Private Equity ETF List: Top Firms in 2026

Key Facts

• Approximately 10 private equity ETFs trade globally as of early 2026, split between roughly 6 US-listed funds and 4 UCITS-domiciled funds available to European investors.
• The iShares Listed Private Equity UCITS ETF (IPRV) dominates by fund size at approximately $1.48 billion USD in total assets, making it the category's AUM leader.
• Invesco's PSP holds $309 million and pays a 5.87% annual dividend yield, while ProShares PEX offers a 12.80% yield at the cost of a 2.99% expense ratio.
• Expense ratios across this private equity ETF list span from 0.40% per year (FlexShares) to 2.99% (ProShares PEX), a gap that compounds to tens of thousands of dollars over a decade.
• The S&P Listed Private Equity Index delivered a cumulative 5-year return of +85.69% through end-2025, though its 1-year return was -10.33%, reflecting meaningful short-term volatility.
• Two new entrants launched in late 2024 and early 2025: KraneShares BUYO (October 2024) and Tidal's LQPE (January 2025), expanding available strategies to include buyout-beta replication.
• Holdings in these funds are dominated by publicly listed PE managers such as Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle, and Partners Group, not direct stakes in their underlying portfolio companies.

Private Equity ETF Overview: What These Funds Actually Hold

Private equity ETFs do not invest directly in private companies. They hold shares of publicly traded firms whose core business is PE investing, including listed general partners (GPs) such as Blackstone and KKR, European holding companies like Partners Group and 3i Group, and business development companies (BDCs) that lend capital to small and mid-sized private businesses.

An investor buying a PE ETF gains exposure to the economics of fund management fees and carried interest (performance fees), plus the mark-to-market swings of those listed firms. Traditional private equity funds require minimum commitments of $250,000 or more, lock up capital for 7-10 years, and restrict access to accredited investors. PE ETFs eliminate all three barriers: a single share of Invesco PSP trades around $67, there are no lockup periods, and any brokerage account holder can buy intraday.

North America accounts for approximately 37-44% of holdings across the major funds, with the United Kingdom contributing around 21-23% and continental Europe another 21-36%. Asia rounds out the remainder. This geographic diversification reflects the global footprint of listed PE firms themselves. IPRV is domiciled in Ireland, Xtrackers structures its swap-based fund in Luxembourg, and US-listed products trade on NYSE Arca and BATS.

The category sits at the intersection of alternative investments and exchange-traded structures. Retail investors seeking the illiquidity premium historically associated with private equity get a liquid approximation; the tradeoff is that listed PE companies track public market sentiment more closely than the smoothed net asset values (NAVs) reported by traditional PE funds.

Private Equity ETFs: Fund Comparison

The table below covers all major private equity ETFs with confirmed data as of early 2026. Funds are sorted by AUM, largest first.

Among the four UCITS options, FlexShares delivers the lowest cost at 0.40% TER while iShares IPRV commands the largest asset base at $1.48 billion. For US investors, PSP at $309 million is the most liquid domestic option, though its 1.80% expense ratio is triple FlexShares' cost.

Top Picks by Investment Strategy

Largest AUM and Broadest Liquidity: iShares IPRV tracks the S&P Listed Private Equity Index across 87 holdings and holds $1.48 billion in total fund assets, giving it the tightest bid-ask spreads among UCITS options and a 10-year cumulative return of +203.46%.

Lowest-Cost UCITS Option: FlexShares Listed Private Equity UCITS ETF at 0.40% TER is the cheapest route to listed PE exposure for European investors. Its 3-year cumulative return of +77.66% leads all UCITS peers in that period.

Highest Income Yield: ProShares PEX distributed a 12.80% annual dividend yield as of early 2026. Income-focused investors should weigh this against PEX's 2.99% expense ratio and $12.63 million AUM, which create liquidity constraints.

