FORTUNE — Last week we discussed a Wall Street Journal report that Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) was working with Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ) to launch a private exchange for trading interests in funds managed by KKR and other private equity firms. At the time, we suggested that WSJ may have overstated things a bit, both in terms of KKR’s involvement (it isn’t the primary driver) and Nasdaq’s readiness (the system isn’t expected to be online until closer to year-end, at the earliest).
Today we got a bunch more information, as that third-party made itself known via a regulatory filing. It’s Altegris Investments, a portfolio company of two other private equity firms, which filed paperwork with the SEC for what it’s calling the Altegris KKR Private Equity Master Fund.
To be clear, this is not a way for ordinary investors to gain access to private equity. This is for accredited investors (i.e., rich retail) only, with minimum investments of $10,000 and monthly management fees of 0.1%. There also is no regular trading via Nasdaq or any other electronic exchange for the first two years of the fund’s life, although Altegris does say it plans to satisfy tenders by securing a line of credit.
This filing also leaves several questions unanswered. For example, what happens if a liquid electronic exchange doesn’t emerge over the next two years? Are investors then stuck with periodic tender periods? And how exactly is the fund getting access to KKR vehicles? Altegris says those investments will be sourced and secured by sub-advisor Stepstone Group, but it doesn’t lay out the mechanics. Will Stepstone just give a slice of KKR holdings from its existing clients, or is KKR providing some sort of carve-out? Will investors have access to existing KKR funds, or only ones that get raised after Altegris gets its vehicle off the ground? There also is no explanation of how interim valuation reporting will work.
Finally, Altegris says that up to 70% of the fund’s money will go into KKR-sponsored private equity investments, but provides virtually no information on the other 30% (although another 10% may be in KKR-sponsored investments outside of private equity). Seems like something it will need to address in subsequent filings.
From what I can tell, this really is a trial balloon. In part to gauge individual investor interest, and in part to test out a new structure. Something to pay attention to, but not to get terribly worked up over.
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