As financial advisors become more comfortable with private-market allocations, much of the attention has focused on interval funds, tender offer funds, non-traded business development companies and non-traded REITs, but another corner of the evergreen fund market is gaining traction. These specialty structure vehicles, including 3(c)(7) funds and operating companies, raise money from both the institutional and private wealth channels, offering the potential for higher returns and better protection for stakeholders than evergreen funds aimed exclusively at individual investors. However, they come with high barriers to entry and fewer liquidity mechanisms.
In the second quarter of 2026, there were 26 funds in the specialty structure category in the market, according to XA Investments, a Chicago-based consulting firm that tracks interval and tender-offer funds. The figure represented 13% growth over just one quarter. Some newly registered funds in 2026 included HarbourVest Private Equity Secondaries Fund LP, structured as a 3(c)(7) vehicle, HPS Real Assets Lending Company LP, structured as an operating company and focusing on credit, and Fidelity Core Real Estate Fund, another operating company focusing on real estate.
A recent survey by Cerulli Associates found that 41% of asset managers currently offer 3(c)(7) funds (compared to 79% who offer interval funds). Another 11% are actively developing such vehicles, and 15% plan to do so in the future. [[scm-embed type="infogram" id="0417761e-d6d7-46ab-b0ba-af3ed12a3899" data-title="Retail 3c7"]] Blackstone set the trend in motion when it launched Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Fund LP (BXPE). It filed the fund with the SEC in 2022 and took it live in early 2024.
Other asset managers soon followed suit. BXPE promises investors exposure to over 15 of Blackstone's private equity strategies through a single fund. As of June, the firm reported the fund's net asset value at $17.6 billion.
During its second-quarter earnings, Blackstone reported BXPE raised the most of all its private wealth funds, amassing $2.4 billion in the quarter. In June alone, it raised $1.2 billion, the best month of sales since the fund's launch. "BXPE has achieved a remarkable 20% net annualized return since inception for its largest share class, including approximately 8% net in the second quarter, powered by its outstanding portfolio positioning," Blackstone President and COO Jonathan Gray said during the earnings call.
Looking forward, Kimberly Flynn, president of XA Investments, which closely tracks the space, expects growth of specialty structure vehicles in the U.S. to exceed the 20% to 25% compounded annual growth rate of interval funds and tender offer funds. Part of the reason is the preference for these funds among the wealthiest private clients, who view them as offering exclusivity in a way 40 Act funds don't, Flynn noted. "It's the cream of the crop alternative managers who are launching products of this nature," she said.
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