Evergreen Funds: UK’s regulated access and operational model
Finally in our evergreen fund series, we look at the United Kingdom, where evergreen adoption is being driven by a combination of regulatory frameworks and a structural shift in how private markets are accessed through long-term savings.
Finally in our evergreen fund series, we look at the United Kingdom, where evergreen adoption is being driven by a combination of regulatory frameworks and a structural shift in how private markets are accessed through long-term savings.
The UK’s role in the evergreen landscape is shaped by how it is developing regulated, scalable access to private markets.
Evergreen adoption globally remains concentrated in a small number of markets, with the UK accounting for around 50 evergreen fund structures, placing it among the leading jurisdictions alongside the US, France and Australia[1].
Rather than relying on a single distribution framework, the UK is building momentum through its own authorised fund structure, the Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF), alongside a broader policy agenda to increase defined contribution pension exposure to private markets.
LTAFs: the UK’s evergreen-style route to private markets
LTAFs are FCA-authorised open-ended funds designed to invest in long-term, less liquid assets while accommodating a broader investor base. They can be structured in several legal forms, including authorised contractual schemes, authorised unit trusts and OEICs.
Adoption is steadily building. Market data indicates that by early 2025 the FCA register included more than 20 LTAF sub-funds, with continued growth through 2025 as additional structures came to market[2].
What is notable about the UK route is that it brings evergreen mechanics into an authorised environment. This increases expectations around governance, valuation and liquidity management, which in turn raises the operational bar for managers.
In practice, LTAFs represent a credible route to delivering evergreen-style exposure within a regulated framework, but success depends on execution as much as structure.
Operating within a regulated environment
In the UK, evergreen structures are defined as much by how they operate as by how they are designed.
LTAFs must meet stricter requirements around:
This creates a different operating model compared to offshore jurisdictions. Delivering an evergreen strategy in practice requires consistent reporting and pricing, robust servicing infrastructure and clearly defined liquidity frameworks that work under real market conditions.
As a result, execution capability becomes a key differentiator.
Evergreen is not just a wrapper
One of the most important messages for the UK market is that evergreen success depends less on the wrapper and more on portfolio design.
As highlighted in discussions at the 2025 BVCA (now UK Private Capital) Summit[3], evergreen portfolios often need to be built differently to closed-end funds, because the measures of success differ. Evergreen vehicles are typically assessed through time-earned returns rather than IRR, and allocation policy can play a defining role in long-term outcomes.
The same discussion also pointed to the role of investment types such as secondaries, co-investments and income-oriented strategies in building a portfolio that can better support liquidity expectations.
This is particularly relevant in the UK context, where LTAFs are expected to meet higher standards around investor protection and liquidity management, and where the underlying investor base may include pension savers and wealth-managed clients with different behavioural patterns to traditional institutional investors.
Demand driven by structural change
Overlaying this is a significant structural demand driver.
The Mansion House Accord sets out a commitment by major workplace pension providers to allocate at least 10 percent of defined contribution default funds to private markets by 2030.
This creates a long-term pipeline of capital that is well aligned to evergreen formats. Pension schemes increasingly favour structures that allow phased investment and periodic liquidity, rather than traditional capital call models.
In this context, policy is not only supporting evergreen adoption, but actively accelerating it.
A distinct model within the evergreen landscape
Taken together, the UK occupies a distinct position within the evergreen ecosystem.
While Jersey and Guernsey emphasise flexibility, and Luxembourg focuses on scale and distribution, the UK model is centred on:
In doing so, the UK is shaping how evergreen strategies are delivered in highly governed, retail-adjacent environments.
Execution as the differentiator
The UK illustrates a more operationally demanding version of the evergreen model.
Success depends on the ability to bring together structuring, governance and portfolio design in a way that works in practice. For managers, this means translating strategy into a fully operational model that can deliver consistent outcomes within a regulated framework.
At Belasko, we support managers in turning evergreen strategy into reality in the UK market, helping ensure structures are not only well designed, but built to operate effectively over the long term.
[1] Preqin Pro data, February 2026
[2] https://www.morningstar.com/business/insights/blog/rise-of-evergreen-funds
[3] https://www.privateequityinternational.com/allocation-policy-and-returns-are-critical-for-evergreen-funds-bvca-panel/
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