Adam Myers

The AI Private Opportunities Trust (ASX: AIX) has secured an initial 15% portfolio allocation to global AI powerhouse, ByteDance, at an implied company valuation of US$450 billion, a meaningful discount according to recent secondary transactions.

Reported ByteDance secondary transactions include General Atlantic at approximately US$550 billion and a proposed sale by a founding shareholder at an implied valuation of approximately US$600 billion.

The Trust has also established a 2.25% investment in AI company Handshake, taking the portfolio to approximately 17% invested, with further investments expected to be announced shortly. It has announced an initial NAV of $9.99.

AIX seeks to target private AI companies at attractive valuations and capture the significant uplift which can occur before they go public or are sold, said Adam Myers, Executive Director at Pengana Capital Group. “The ability to access high-quality private AI companies at favourable valuations is one of the key advantages of disciplined private market investing.

“We’re pleased to have secured ByteDance at what we believe is a highly attractive entry valuation.

“Our focus remains on building a unique portfolio of desirable global AI companies, not easily available to investors elsewhere”, Myers said.

AIX has made significant progress securing allocations in several other large, strategically important private AI companies, and the Trust expects to be more than 50% committed by the time it publishes its July newsletter in early August.

“These initial investments represent the first stage of AIX’s portfolio construction, with the investment team continuing to execute on a robust pipeline of private AI opportunities.

“The portfolio is being built out in line with the opportunity investors sought to access, and our focus remains on deploying capital with discipline and creating value over the life of the Trust”, Myers said.

AIX was established to provide Australian investors with access to a diversified portfolio of high-quality, privately held artificial intelligence companies that are generally unavailable through public markets, with a disciplined approach to portfolio construction and long-term value creation.

The Trust’s investments are managed by US-based GCM Grosvenor, a global alternative asset manager with more than US$91 billion in assets under management, which also manages investments for the Pengana Private Equity Trust (ASX: PE1).

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Russel Pillemer

Pengana Capital Group has announced the successful completion of the capital raising for its market-first AI Private Opportunities Trust, AIX, which raised $267 million from wholesale investors and clients of financial advisers. An ASX listing date is slated for 2 July.

Once listed, AIX will hold some of the world’s most influential private AI companies and provide Australian investors with one of the most accessible ways to gain exposure to these companies before they go public.

AIX already has agreements to gain exposure to ByteDance and Handshake, and is targeting additional early exposure to other leading AI companies including Anthropic and OpenAI.

Russel Pillemer, CEO of Pengana Capital Group, said there is potential for major uplift by targeting these AI companies while they are still private. “We have seen a big shift in recent years where a huge amount of the valuation uplift is occurring while tech companies are still private.

“SpaceX is the most stunning example of this trend, with a separate Pengana vehicle, ASX listed PE1 participating in the huge valuation upswing since the position was initially acquired in 2020.

“We expect this trend to continue with the leading AI companies, as they can attract capital and grow significantly while remaining private.”

Pillemer said most Australian investors are under-exposed to the AI theme. “We believe the AI boom is a major structural economic shift, yet there are few ways for investors to participate given most AI companies are staying in private hands.

“AIX helps solve this dilemma, providing Australian investors a way to buy in to these AI companies and participate in their growth before they list.”

AIX, which is a listed investment trust, will have an innovative self-liquidating structure targeting a seven-year lifespan. Following an initial two-year period during which realised gains will be distributed to investors and capital reinvested, both realised capital and gains will be returned to investors from the third year as underlying investments are realised through IPOs, secondary sales or acquisitions. If the Trust continues beyond seven years, management fees will reduce to zero, aligning management with the Trust’s expected life.

The Trust’s investments will be managed by US-based GCM Grosvenor, a global alternative asset manager with more than US$91 billion in assets under management, which also manages investments for the Pengana Private Equity Trust (ASX: PE1).

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Russel Pillemer

Pengana Capital Group has announced it is planning to raise up to $350 million for its market-first AI listed investment trust, to be called AIX, which will aim to invest in the world’s largest and most influential private AI companies.

