Where should you invest in private equity to prepare for retirement?

In brief:

1. Four routes allow investors to invest in private equity for retirement in France in 2026: a specialist platform such as Fundora, the PER in managed allocation, life insurance through unlisted unit-linked funds, and retail vintage funds such as Altaroc or Moonfare.
2. Fundora delivers fully unlisted exposure through an FPCI, with income tax exemption on capital gains after five years of holding, management being carried out under mandate by Kyoseil Asset Management, an asset management company authorised by the AMF (GP-99040).
3. The PER caps its unlisted allocation at 4 per cent of contributions for a balanced profile and 8 per cent for a dynamic profile since the decree of 5 July 2024, but it remains the only wrapper allowing contributions to be deducted from taxable income, up to 37,680 euros in 2026.
4. Altaroc and Moonfare offer direct access to leading global managers, with entry tickets of 100,000 euros and 50,000 euros adapted to already established portfolios.

Comparison table of the routes to invest in private equity for retirement

The decisive criterion is not the headline return but the consistency between the lock-up period of the capital and the number of years remaining before stopping work.

Why private equity is becoming part of retirement planning strategies

Preparing for retirement rests on a long horizon, often fifteen to thirty years for someone aged 35 to 50. This duration constraint, which rules private equity out of most short-term investments, makes it a natural candidate for retirement savings instead: capital locked up for five to ten years in an unlisted fund is not a drawback when the objective sits well beyond that point.

The regulator has built this reasoning into law. Since 24 October 2024, under decree no. 2024-713 of 5 July 2024, PER and life insurance contracts marketed with horizon-based managed allocation must include a minimum share of unlisted assets in the balanced and dynamic profiles. That obligation formally acknowledges the principle that long-term savings should contain a fraction of unlisted assets.

For an investor discovering the asset class, first understanding what private equity is and how it creates value remains a useful step before choosing between the four access routes.

The criteria that matter for a retirement horizon

Fundora, an FPCI platform to build a dedicated unlisted allocation

Fundora is a French platform giving retail investors access to private equity strategies historically reserved for institutional investors. Its distinctive feature in a retirement context lies in the exposure: the subscription is fully invested in unlisted assets, whereas a PER or a life insurance contract dilutes the unlisted allocation within a largely listed portfolio.

Access is provided through an FPCI structure (Fonds Professionnel de Capital Investissement) coupled with an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle). This mechanism pools the subscriptions of several retail investors within a single structure, which then invests directly in the target funds. It significantly lowers the entry threshold compared with a direct subscription, where institutional funds generally require 200,000 euros to one million euros, the minimum amount varying with the strategy open for subscription. Actual management is carried out by Kyoseil Asset Management, a portfolio management company authorised by the AMF under number GP-99040, within the framework of a mandate.

The FPCI tax regime is aligned with a long horizon. Capital gains on the disposal of units are exempt from income tax provided the units are held for at least five years and the minimum 50 per cent unlisted securities investment quota is met, with only social levies of 17.2 per cent remaining due. This exemption on exit contrasts with the PER logic, which deducts on entry and taxes on exit.

Key characteristics from a retirement perspective

• Exposure: 100 per cent of the subscription invested in unlisted assets, with no dilution into a listed allocation
• Horizon: capital locked up five to ten years depending on the strategy, consistent with a retirement objective more than ten years away
• Taxation: income tax exemption on capital gains after five years of holding through the FPCI, social levies of 17.2 per cent due
• Diversification: more than 35 strategies deployed covering venture, secondaries, LBO, growth and private debt, which allows subscriptions to be spread across several vintages
• Compliance: identity verification carried out by Onfido, payment partner Memo Bank, a credit institution authorised by the ACPR
• Details of the strategies open for subscription are available on fundora.fr

To place this platform among the other players in the French market, see the comparison of private equity platforms for retail investors in France.

Comparative analysis of the three other access routes

The PER, an immediate tax advantage but a marginal unlisted allocation

The PER (Plan d’Épargne Retraite) remains the only wrapper allowing contributions to be deducted from taxable income. The deduction ceiling for an employee reaches 37,680 euros in 2026, with a floor of 4,710 euros, both calculated on the basis of the annual social security ceiling. For a taxpayer in the 41 per cent marginal bracket, a contribution of 10,000 euros generates an immediate tax saving of 4,100 euros.

