THE Retirement savings plan continues its rise in power. 12.7 million holders for 141 billion euros in outstandings at the end of February 2026, according to figures published by France Assureurs and the Directorate General of the Treasury. The most active target is now that of young people assetsof which more than half of those under 35 are considering a subscription, according to the Bpifrance/France Invest barometer. Except that under the hood, the product has changed in nature. Since October 24, 2024, PER open in managed management must allocate a minimum share to unlisted assets.
The rule is progressive and affects the more the longer the retirement horizon is. A dynamic profile more than twenty years from liquidation now includes 12% of unlisted assets in its target allocationi.e. the highest part of the system. Ariane Doutey, sales and marketing director ofEntrepreneur Invest and member of the executive committee of the independent management company specializing in unlisted assets since 2000, observes the rise in power.
The mechanism and its bearings, profile by profile
The device only concerns there managed management on the horizonwhich has become the default management mode for PER since the 2019 Pacte law. Concretely, the manager adjusts the allocation between risky assets and secure assets as the saver gets closer to the liquidation of retirement rights. The Green Industry law adds to this mechanism a floor obligation in unlisted assets, applicable to new contracts and new memberships after October 24, 2024. Previous contracts are not modified retroactivelyand free management remains out of the field.
THE thresholds are defined by decree and vary according to the profile. The prudent profile includes 6% unlisted more than 20 years from maturity, reduced to 2% between 10 and 5 years before maturity. liquidation. The balanced profile starts at 8% and decreases to 3% five years after retirement. The dynamic profile peaks at 12% of unlisted assets more than 20 years from maturity, with a progression thereafter towards more secure supports. THE collective PER and mandatory will enter the system from June 30, 2026, i.e. a little more than 18 months after the individual PER.
This logic explains why it is young workers who see the largest pocket of unlisted assets growing. The longer the horizon, the higher the quota, in the name of the illiquidity premium supposed to better remunerate long-term savings. The target is all the more strategic for the public authorities as those under 40 show 81% of opinions in favor of unlisted and 23% of them have already investedaccording to the Bpifrance/France Invest barometer published in 2025. Nearly half of this age group even declares themselves ready to subscribe to a product in this asset class.
What this actually changes for the saver
Behind the unlisted label hides almost the entire French economic fabric. “You will find there both very large family businesses like the Mulliez group and the small start-up which has not yet proven anything”illustrates Ariane Doutey. Four large families make up the universe in practice, the private equity, private debt, infrastructure and unlisted real estate. The Green Industry law specifically targets green and industrial assets, with a focus on SMEs and companies participating in the decarbonization.
The economic bet is based on the illiquidity premium. “In return for this illiquidity, we normally have the illiquidity premium, which is the natural arbitrage of the market and which explains why the unlisted market is systematically more profitable on average.explains Ariane Doutey. The investor commits his capital over several years without being able to arbitrage, and the market compensates in theory with higher remuneration. The annual France Invest / EY study measures an annualized net IRR of 12.4% over 10 years at the end of 2024 for the private equity French, but with a strong dispersion between the best funds and the worst. Consistency with a retirement horizon lasting several decades therefore pleads in favor of the system, provided that the compensation is accepted.
There remains a little-known technical point of vigilance. Some offers house unlisted assets in vehicles that are themselves liquid, typically units of account. “There may be a misunderstanding between the liquidity of the fund and the liquidity of the contract”alerts Ariane Doutey. For a young worker starting a PER, three simple reflexes allow you to keep control, check the management method chosen, request the detailed list of unlisted funds (FCPR, FPCI, ELTIF, evergreen) and anticipate that the net asset value of these lines will only be published quarterly or half-yearly, and not daily.
The allocation thresholds cited are set by decree and can be modified by regulation. Past performance of private equity is no guarantee of future performance. Unlisted assets present greater risks of capital loss and illiquidity than listed assets. For any specific asset situation, the use of a wealth management advisor is recommended.
