Moonfare

Moonfare is a Berlin-headquartered digital investment platform founded in 2016 by Steffen Pauls, a former KKR executive. The platform provides qualified individual investors with access to private equity funds from managers such as KKR, Carlyle, Hamilton Lane, and EQT — vehicles historically reserved for institutions with multi-million-pound minimum commitments.

With over €3.3 billion in assets under management and operations spanning 23 countries, Moonfare is one of the largest technology-enabled private equity access platforms globally. In the UK, the platform's subsidiary is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Moonfare's core mechanic is its feeder fund structure: the platform aggregates capital from multiple investors into a single vehicle that commits to an underlying institutional fund, reducing minimum commitments from the typical $1–5 million range to approximately £25,000 for semi-liquid products and £50,000 for traditional closed-end allocations.

Update — August 2025: Moonfare discontinued its private equity ELTIF, launched in early 2024 under the revised ELTIF 2.0 regime, after the product failed to attract sufficient retail demand. The vehicle was structured as a 10-year closed-end fund-of-funds with a €10,000 minimum, and was widely seen as out of step with retail appetite for semi-liquid (evergreen) wrappers, which now account for the majority of new ELTIF launches across the European market. The wind-up was the first high-profile ELTIF discontinuation and is referenced in Scope Fund Analysis's 2026 market study as a structural lesson rather than a regulatory failure. See our analysis of the Moonfare ELTIF wind-up for the full context.

Moonfare operates a curated marketplace model. The investment team screens approximately 4,000 private equity funds annually, selecting only those that meet strict due diligence criteria — historically, fewer than 5% of reviewed funds are offered on the platform. Selected managers span buyout, growth equity, venture capital, private credit, and real assets strategies.

Once a fund is approved, Moonfare creates a feeder vehicle (typically a Luxembourg or Cayman-domiciled structure) that pools investor commitments. Investors browse available opportunities on the platform, review fund documentation, performance data, and risk disclosures, then commit capital digitally. Capital is drawn down over time in line with the underlying fund's deployment schedule, typically over a 3–5 year investment period.

The platform also operates a secondary market, launched to provide potential liquidity before a fund's natural maturity. Investors can list their positions for sale; however, secondary transactions are subject to availability, fund manager approval, and may involve discounts to net asset value. Secondary liquidity is not guaranteed.

Moonfare charges a management fee (typically around 0.5% annually) and may apply a one-off placement fee. Underlying fund managers charge their own fees (commonly 1.5–2% management fee plus 20% carried interest), which are separate from Moonfare's platform costs.

Moonfare's product range spans several private markets strategies. Traditional closed-end PE fund commitments — covering buyout, growth equity, and venture capital — carry minimums from approximately £50,000 with typical fund lifecycles of 10–12 years. Capital is locked up for the duration, subject to the secondary market caveat noted above.

The platform's semi-liquid products, introduced to address demand for shorter commitment horizons, offer minimums from around £25,000 with quarterly or semi-annual liquidity windows. These products invest across diversified private equity portfolios but carry restrictions on redemption frequency and volume.

Portfolio construction tools allow investors to build diversified allocations across vintage years, geographies, and strategies. Moonfare provides performance reporting, capital call tracking, and distribution monitoring through its digital dashboard. Educational resources and webinars are also available to support investor decision-making.

Recent additions include private credit and infrastructure strategies, reflecting broader institutional appetite for alternative income sources. All products are subject to the risk characteristics inherent in private markets investing, including illiquidity, capital loss, and long holding periods.

Moonfare is designed for high-net-worth and sophisticated investors seeking institutional-quality private equity exposure at reduced minimums. In the UK, investors typically need to qualify as high-net-worth or sophisticated under FCA definitions. The platform also serves family offices and wealth managers looking to access PE allocations for their clients.

The minimum commitment of £25,000 (semi-liquid) or £50,000 (closed-end) positions Moonfare above mass-market crowdfunding platforms but well below the $1–5 million thresholds of direct institutional fund access. Investors should be comfortable with illiquid, long-duration allocations and understand that private equity returns are variable and not guaranteed.

Moonfare's global footprint across 23 countries means the platform serves investors across multiple regulatory jurisdictions, each with its own eligibility requirements. UK-based investors interact with the FCA-regulated entity.

Moonfare's UK operations are conducted through an entity authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The platform's fund structures are typically domiciled in Luxembourg or the Cayman Islands, subject to their respective regulatory frameworks.

Investments made through Moonfare are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Private equity investments carry significant risks including total loss of capital, illiquidity, and no guarantee of returns. Past performance of underlying fund managers is not indicative of future results.

Investors should review all fund documentation, including offering memoranda and key information documents, before committing capital. Independent financial advice is recommended, particularly for investors unfamiliar with private markets.