Partner Funds
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The world of investing has seen a significant transformation in recent years. With the advent of online platforms and advancements in technology, the opportunities for investors to explore various asset classes have expanded exponentially. However, when it comes to private assets, there remains a glaring deficiency in the infrastructure available to support individual investors. That’s where we step in. Sweater’s platform addresses the urgent need for new market infrastructure, allowing partners to raise venture capital funds from both accredited and non-accredited retail investors while empowering investors who seek to explore private assets through Public VC Funds.
Private assets, including venture capital, have historically been the domain of institutional investors, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and family offices. Retail investors, despite their growing interest and appetite for diversification, have largely been sidelined in this space. Because the system was designed for institutional investments, private markets have only limited electronic infrastructure to support transactions, collateralization, administration, registry, and reporting at any scale according to Bain & Company. Without a digitalized and convenient platform, broad distribution to individual investors is nearly impossible. But with individual accounts holding roughly 50% of global wealth, impossible is not an option.
There is a pressing need for new market infrastructure to address these challenges. While there have been significant strides in creating platforms for financial advisors to manage clients' capital effectively, the retail segment has not received the same attention until now.
Sweater introduced the Cashmere Fund in 2022, offering an unlimited number of retail investors access to a fully managed, evergreen fund with biannual liquidity windows and an initial investment amount of just $500. Now, through our Partner Platform, we’re offering partners the opportunity to effortlessly launch your own venture fund to individual investors using Sweater's proven platform.
1. Improved Access: The creation of online platforms like Sweater’s platform designed specifically for retail investors will help bridge the gap. Our platform offers alternative investment opportunities for accredited and non-accredited retail investors, ensuring that the investment landscape becomes more inclusive.
2. Education and Resources: Retail investors need access to educational resources to understand the intricacies of private assets. That’s why we have created resources such as Venture 101, knowledge bases, and webinars to answer top-of-mind questions that can help individuals make informed investment decisions.
3. Liquidity Options: Sweater’s Public VC Fund structure provides intra-annual liquidity windows. Liquidity windows provide retail investors with flexibility, risk management, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. They empower investors to make informed decisions that align with their financial goals and help reduce the potential downsides associated with long-term, illiquid investments.
4. Risk Mitigation: Retail investors will benefit from innovative risk management tools, such as diversified fund portfolios, designed to reduce the inherent risk of private assets they might find in crowdfunding and angel deals.
5. Transparency: Creating standardized reporting (i.e quarterly holdings reports, audited annual reports, etc.) and valuation methods that drive the fund’s NAV (aka share price) for private assets can significantly enhance transparency in the market, allowing retail investors to make more informed investment decisions.
The world of private assets is transforming to meet the demand of individual investors. Sweater is leading the charge to make it accessible and navigable for all investors. The infrastructure that supports the retail sector needs to evolve to match the pace of change in the broader alternative investment landscape.
At Sweater we offer expertise at the intersection of the private and public market through a proven, turnkey solution to meet the new demand. As the interest in private assets continues to grow among retail investors, addressing these challenges and implementing public VC fund structures is essential to create a more inclusive, transparent, and empowering market.
The evolution of market infrastructure is crucial to ensure that individual investors have the opportunity to participate in the exciting world of alternative investments. By addressing the unique needs of retail investors, we can foster innovation, encourage diversity in investment portfolios, and ultimately contribute to a more equitable financial landscape.