Best for US Retail Investors: Invesco PSP combines $309 million in AUM, commission-free trading on major US platforms including Fidelity and Interactive Brokers, and a 5.87% dividend yield. Its Red Rocks Global Listed Private Equity Index covers 40-75 companies including BDCs and rebalances quarterly.

Private-Public Crossover Exposure: ERShares XOVR at $299.5 million is the only fund in this list that holds both public equities and private company stakes via special purpose vehicles, including exposure to SpaceX. Investors who want access to pre-IPO names alongside listed PE managers will find XOVR structurally distinct from all other options here.

Buyout-Beta Strategy: KraneShares BUYO, launched October 2024, tracks the Man Buyout Beta Index and targets the statistical return profile of leveraged buyout activity specifically, rather than the full spectrum of listed PE managers.

Most Established US Track Record: Invesco PSP launched in October 2006, making it the oldest US-listed PE ETF by inception date and the one with the longest publicly auditable return history.

Top Private Equity ETFs in Detail

iShares Listed Private Equity UCITS ETF (IPRV)

The category benchmark by every size metric, IPRV holds approximately $1.48 billion in total fund assets across both its distributing and accumulating share classes as of January 2026. The fund tracks the S&P Listed Private Equity Index through physical full replication, holding 87 companies weighted almost entirely (99.29%) within the financials sector. Top holdings include Blackstone ($1 trillion+ AUM), KKR (~$686 billion AUM), Partners Group (>$96 billion AUM), and Carlyle Group (~$426 billion AUM). IPRV earns 0.14% per year in securities lending income, with roughly 15.50% of AUM on loan at any time, partially offsetting its 0.75% TER. Calendar year returns show strong recovery after a -29.0% drawdown in 2022: the fund returned +38.9% in 2023 and +23.9% in 2024.

Invesco Global Listed Private Equity ETF (PSP)

PSP's Red Rocks Global Listed Private Equity Index mandate distinguishes it from IPRV in two key ways: it includes BDCs alongside listed PE firms, and its geographic allocation skews more evenly across regions (~37% US, ~21.5% UK, ~36% Europe). This broader mandate holds 66 companies across buyout firms, growth equity investors, and venture capital activities of listed managers. PSP uses sampling rather than full replication. The Investment Company Act of 1940 caps any US registered fund's ownership of a single BDC at 3%, which prevents holding every index constituent. At $309 million AUM, PSP provides substantially more liquidity than any other US-listed alternative in this space, with an average daily volume of 35,725 shares. Dividend investors should note its 5.87% annual yield distributed quarterly.

FlexShares Listed Private Equity UCITS ETF

The strongest case for cost-conscious European investors, FlexShares offers physical full replication at 0.40% TER, 35 basis points cheaper than IPRV for comparable exposure to listed PE companies. The fund is domiciled in Ireland (ISIN IE0008ZGI5C1) and accumulates income rather than distributing it, making it tax-efficient for investors who prefer automatic reinvestment. Its 3-year cumulative return of +77.66% is the highest among UCITS PE ETFs in the comparison period, though attribution partly reflects its accumulating structure versus the distributing IPRV. FlexShares is the clearest choice in this private equity ETF list for European investors optimizing after-fee returns over multi-year horizons.

Xtrackers LPX MM Private Equity Swap UCITS ETF

Xtrackers takes a fundamentally different structural approach: instead of physically owning shares of listed PE companies, it uses an unfunded swap (synthetic replication) to gain exposure to the LPX MM Private Equity Index. This introduces counterparty risk that physical funds avoid, but it also eliminates the transaction costs and tracking error associated with index rebalancing. The fund holds €357 million in AUM, is domiciled in Luxembourg (ISIN LU0322250712), and accumulates all income. Its 3-year return of +64.94% trails FlexShares' +77.66% in the same period, though the two track different underlying indices, making direct comparison imprecise. Investors selecting Xtrackers should understand that swap-based replication means the fund holds collateral assets, not the PE companies themselves.

ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF (XOVR)

At $299.5 million AUM, XOVR occupies a unique position: it is neither a pure listed PE fund nor a conventional equity fund, but a crossover vehicle that holds public companies alongside private company stakes via SPVs. The fund's best-known holding is SpaceX exposure, acquired before any potential IPO. This structure gives investors access to companies that have deliberately stayed private well into their growth phase, something unavailable in traditional PE ETFs. The tradeoff is complexity: XOVR's portfolio blends the liquidity of public equity with the opacity and valuation uncertainty of private holdings. It suits investors who want thematic exposure to high-growth private companies rather than broad PE manager diversification.

ProShares Global Listed Private Equity ETF (PEX)

PEX holds 31 companies tracking the LPX Direct Listed Private Equity Index, with a concentrated top-10 comprising 62.89% of assets. Major holdings include 3i Group (approximately 10% of the fund), Ares Management (approximately 10%), and Wendel. The fund's standout feature is its 12.80% annual dividend yield, nearly double PSP's distribution rate. Its critical drawback is the 2.99% expense ratio, the highest among all PE ETFs covered here. That 2.59 percentage point TER difference versus FlexShares costs an estimated $3,500-$5,000 on a $10,000 investment compounded over 10 years at average market returns. PEX's $12.63 million AUM raises fund closure risk. Investors should monitor whether assets fall below the $20 million threshold that typically signals long-term viability concerns.

KraneShares Man Buyout Beta Index ETF (BUYO)

BUYO targets the statistical return profile of leveraged buyout activity specifically, rather than broad listed PE manager exposure. Launched in October 2024, it tracks the Man Buyout Beta Index, a strategy designed to replicate the factor exposures (leverage, sector concentration, valuation multiples) that historically drive buyout returns. With $10.2 million AUM at launch, BUYO is firmly in early-stage territory. Investors interested in buyout beta as a distinct alternative allocation should watch the fund's asset growth trajectory through 2026.

Investment Trends Shaping Private Equity ETFs

The Democratization Drive

The fundamental trend driving this category is the effort by major PE firms to reach retail and high-net-worth investors who cannot meet traditional minimums. Apollo Global Management co-launched the PRIV ETF with State Street in late 2024 specifically to offer retail access to private credit, where 86% of Apollo's fee-earning assets now reside. Hamilton Lane, which oversees $901 billion in assets under management and supervision, has been a vocal advocate for ETF structures as a route to democratizing PE fund access. This shift from institutional-only distribution to mass retail reflects both a saturated limited partner base and the growth of defined-contribution retirement accounts as a capital pool.

BDC Integration and Credit Exposure

Business development companies have become central to how PE ETFs deliver yield. PSP and PEX both include BDCs alongside traditional PE holding companies, which explains PSP's 5.87% distribution yield versus the 2.97% yield from IPRV's equity-heavy index. BDCs provide mezzanine financing and direct lending to private companies, generating interest income rather than capital gains. Blue Owl Capital, a publicly listed PE-adjacent firm with 53% of fee-earning assets in private credit, exemplifies how the line between PE and private credit has blurred among listed PE ETF holdings.

New Index Approaches and Buyout Beta

The 2024-2025 period saw three meaningful new entrants to the PE ETF category: BUYO (Man Buyout Beta), LQPE (AlphaQuest Thematic), and PEVC from Pacer ETFs, which launched February 2025 tracking the FTSE PE/VC Index with a 50-90% private equity buyout and venture capital blend. These funds reflect growing investor demand for strategy-specific exposure rather than broad PE manager baskets. Whether buyout beta indices can reliably replicate illiquid PE returns through liquid public proxies remains an open empirical question, but the category's product development pace is accelerating.

