The bright line that once delineated public and private markets funds has blurred dramatically, as a flood of complex fund structures and products that blend elements of both markets’ funds drive new revenue and expansion, while creating new layers of operational complexity for asset managers and outsourcing partners.

Semi-liquid funds for private credit, private equity, real estate, and other asset classes are meeting investor needs by providing greater liquidity and flexibility. As of June 2025, there were 726 evergreen funds in the alternatives marketplace, Preqin reported, with dramatic growth in the last 15 years as the number of funds increased on average at 18% year-on-year, doubling every five years.¹

To effectively manage these structures and the increased volume, Operations teams for asset managers and outsourcing partners are refining—and in some cases overhauling—their models to manage functions that include multiple legal entities, complex data flow, varied contractual time frames, disbursements, and reinvestments. 

By developing innovative technology with artificial intelligence, improving automation, and hiring skilled talent, Operations teams are restructuring models with tailored solutions to add new value for asset managers, enhance the investor experience, and reduce risk.

New needs, new models 

Traditionally, supporting funds in public and private markets has been straightforward. Transactions in public markets with open-ended funds are handled primarily by automated straight-through processing systems and assets are generally custodied. Private markets with tailored, closed-ended funds feature longer-term investments and limited liquidity, and often have complex accounting treatments and fewer automated tools.

Lured by stronger returns in private markets, retail investors with fresh capital are seizing private markets opportunities but also are demanding greater liquidity and flexibility that semi-liquid funds provide. Even institutional investors are increasingly looking to alternatives markets for opportunities. In 2024, institutional investors allocated almost 20% of assets under management to alternatives, up from nearly 16% in 2020, with the greatest jump in private equity, Preqin noted.²

The challenge for Operations teams is determining how to reengineer models to develop more unified client service structures that centralise and automate transactional tasks, while managing the nuances of semi-liquid funds.

While there are many options, our Operations team reorganised into three, client-centric delivery teams: The first team leads operational client relationships, ensuring that service level agreements (SLAs) are in place, tracking client key performance indicators (KPIs), and assisting with client solutions. The second group is responsible for more complex aspects of client engagements, fee calculations, income allocations, reporting and NAV review, and delivery. The third group oversees all day-to-day data, and transactional production work and services. All activities of the three teams are visible in real-time to relationship managers and executive sponsors via a transparency layer. 

This new model is a reset of historic asset servicing that is heavily influenced by public markets products with frequent dealing schedules that resulted in over-functionalisation and many silos in front-to-back process (e.g., transfer agency vs. middle office vs. fund accounting, etc.). Through technology and automation, our firm consolidated these silos into a basket of services, which allows other teams to offer additional services and expertise to clients, in line with regulatory permissions. This dynamic is needed for private markets given the bespoke nature of the products they manage.     

Mastering data and workflows

To address the complexity of new funds and unstructured data in private markets, asset managers and outsourcing partners are creating new models that provide strong data management, integrate with downstream systems, support internal and external workflows, and consolidate external vendor data. In some cases, public markets tools are being revamped to use with semi-liquid funds, and tailored solutions are developed for waterfall calculations, client invoicing, collaboration tools, data management, and other requirements.

Improving master data and building workflows across processes are critical tools to support enhanced operating models. These workflows improve productivity and provide transparency to teams and clients about the status for completing deliverables. By validating data from various platforms, remediating exceptions, and aggregating information into a self-service portal, clients may access real-time balances, positions, and reporting data. 

Streamlining data into one tool speeds trade execution, payments, and other workflows, and provides strong client and investor experiences. 

Communication between service providers and asset managers is typically greater in private markets. To address that point with semi-liquid funds, firms are embracing artificial intelligence to enhance service management by classifying e-mails and extracting data, and then moving actions automatically into workflows to improve status tracking, response, and processing times. 

