIV.
More competition from traditional asset managers may put fee pressure on alternative managers, which often have more complex and expensive fee arrangements. When competition leads to lower costs, investors win.
Credit Is the Most Popular Asset Class Among the Largest Semiliquid Fund Providers
One common theme among the largest providers is credit. The demand for high-yielding funds, plus seemingly smooth return streams, has led to a steady stream of demand for credit-focused semiliquid funds. Semiliquid funds that focus on credit, particularly private credit, have been the fastest-growing segment of the semiliquid universe. Net assets in credit semiliquid funds grew to approximately $188 billion in 2024, up from $115 billion in 2023 and $75 billion in 2022. The largest semiliquid credit funds saw net inflows double to $46 billion in 2024 from $23 billion in 2023.
Nontraded business-development companies have been the most popular choice for investors to get access to private credit. At the end of 2024, nontraded business-development companies had approximately $118 billion in net assets, up from $68 billion in 2023 and $41 billion in 2022.
Nontraded business-development companies have higher leverage limits than interval and tender-offer funds. They can borrow up to $2 for every $1 of net assets, whereas interval and tender-offer funds can only borrow $1 for every $2 of net assets.
Higher leverage typically leads to higher distribution rates. In 2024, Blackstone Private Credit had a 10.4% 12-month yield, about 3 percentage points higher than the average 12-month yield for credit interval funds.
Cliffwater Corporate Lending, the second-largest credit semiliquid fund, has kept pace and at times had a higher distribution rate. In 2024, its 12-month yield was 11.3%. It has significant investments in other private credit funds that can also use higher leverage to boost returns.
Tune In: Navigating the State of Semiliquid Funds Webinar
Interested in learning more about private markets and semiliquid funds?
Join me and my Morningstar Manager Research colleagues Jack Shannon and Brian Moriarty on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central as we:
- Discuss the latest trends in semiliquid funds.
- Highlight best practices for fee transparency.
- Look at lessons learned about liquidity.
- Examine the role that leverage plays in semiliquid funds.
- Answer live audience questions.
Register here.
link