Skip to content

Guide · September 2026

Understanding private markets.

Private equity, private debt, infrastructure and closed-end funds, properly explained: what they promise, what they ask in return and how the Italian tax system treats them. An independent guide for investors.

The private markets — capital invested outside the stock exchange: unlisted companies, direct loans, infrastructure — now manage some fifteen trillion dollars, and for several years they have been knocking on savers’ doors: ELTIFs with no entry thresholds, semi-liquid funds, networks that promote. “Democratisation” is the kindly word of this commercial season.

This guide was written to cross that season with eyes open: to understand the closed-end fund and its commitments, the J-curve and the measures that do not exist on the exchange, the four families and their trades, the costs of two-and-twenty with all the layers on top — and the tax chapter, home to an exemption that can change the arithmetic for those who know how to wait.

It is an independent guide, written by someone who manages no products, places none and collects commission from none: it names mechanisms, not brands — and when the listed alternative beats the package, it says so. It provides the foundations — the ones every investor should have before committing a decade.

Inside

What investing outside the stock exchange means: the closed-end fund and its commitments, the J-curve, the measures that do not exist on the exchange — and value computed without a market to confirm it.

The four trades of private capital: private equity and its levers, venture and its power law, the debt that took the banks' place, real assets and their flows.

The doors of access and their adverse selection, the tower of costs, the programme's rules of engagement — and the tax chapter, with the exemption that rewards patience. The glossary closes.

Download the guide

PDF · 53 pages · 13 chapters

Contents

Part One · The foundations

  • 01 The world of private markets 6
  • 02 The vehicle: the closed-end fund 10
  • 03 The J-curve and the measures of return 14
  • 04 Value without a market 18

Part Two · The families

  • 05 Private equity 22
  • 06 Venture capital 25
  • 07 Private debt 28
  • 08 Real assets: infrastructure and real estate 31

Part Three · Informed use

  • 09 Access for the private investor 35
  • 10 What it really costs 38
  • 11 Risks and the rules of engagement 41
  • 12 The taxation of private markets for the Italian investor 44
  • 13 Essential glossary 48
  • Disclaimers 52

The other guides are on the Resources page. This one also exists as the Italian edition.

Let’s talk about
your wealth.

A guide explains the rules. A conversation tells you which ones apply to you.

Request a meeting