In one example, an e-mail case management system uses GenAI to automatically categorise e-mails received from clients and investors according to transaction type and client, enabling teams to process those transactions in an efficient and structured manner. Then, GenAI applications extract data from unstructured documents, which are attached to those e-mails in a systematic way, and initiate workflow tasks to send processes to the appropriate execution team. In addition, the system ensures that all e-mails are managed within appropriate response times and provides valuable oversight and insights that contribute to overall service management KPIs. 

To improve efficiency and reduce risk, Operations teams are shifting from lengthy enterprise-wide, problem-solving initiatives to agile “hyper-automation” teams that develop bespoke, expedited solutions to resolve specific issues for clients and internal teams. These teams match business expertise and technology skills to map solutions, then design and build tailored solutions and Minimal Viable Products using low code/no code tools to automate processes or provide an output needed by a client. These teams help to develop digital skills and enable teams to build solutions themselves,  and create the “flywheel effect” of solution management and digital upskilling across the organisation. 
 
For example, tools developed by one hyper-automation team for client requests include cash flow forecasting, a payments tracker, fund of fund back testing consolidation, front-to-back client SLA trackers, and trade files automation. These tools are projected to save more than 30,000 hours in labour by the end of 2025. The solutions generated by hyper-automation teams help to reduce risk by applying preventive measures to incident-prone processes, and can be developed beyond single client use cases and be deployed at an enterprise-wide level.

Balancing technology and talent

Implementing systems and processes is only one aspect of new Operating models. Finding high-potential, tactical employees with specific skills and vision to see where the alternatives market is heading is critically important as well. 

Creating the most efficient processes is a priority, as asset managers continue to deal with increased pressure on margins—Preqin noted that as of September 2024, average hedge fund management fees were 1.38%, below the traditional 2%.³ Given the volume of new funds and labour-intensive nature of private markets, asset managers and outsourcing partners are spending a great deal of time identifying candidates to add depth and experience in product development, operations solutions, and operations. 

While automation will help manage elements of new funds, the specialised nature of many funds will require more staff. 

Profitable global firms with deep balance sheets and broad product offerings beyond traditional asset servicing often have a competitive advantage in hiring experienced employees, regardless of location. For example, our firm’s “follow the sun” model ensures client collaboration from Toronto and Halifax to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Cyprus, and Dublin. In addition, our Private Markets 

Academy provides intense private markets training for employees with public markets backgrounds, as well as recent university graduates, and is a significant vehicle for developing talent and advancing new solutions. The Digital Academy marries the skills of the business with technology.

Nimble firms will chart the future

As open-ended funds of the public markets morph with closed-ended funds in private markets, asset managers and outsourcing partners must move quickly to develop the foundational infrastructure and solutions to move forward.

The structure of semi-liquid funds requires Operations teams to remain agile as they bring in new talent with fresh ideas, simplify the re-engineering processes and adapt the use of AI. Firms continue to work toward the goal of full automation, as asset managers and outsourcing partners forge even stronger collaborative relationships to develop and launch new industry standards. 

The most successful Operations teams will be the nimblest, with the resources and teams to overcome the new complexities and lead into the future.
 

1.  Preqin: Evergreen funds: liquidity for a growing private capital investor pool, July 24, 2025: https://www.preqin.com/insights/research/blogs/evergreen-funds-liquidity-for-a-growing-private-capital-investor-pool

2. Preqin’s State of the Market: H1 2025, January 2025: https://pro.preqin.com/insights/research/reports/preqins-state-of-the-market-h1-2025

3. Preqin: How closed- and open-end fund managers are evolving to meet LP demands, September 25, 2025: https://preqin.com/insights/research/blogs/how-closed-and-open-end-fund-managers-are-evolving-to-meet-lp-demands

To improve efficiency and reduce risk, Operations teams are shifting from lengthy enterprise-wide, problem-solving initiatives to agile “hyper-automation” teams that develop bespoke, expedited solutions to resolve specific issues for clients and internal teams.