July 22 (Reuters) - Wellington Management, Vanguard and Blackstone are launching two funds that will offer investments in both public and private markets for a growing cohort of wealthy individuals, the companies said on Wednesday.
Investments in most private equity, private infrastructure, private real estate and private credit have traditionally been dominated by institutional investors like pension funds. Asset managers are increasingly offering them to people seeking better returns on their personal
wealth.
One of the new vehicles, the WVB All Markets Fund, will blend public equities, fixed income and index strategies and Blackstone's private markets offerings, while the WVB Blackstone All Privates Fund will give access across Blackstone's platform, the companies said in a statement.
They will be available to high-net-worth and mass-affluent people who are Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank clients through their advisors, the companies said.
"Our clients are increasingly seeking broader access to private markets," said Mark Sutterlin, head of alternative investments at Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank.
Globally, high-net-worth individuals' wealth climbed to $98.3 trillion by the end of 2025, according to Capgemini.
Wealthy individuals have been taking money out of private credit and some private equity funds in recent months amid worries over asset valuations and deep exposure to software companies whose businesses could be weakened by the rise of AI.
Top asset management executives have emphasized the exit from private credit funds has been driven by perceived concerns around the asset class, rather than the underlying performance of the funds.
While inflows into some private credit strategies have slowed, private equity posted strong inflows in June, Blackstone President Jon Gray previously said.
In Wednesday's statement, he said private markets gave wealthy individuals access to "premium returns, lower volatility, and diversification".
(Reporting by Isla Binnie and Arasu Kannagi Basil; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)
