ARKVX Offers Access To Private Equities Focused On Disruptive Innovation
Historically restricted to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals, access to venture capital and private markets is opening to all investors. Seeking to democratize access for those who are not “accredited” investors or “high-net-worth individuals,”1 ARK Invest launched the ARK Venture Fund in 2022. Since then, several other funds have followed, offering funds with public and private exposure, periodic liquidity, and simplified tax reporting—1099 forms instead of K-1s.
Access to private markets is reaching a tipping point. Larry Fink’s letter to BlackRock shareholders2 this year championed the “democratization of private markets,” emphasizing the importance of unlocking access for retail investors. Vanguard echoed that sentiment in a recent filing for its first hybrid public-private fund. State Street and Apollo also collaborated recently to introduce a private credit ETF. With so many institutions mobilizing around this shift, broadening access to private assets has gained momentum.
To help investors understand the differences among various products offering access to private markets, we have prepared a table comparing leading public-private crossover funds available as of May 31, 2025.
| Fund | Minimum Investment | Private Exposure | Liquidity | Fees | Highlights |
| SPDR SSGA IG Public & Private Credit ETF | $0 (ETF) | Public and Private Credit (Limited Private Credit Due To ETF Rules) | Daily | 0.70% Total Fee | The first attempt to offer more than 15% exposure to private assets in an ETF. Has received some public comments from the SEC. |
| Fundrise Innovation Fund | $10 | High (Private-first) | Quarterly (not guaranteed) | 1.85% Management Fee | Highly concentrated, low minimum investment. |
| ARK Venture Fund | $500 | Innovation Focused Venture Capital (Currently 87% private) | Quarterly (5% cap) | 2.75% Management Fee | Retail-first, disruptive innovation themes. |
| The Cashmere Fund | $500 | Early-stage Venture | Semi-annual (5% cap) | 2.5% Management Fee + 15% Carried Interest | Consumer/culture-focused, backed by influencers. |
| Capital Group & KKR Funds | $1,000 | Public and Private Credit (~40% Private Credit) | Quarterly (10% cap) | ~0.85% Total Fee | Institutional credit meets retail liquidity. |
| Private Shares Fund | $2,500 | Late-stage Venture | Quarterly (5% cap) | 1.9% Management Fee + 5.75% Load (Class A) | Pre-IPO ample coverage of names. |
| Yieldstreet Income Fund | $10,000 | Private Credit & Real Assets | Quarterly (5% cap) | 1.5% Total Fee | Private debt exposure, income-focused. |
| Morgan Stanley North Haven Private Assets Fund | $25,000 | Private Equity | Potential Quarterly Liquidity | 1.25% Management Fee + 12.5% Incentive Fee | Available only to Morgan Stanley clients, at first, but could open more broadly in the future. |
| Coatue Innovation Fund | $50,000 | Public Private Crossover | Quarterly (5% cap) | 1.25% Management Fee + 12.5% Carried Interest | Backed by Jeff Bezos and Michael Dell and offered by UBS. |
| BlackRock Private Investments Fund | $100,000 | Primarily Private Equity | Quarterly (5% cap) | 1.75% Management Fee | Institutional private equity (PE) access for high net-worth individuals (HNWI). |
Source: ARK Investment Management LLC, 2025. Data as of May 31, 2025. For informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular security.
Backed by UBS, Coatue has launched a hybrid fund structure for high-net-worth investors. Capital Group has partnered with KKR to offer private credit strategies to retail investors. Fundrise and Sweater Ventures are leveraging digital platforms to offer early-stage and consumer venture exposure to a broader group of investors. Yieldstreet is targeting investors focused on private credit and income-generating alternatives. The Private Shares Fund provides access to late-stage, pre-IPO companies, and most recently Vanguard and Wellington have partnered with Blackstone to enter the space, signaling that public-private hybrid funds are becoming a strategic priority.
While recent enthusiasm around the democratization of private assets is encouraging, many solutions today do not seem to maximize the access to private assets efficiently or effectively. BlackRock and State Street, for example, limit access to accredited investors and ETFs constrained by regulatory caps on private exposure, respectively.
While asset managers are responding to the growing demand for access to private market strategies, ARK recognized the gap early. We purposefully selected an interval fund instead of an ETF to house our venture strategy, as it would allow more flexibility in the amount of private exposure we can offer to investors. Furthermore, the ARK Venture Fund is platform agnostic, instead of offering access only to clients at a certain bank or broker. Finally, we offer ARKVX at a low minimum initial investment of $500, which enables investors of all walks of life to gain exposure to innovation before initial public offerings (IPOs). We believe these features differentiate the ARK Venture Fund from other products.
In our view, the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) offers several advantages relative to the competition. The ARK Venture Fund combines the growth potential of private companies with the agility of public markets, adjusting allocations to maintain fund liquidity. Our analysts’ responsibilities are organized not by sector or industry or sub-industry but by technologies that we believe will scale across industries and sectors to create significant addressable markets. The screen for our portfolios is not benchmarks but our deep research, which is informed and enabled by our open-source research ecosystem. Founders appreciate and/or value our original research sizing the markets for which they are aiming, as well as our bottom-up research on their companies. As a result, we have benefited from access to the most important founders and companies that we believe will transform the world as we know it.
Top among ARK Venture Fund’s current holdings are SpaceX, OpenAI, Epic Games, Databricks, Anthropic, Discord, and Shield AI. Investors in the ARK Venture Fund also have access to ARK’s research videos, audios, and written updates focused on thought leaders and the founders of companies in the Fund’s portfolio. For a deeper dive into our portfolio, click here.
Important Information
Investors should carefully consider the ARK Venture Fund's investment objectives and risks, as well as charges and expenses, before investing. This and other information are contained in the ARK Venture Fund’s prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting www.ark-funds.com.
The ARK VENTURE FUND is a continuously-offered, non-diversified, registered closed-end fund with limited liquidity. An investment in the Fund’s Shares is not suitable for investors that require liquidity, other than liquidity provided through the Fund’s repurchase policy.
All statements made regarding investment opportunities are strictly beliefs and points of view held by ARK and investors should determine for themselves whether a particular investment or service is suitable for their investment needs. Certain statements contained in this document may be statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on ARK’s current views and assumptions, and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. The matters discussed in this document may also involve risks and uncertainties described from time to time in ARK’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ARK assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this document.
To view the top 10 holdings in the ARK Venture Fund, click here. To view the most up-to-date portfolio, click here.
An investment in the ARK Venture Fund is subject to risks, and you can lose money on your investment. There can be no assurance that the ARK Venture Fund will achieve its investment objectives. The ARK Venture Fund’s portfolio is more volatile than broad market averages. The ARK Venture Fund also has specific risks, which are described below. More detailed information regarding these risks can be found in the ARK Venture Fund’s prospectus.
Diversification neither assures a profit nor guarantees against loss in a declining market.
Foreside Fund Services, LLC, distributor.
ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK Invest”) is the investment adviser to the ARK Venture Fund.
A high-net-worth individual (HNWI) is someone with liquid assets of at least $1 million after accounting for their liabilities.
Fink, Larry. “The democratization of investing.” April 3, 2025. BlackRock. https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/presentation/larry-fink-annual-chairmans-letter.pdf
ARK’s statements are not an endorsement of any company or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. ARK and its clients as well as its related persons may (but do not necessarily) have financial interests in securities or issuers that are discussed. Certain of the statements contained may be statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on ARK’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.