Pengana announced that it has achieved its minimum subscription following a successful cornerstone offer, which was upsized to $150 million from an initial $100 million target, following strong demand.

The AIX PDS has been lodged today, and the offer will be open from 10 June to 19 June 2026, ahead of an expected listing in early July.

AIX will operate as an innovative self-liquidating ASX listed trust structure, with investments managed by US-based GCM Grosvenor, a global alternative asset manager with more than US$91 billion in assets under management. Grosvenor also manages investments for the Pengana Private Equity Trust (ASX: PE1), one of few ways Australian investors can access SpaceX pre-IPO.

The self-liquidating AIX will target a seven-year lifespan: following an initial two-year period where any gains will be released to investors, and capital reinvested, both capital and gains will be returned to investors from year 2, as underlying investments are realised through IPO, secondary sale or acquisition. If the Trust continues beyond a seven-year lifespan the management fee will reduce to zero, aligning management with the Trust’s expected life.

Russel Pillemer, CEO of Pengana Capital Group, said Pengana’s relationship with Grosvenor can open doors to some of the most sought after private AI companies globally. “We are delighted to be partnering with Grosvenor, who is the ideal manager to help us capture some of the vast wealth creation happening while these AI companies are still private.

“Many compelling AI and AI-related businesses remain private during their highest growth phases. By the time these companies reach public markets, a significant portion of their return potential may already have been captured by private investors. Investing in unlisted securities can provide earlier participation in that value creation.

“AIX will allow Australian investors to access these AI companies, seeking to deliver long-term capital growth by targeting investments in non-publicly traded companies that are developing, enabling, or contributing to the adoption of artificial intelligence and related technologies”, Pillemer said.

Some of the companies in AIX’s sights include Anthropic and OpenAI, which are both progressing with IPO plans. AIX also announced it has already contracted investments with ByteDance and Handshake.

Other target companies named by AIX include Shield AI, Waymo, Lambda, Crusoe, Databricks, and Perplexity.

The potential for explosive private market growth has been demonstrated by SpaceX, which has grown from a US$50 billion valuation in 2020 to the world’s largest private company, with expectations of a valuation around US$1.75 trillion for its impending IPO. SpaceX has been held by Pengana’s PE1 vehicle since 2020.

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Russel Pillemer

The $322 million Listed Investment Company, Pengana International Equities Limited (ASX: PIA), confirmed it has snared one of the highest performing global equities managers in the Australian market, Antipodes, to manage its global investment portfolio.

In an announcement to the ASX, PIA said it would appoint Antipodes Partners Limited (Antipodes) as “…sub‑investment manager of the Company’s global equities portfolio, under the existing investment management framework.

“The appointment would also involve a transition of the Company’s investment strategy to Antipodes’ differentiated global SMID (Small to Medium Cap) equities strategy, which the Board believes is well suited to the Company’s next phase.”

Performance has been particularly strong for the Antipodes Global SMID strategy, having delivered 32.6% per annum after fees for the year to 30 April 2026, and 27.1% per annum net of fees since inception in November 2022 to 30 April 2026.

Russel Pillemer, CEO at Pengana Capital Group, described the Antipodes agreement as a coup for investors in PIA. “Pengana is delighted that the PIA board has endorsed the appointment of Antipodes as manager, and we are very excited to have landed a manager of this calibre.

“Antipodes has some of the best performance in the market, and was a standout among potential managers to take over this portfolio.

“We see this appointment as creating an exciting new phase for a revitalised PIA”, Pillemer said.

PIA also announced an integrated capital management proposal “…designed to give all shareholders genuine choice, transparent liquidity and a clear path forward”, and reduce the current discount to NTA.

The proposal includes an equal-access off-market buyback allowing shareholders to exit at after-tax NTA less transaction costs, a fully franked special dividend, and potential recapitalisation for investors who remain.