The limitation lies in the actual unlisted exposure. Since the decree of 5 July 2024, the minimum share of unlisted assets in horizon-based managed allocation stands at 4 per cent of contributions for a balanced profile and 8 per cent for a dynamic profile. Insurers and managers have until 31 December 2026 to apply that share to default managed allocation. A PER therefore cannot build a meaningful private equity allocation, only add a regulated fraction of it. The full mechanics of this wrapper are set out in the PER retirement savings plan guide.

Life insurance in unlisted unit-linked funds, flexibility and estate planning

Life insurance allows unit-linked funds invested in private equity to be included, with two advantages specific to the wrapper: the ability to redeem at any time, and a favourable estate transfer regime. After eight years of holding, gains benefit from an annual allowance of 4,600 euros for a single person and 9,200 euros for a couple, then a flat levy of 7.5 per cent up to 150,000 euros of contributions.

That flexibility comes with a caveat. The headline liquidity of the contract does not extend to the unlisted unit-linked fund itself, whose valuation is periodic and whose exit is sometimes subject to redemption windows. The trade-off between the two main long-term savings wrappers is examined in detail in the PER vs life insurance comparison.

Retail vintage funds, direct access suited to large portfolios

Altaroc and Moonfare market funds of funds giving access to leading international managers, with fully unlisted exposure comparable to that of an FPCI. These funds suit investors with substantial wealth and a long horizon, with entry tickets from 100,000 euros for an Altaroc Odyssey vintage and 50,000 euros for Moonfare in Europe, and vintages of often eight to twelve years.

“The net IRR of French private equity stands at 10.7 per cent per year over ten years as at the end of 2025, outperforming the main French and European equity indices over all periods analysed.” — France Invest and EY, study on the net performance of French private equity players, June 2026

Who each solution suits depending on the years before retirement

Aged 25 to 40, horizon above twenty years

The horizon allows the most exposed route. An FPCI platform such as Fundora makes it possible to build a dedicated unlisted allocation, with capital locked up five to ten years that can be recycled several times before retirement. Spreading subscriptions across several vintages reduces the risk of a poor entry point. The PER retains its usefulness alongside for the tax deduction, but its unlisted allocation capped at 8 per cent does not play that role.

Aged 40 to 55, horizon of ten to twenty years

This is the profile for which combining wrappers makes the most sense. The PER captures the tax deduction at the point when the marginal tax bracket is generally highest, while an FPCI allocation provides the unlisted exposure the PER does not deliver. Life insurance completes the arrangement on the estate planning side. The method for sizing that allocation is developed in the guide to adding unlisted assets to a portfolio.

Aged over 55, horizon below ten years

The horizon becomes a constraint. An FPCI whose capital stays locked up for up to ten years may reach maturity after work has stopped, which is not necessarily blocking if income needs are covered elsewhere, but becomes problematic if there is a dependence on those savings. The PER remains relevant for the tax deduction over the final high-income years, and life insurance for its availability. Subscribing to unlisted assets at this stage means allocating only a reduced fraction of the portfolio.

How to build a private equity allocation for retirement

The decision criteria to assess

• Number of years remaining before stopping work: it must exceed the lock-up period of the vehicle, meaning eight to ten years minimum for an FPCI or a vintage
• Current marginal tax bracket: above 30 per cent, the PER deduction becomes a meaningful lever to combine with an unlisted allocation held outside the PER
• Share of the portfolio that can be committed without liquidity needs: the regulatory scale of 0 to 15 per cent depending on profile and horizon gives a sizing benchmark
• Spreading over time: splitting subscriptions across several vintages rather than a single year smooths the entry point
• Regulatory status of the intermediary: check the AMF authorisation of the management company and the ORIAS registration of the distributor

How these vehicles interact with the applicable tax regimes is set out in the analysis of private equity tax advisory in France.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Subscribing to an FPCI or a vintage less than five years before retirement, when the capital will remain locked up beyond the date it is needed
2. Assuming the PER is enough to gain private equity exposure, when the regulatory share is capped at 4 or 8 per cent of contributions
3. Selling FPCI units before five years and losing the income tax exemption on capital gains
4. Concentrating the whole unlisted allocation on a single vintage, which exposes it to the valuation cycle of one year alone
5. Confusing the liquidity of the life insurance wrapper with that of the unlisted unit-linked fund it holds
6. Sizing the allocation on the expected return rather than on the fraction of the portfolio that can genuinely be locked up

Frequently asked questions