Opening up the purchase of company shares to everyone is the ambition of the new BPIfrance fund. The public bank for entrepreneurs now allows individuals to invest in more than 1,200 unlisted companies, starting from 500 euros.
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– What is the entry ticket for a private equity investment?
The democratization of “private equity” (or “capital investment”) is definitely the watchword of the new school year. This asset class, which consists of investing in companies (SMEs, ETIs, startups) not listed on the stock exchange, will in fact become mandatory in the portfolio of certain life insurance and retirement savings plan (PER) holders from October 24, in application of the green industry law. Long reserved for professional investors, this investment is therefore increasingly opening up to individuals, including less fortunate savers, with the launch of the new BPIfrance Entreprises 3 fund, this Thursday, September 19.
This is indeed the big new feature of this fourth product opened by the Public Investment Bank (BPI) for entrepreneurs: its accessibility from 500 euros, “that is ten times less than our first fund launched in 2020, BPIfrance Entreprises 1, which had an entry ticket of 5,000 euros”recalled Nicolas Dufourcq, CEO of BPI, during a press conference organized for the launch of this product. While it is more accessible, its operation has not changed compared to previous vintages: BPIfrance Entreprises 3 is a fund of funds, i.e. a risky mutual fund (FCPR) – approved by the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) – and which itself invests in other private equity funds.
A target yield of between 8% and 10%
Thus, an individual who invests in BPIfrance Entreprises 3, actually places his savings in 76 private equity funds, which themselves enter the capital of 1,200 French companies (at 64%) or European companies (19%). The idea being after a few years – here seven years minimum – to resell the stakes taken in the capital of these companies, and to pay back the expected capital gain to the investors. A bet that is of course not without risk: it is possible to lose the entire amount invested. A danger however minimized since you are not investing in a single company, but in several dozen.
Private equity: investing in unlisted assets without being rich is possible
In addition to the risk of capital loss, the saver must also agree to immobilize the money invested for the life of the fund, i.e. at least seven years, extendable three times by an additional year, i.e. until September 19, 2034 at the most (except in exceptional cases: death of the unit holder, disability, dismissal, etc.) In return, the BPIfrance Entreprises 3 fund aims for a rather attractive target return: between 8 and 10% (therefore not guaranteed) and which is valid for both “direct” investment (via the BPI website, in 15 minutes) or within a savings product such as life insurance, PER or PEA-PME.
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