Hargreaves Lansdown and Schroders agree investment tie-up
Hargreaves Lansdown and Schroders Capital have sealed a tie-up to open up private assets opportunities to thousands more investors.
The partnership will offer access to private investments, known as long-term asset funds (LTAFs), to Hargreaves Lansdown’s customers via self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs).
The new style pensions will allow retail investors to invest in private assets for as little as £10,000.
James Lowe, director of private markets at Schroders Capital, said it was a “watershed moment” for acessability to private markets.
Emma Wall, head of platform investments at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “For retail investors with a long-term investment horizon, the appropriate knowledge and resources, and as part of a well-diversified portfolio, private markets can play an important role in delivering unique growth opportunities beyond what is typically available in public markets.”
Wall added LTAFs would allow retail investors a “unique opportunity” to access a wide range of alternative assets through a tailored fund structure.
The move comes as City officials hope to broaden access to capital markets in a bid to inject much-needed liquidity.
UK ventures into LTAFs
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has laid out plans to drive an investment push into capital markets.
Fresh regulatory changes will permit stocks and shares ISA products to invest in long term asset funds from next April, in a move the government hopes will promote infrastructure investment.
But LTAFs do mark a new feature for the UK’s investment climate. The structure of the fund generally requires a 90 day notice period for withdrawals, permitting investors from accessing the cash whenever they want.
Reeves announced in her Mansion House speech a major campaign with high street banks to encourage Brits to get invested.
Former City minister Emma Reynolds has said the new reforms would help position the UK as the “best location” for investment, tearing down barriers to entry.