ASX trust opens door to untapped AI opportunities

Australian investors will get early access to leading private AI companies through a new ASX-listed trust from Pengana Capital.

Australian investors will have the opportunity to invest in some of the world’s leading private artificial intelligence companies before they go public via a new listed trust on the ASX.

Pengana Capital Group has agreed to launch an IPO for an innovative self-liquidating ASX listed trust structure which will invest in AI companies across the entire AI-ecosystem, managed by US-based global private equity specialist, GCM Grosvenor.

The trust – whose IPO will be made available to wholesale and advised investors only before it lists on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) – will target investments in companies that are developing, enabling or contributing to the adoption of AI.

“AI is the fastest moving disruption the world has seen. Entire economies will be changed forever, and investors need ways to access this emerging phenomenon”, Pengana Capital Group CEO Russel Pillemer said.

Pengana’s private equity trust (PE1), which is also managed by Grosvenor, invests in some of the world’s biggest AI companies including SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Groq as part of a diversified strategy.

CEO Russel Pillemer said the AI theme demands its own dedicated vehicle.

“These AI companies are set to become some of the world’s largest, most influential companies, but they are staying in private hands for longer, which means most investors have no way to invest in them, leaving investors structurally underexposed to one of the fastest growing sectors in history,” Pillemer said.

“Over the last few years, vast amounts of wealth has been created for those investors who have been able to invest in many of these private (unlisted) AI companies. Unfortunately, most Australian investors have generally not had this opportunity due to the inaccessibility of these exposures.”

Pillemer described the new vehicle, AIX, as a “game changer” and said, once listed, it will allow all Australian investors to invest in what has previously been unavailable.

According to Morningstar, the rise of private market “unicorns” has been one of the most significant developments in capital markets in recent years.

Research reveals private companies are taking longer to go public, with the median age increasing from 6.9 years in 2014 to 11 years today. Morningstar says record funding, regulatory changes, and non-traditional investors are driving this trend.

“Research shows that the most explosive growth is happening in the years before these privately held companies list,” Pillemer said.

“There is a great opportunity to invest in these specialist AI companies while they are still private, where investors can capture more of this growth before they list on the public markets.”

SpaceX is an example of explosive private equity growth in recent years, growing from a US$50 billion valuation in 2020 to the world’s largest private company, with expectations of a valuation over US$1.5 trillion for its impending IPO. SpaceX has been held by Pengana’s PE1 vehicle since 2020.

Speaking to the underexposure Australians have to the AI sector, Pillemer notes “This underexposure creates both a missed opportunity and a material portfolio risk, as AI disruption impacts existing holdings across all sectors.”

An announcement made to the ASX confirmed Pengana intended to “apply GCM Grosvenor’s existing investment platform, manager relationships and deal sourcing capabilities to a more targeted mandate focused specifically on private, non-publicly traded AI and AI-related opportunities, with a structure tailored to that strategy”.

Pengana Capital said more details on the IPO will be available in coming weeks, with an offer expected to take place in the near future.