Performance Volatility and Rate Sensitivity

The 2022 interest rate cycle exposed a significant volatility characteristic of listed PE ETFs. IPRV fell -29.0% in 2022, FlexShares fell -25.33%, and Xtrackers fell -30.03%, all substantially worse than the drawdowns typically reported by traditional PE fund NAVs. The recovery was equally sharp: IPRV returned +38.9% in 2023 and +23.9% in 2024. Listed PE firms carry leveraged balance sheets and their share prices reprice in real time, unlike the smoothed quarterly valuations of private funds. Investors who found the 2022 drawdowns uncomfortable should weigh whether liquid PE exposure matches their actual risk tolerance.

How to Evaluate Private Equity ETFs

Start with expense ratio and fund size together. The 2.99% TER on PEX is not just expensive in isolation: combined with its $12.63 million AUM, it signals a fund operating below the scale needed for long-term viability. The 0.40% FlexShares TER and $1.48 billion iShares IPRV represent the opposite end, where scale keeps costs low and secondary market liquidity is meaningful.

Match the underlying index to your intent. The Red Rocks Global Listed PE Index tracked by PSP includes BDCs, making it a hybrid PE-plus-credit exposure. The S&P Listed Private Equity Index tracked by IPRV focuses more purely on listed PE holding companies and GP managers. Investors who want income from BDC lending activity should weight PSP or PEX; those who want exposure to the carried interest economics of mega-fund managers should prioritize IPRV.

Consider domicile before buying. US investors face a practical barrier: UCITS funds domiciled in Ireland and Luxembourg (IPRV, FlexShares, Xtrackers) are generally unavailable for purchase on US brokerage platforms. European investors face the inverse constraint and typically cannot access PSP or PEX. For UK and EU investors, the UCITS options are objectively superior on cost, with FlexShares at 0.40% TER versus PSP's 1.80%.

Replication method has real consequences. Xtrackers' unfunded swap introduces counterparty risk absent from physically replicated funds. PSP's sampling approach means it does not hold every index constituent, which creates modest tracking error against the Red Rocks benchmark. Neither approach is inherently superior, but investors should understand what they own.

Which Fund Fits Your Needs?

European investors building a long-term alternatives allocation should start with FlexShares for cost efficiency, or iShares IPRV for the deepest liquidity and longest track record. The 35-basis-point TER difference between the two compounds to a meaningful performance gap over a 10-year holding period at comparable gross returns. Both funds domicile in Ireland, issue tax reporting under UCITS standards, and physically replicate their respective indices.

US-based investors have fewer options at acceptable cost. PSP at 1.80% TER is expensive relative to the UCITS universe but offers $309 million in AUM, commission-free trading on Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, and E*TRADE, and a 5.87% dividend yield that suits income-oriented portfolios. Income investors seeking higher yields and willing to accept small-fund risk can examine PEX's 12.80% distribution rate, but the 2.99% expense ratio demands close attention to after-fee net returns.

Investors specifically seeking exposure to the private-to-public transition of high-growth companies, rather than established GP managers, belong in XOVR rather than a conventional PE ETF. The $299.5 million fund's SpaceX position and SPV structure represent a genuinely different risk profile that should not be conflated with listed PE manager exposure. Those building a barbell allocation, part mega-fund PE manager exposure and part growth equity crossover, can combine IPRV or PSP with a smaller XOVR position.

Methodology

This private equity ETF list draws on fund data from ETF issuers and index providers current as of January 2026. ETF-level data including AUM, TER, inception dates, holdings counts, distribution yields, and replication methods come from fund fact sheets and exchange data for IPRV, PSP, PEX, BUYO, LQPE, LBO, XOVR, Xtrackers LPX MM, and FlexShares. Performance figures for the S&P Listed Private Equity Index reflect index-level returns as of December 31, 2025. Fund-level calendar year returns reflect net-of-fee performance in the fund's base currency. All AUM figures are point-in-time as of the dates specified and change with market movements and fund flows. Only funds with confirmed, publicly available data appear in the comparison table and fund profiles; no AUM or return data was inferred or estimated beyond what issuers have disclosed.