VanEck
June 06, 2025
Identifying trends that create impactful investment opportunities since 1955

GPZ Delivers Unmatched Access to Alternative Asset Managers>

Alternative investing isn't new. For years, institutional and sophisticated investors have allocated capital to private markets, seeking attractive return potential and relatively muted volatility, thanks to the long-term nature of these investments.

As traditional lenders such as banks reduce their exposure to private and middle-market lending, alternative asset managers have stepped in. Private credit has delivered compelling yields and experienced strong growth, making it a standout segment in the private investment landscape. But this growth isn’t isolated to private credit. Equity, real estate, and infrastructure have all experienced growth in the private markets.

Barriers to Participating in Private Market Growth

Newer structures like business development companies (BDCs), listed closed-end funds, interval funds, and tender offer funds have made private assets more accessible. However, these vehicles often come with trade-offs in the form of higher volatility or less liquidity compared to traditional mutual funds and ETFs.

Investors seeking to capitalize on the growth of the alternative asset management industry itself, rather than just its underlying investments, have had limited options. While it’s possible to buy stock in individual firms, there hasn't been a diversified, pure-play ETF that focuses solely on leading alternative asset managers—until now.

Why Alternative Asset Managers Now? Structural Shifts Made This Possible

Historically, many top alternative asset managers were structured as partnerships, which posed tax challenges for ETFs. But over the past several years, many of these firms have converted to corporations, removing key barriers to ETF inclusion.

Additionally, existing ETFs in this space launched years ago were often focused narrowly on private equity and included investment vehicles (like BDCs) managed by these firms. These approaches don’t reflect the breadth of today’s private market asset managers or include many of the newer, fast-growing managers.

GPZ: A Targeted Approach to an Evolving Market

The VanEck Alternative Asset Manager ETF (GPZ) , listed on June 5, 2025, addresses these gaps. GPZ seeks to track the MarketVector Alternative Asset Managers Index, providing exposure to asset managers primarily engaged in private equity (including venture capital and buyout), private credit, private real estate, and private infrastructure.

Unlike legacy indices, GPZ’s index does not include the investment vehicles managed by these firms. That means no BDCs or closed-end funds, just exposure to the asset managers themselves. While this may come with higher short-term volatility than the managers’ underlying investment vehicles, it offers a purer way to invest in the industry's structural growth.

Source: Morningstar classifications; VanEck research. Figures are as of May 31, 2025. For illustrative purposes only. Indices are unmanaged and are not securities in which investments can be made.

Top Ten Holdings: MarketVector Alternative Asset Managers Index / As of May 31, 2025

Company Ticker Weight (%)
Brookfield Corp BN 12.59
Blackstone Inc BX 11.16
KKR & Co Inc KKR 10.27
Brookfield Asset Management Ltd BAM 9.03
Apollo Global Management Inc APO 6.98
Ares Management Corp ARES 4.87
Hamilton Lane Inc HLNE 4.83
Intermediate Capital Group PLC IGC 4.43
EQT AB EQT 4.26
Blue Owl Capital Inc. OWL 4.23

This is not an offer to buy or sell, or recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities mentioned herein. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Ready to Access the Next Generation of Private Market Exposure?

GPZ offers a unique, diversified way to gain exposure to the firms fueling the growth of private markets across the full spectrum from private equity and credit to infrastructure and real estate.

Learn how GPZ can help you invest in this structural growth story.

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