So, you clicked on an article entitled “How to Invest Smartly”. We’re going to assume, then, that you have a bit of extra capital to invest and are interested in how you might do that in a savvy way. (If that’s not the case, and you’re here purely out of interest, welcome anyway. We’re happy to have you along for the ride.)

With fewer opportunities to spend your hard-earned money on travel or hospitality, you may have found that your savings have grown over the past year. There’s no point in leaving it dormant, so what do you do with it? There are any number of options for first-time investors, perhaps the most obvious being real estate and the stock market. But what if you’re finding it difficult to source attractive property deals and you can’t stomach the volatility of the public markets?

Perhaps you have done a little research yourself and decided that you like the sound of private equity – that’s investing in companies not listed on the stock market. You’ve heard it described as the best-kept secret of professional investors. But it seems like a bit of a walled garden, a place reserved for the financial elite.

You wouldn’t be far off. Private equity funds are the secretive members’ clubs of the finance world, serving extremely wealthy, ultra-high-net-worth individuals along with sovereign wealth funds, university endowments and institutional investors, and acquiring new clients through an invitation-only process. This is no longer the case, though.

Moonfare is on a mission to make the whole thing a little bit more approachable. It offers a curated selection of top-tier funds with minimums suited to individual investors, and even an industry-first digital secondary market providing liquidity to users who want to exit their investments early. Plus, well, it’s really rather nice to use. It is little surprise, then, that Moonfare has been welcoming a new wave of stylish, savvy investors – three of which you can hear from, below.

We asked them about their investment strategies, why they chose to invest in private equity, and how the last year has changed their perspectives on money.

Disclaimer: Moonfare does not make investment recommendations and no communication should be construed as a recommendation for any security offered on or off its investment platform. The views, information, and opinions expressed below are solely those of the individuals listed and do not necessarily represent those of Moonfare GmbH or its affiliates.

…works for a startup as their head of projects. He invests in the tech and healthcare sectors. When he isn’t working he likes to read, meet friends, meditate, and watch Netflix. (Not all at the same time, of course.)

The last year has been tough given the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. But overall, I feel blessed that I and my family are healthy and vaccinated. The pandemic brought me closer to my family and made me rethink and prioritise both physical health and mental health. Business wise, it made me focus more on diversifying investments and getting into different asset classes.

It’s a long process, which takes away the burden of daily decision making and active investment. There is a potential for higher return as the investment happens over many years. In that respect, it is extremely illiquid and therefore not very easy to predict your cash flow. The perception is that private equity is not accessible to everyone and they require big tickets. This is changing with new players such as Moonfare.

I use it to get access to different funds without having to commit the big ticket that is usually required by these funds. There are very diverse options in terms of geography, size, and many other variables.

You should fully understand the risks and how private equity works. Have a conviction on what funds you like and why. Once you join Moonfare, wait for the funds that you like or have themes that you strongly believe in. It is very important to know how much you are willing to commit per year.

…is the CEO of SimplyCook – a company he founded in 2013 and recently sold – which sells spices and recipes. It employs 60 people.

Relatively smaller private companies tend to have greater opportunities for percentage profit growth, which means greater opportunities for higher equity return. Leverage is also glorious, particularly when rates are low. And top private equity funds consistently outperform the market. So I’d describe it as a no-brainer if you’re comfortable with the illiquidity. I think there’s an assumption that you need to be investing tens of millions to access top funds, but with Moonfare that’s now not the case.

You can discover and access world-leading private equity funds, see core data on performance and their investment thesis. I think inflation, rate hikes and market conditions mean public markets could do pretty averagely over the next five to 10 years – as has been the case when inflation reared its head in the past. I want to achieve a higher return for at least the next 10 years to set my family up well for life.

My strategy is to maximise my exposure to private markets and to only invest in things I understand – so I avoid things such as med-tech and clean energy tech. I think tech certainly has a lot more to offer for the next 10 years.

…has been an investment professional for two years and works for a US Large-Cap Private Equity firm. He studied finance at The London School of Economics and recently started exploring the countryside of the UK around London. He invests in healthcare, software and classic buyout funds operating in traditional industries.

Yes, in many ways it showed us that most plans and future aspirations never go as planned. On one side it made me focus on living and enjoying the present, and on the other side it made me appreciate personal interactions on a whole different level. I think that we will come out of it stronger and more robust.

Private equity is not set out to be for everyday investors. Moonfare made the process way easier and more retail friendly so that smaller investors can get exposure to this attractive asset class. Moonfare usually updates potential investors on the new offering, while also systematically categorising the specific fund and highlighting attractions and weaknesses. It does a lot to facilitate the investment decision.

A key element around private equity investments is that you have to be in for the long-run. I am speaking about 10 to 15 years in order to create a diverse portfolio of top-tier funds. Compared to public markets, the cycles are rather slow. Managers tend to raise every three to four years and in turn invest the fund over a period of three to five years. Given that there might be stronger and weaker vintages and sectors over a certain period of time, it really makes sense to keep a diverse portfolio.