Once the capital management process is completed, PIA will transition to Antipodes, positioning the company for stronger performance.

The update also said: “Quarterly dividends will continue and, following a stabilisation period, the Board intends to consider ongoing discount to NTA management mechanisms including a rolling quarterly Buy-back (within applicable regulatory limits and subject to solvency and Board discretion), providing continuing shareholders with an ongoing, transparent opportunity to realise value at or around NTA over time.”

The proposals will be subject to shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting which is expected sometime during July 2026.

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Russel Pillemer

Pengana Capital Group has agreed with US-based global private equity specialist, GCM Grosvenor, to launch an IPO for an innovative self-liquidating ASX listed trust structure that will invest in unlisted Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies. The Trust will give Australian investors an opportunity to invest in some of the world’s best AI companies across the entire AI-ecosystem, before they go public.

More details on the IPO, which will only be open to Wholesale and Advised investors before the fund lists on the ASX, will be available in the coming weeks, with an offer expecting to take place in the near future.

Pengana, together with GCM, has a credentialed track record of innovating in niche, hard-to replicate investment strategies, for example the Pengana Private Equity Trust (ASX: PE1), which is also managed with GCM Grosvenor, and already holds some leading global AI companies including SpaceX, Open AI, Anthropic and Groq.

Russel Pillemer, CEO of Pengana Capital Group, 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.

“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. AIX is a game changer, which, once listed, will allow all Australian investors to now invest in what has previously been unavailable.

“On top of this, research shows that the most explosive growth is happening in the years before these privately held companies list.

“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.”

The most dramatic example of explosive private equity growth in recent years is SpaceX, which has grown 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.

“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”, Mr Pillemer said.

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This is the view of Adam Myers, Executive Director at Pengana Capital Group, which operates Australia’s only listed global PE vehicle, the Pengana Private Equity Trust (ASX: PE1). He said a functional capital markets environment supports exits and realisations, with impact across the global PE ecosystem. “The re-opening of capital markets, and the number of IPOs we are seeing is one of the strongest signals that confidence and liquidity is returning to PE.

“This allows capital to be recycled into new investments, with benefits at all levels of PE investment.

“For example, in mid-market PE most returns realisations are not driven by IPOs directly, but improving exit conditions should support realisations and allow capital to be redeployed into the next generation of investments.

“It improves distribution flows and it certainly supports confidence and valuations across the spectrum.”

Myers said deal activity was also being spurred by a narrowing of the ‘valuation gap’. “The valuation gap is starting to narrow, which means the difference between the expectations of buyers and sellers is closer than it was previously. This is driving a meaningful increase in deal activity.”

While PE1’s biggest position is in the world’s largest private company, SpaceX, and while it also has exposure to tech companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Groq, the majority of the portfolio targets relatively ‘boring’ and resilient mid-market companies, Myers said.

“PE’s middle market has shown performance advantages, with middle market buyout funds historically outperforming large-cap buyout strategies.

“There is less competition from other investors in the mid-market, and they often have lower entry multiples and less leverage. Mid-market companies also provide more exit options and hence more ways to deliver returns to investors – they can acquire another business, be acquired, be sold to a strategic sponsor, or pursue a public offering.

“The foundation of the PE1 portfolio consists of these cashflow generative, economically resilient, mid-market buyout businesses.

“But when there is an opportunity to take a meaningful position in a company like SpaceX we also have that flexibility to take it”, Myers said.

PE1’s annualised NAV return since its inception in 2019 to 31 December 2025 is 8.7%. Unusually for a private equity vehicle, PE1 pays an ongoing distribution yield of 4% p.a. on NAV.

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Nehemiah Richardson,

Diversification in private credit investing is becoming more important for income investors, due to unpredictable dynamics in financial markets coupled with geopolitical uncertainty, according to a private credit expert.

The depth and breadth of global private credit provides the grounds for a highly diversified approach which can spread risk and manage liquidity, according to Nehemiah Richardson, CEO of Pengana Credit. “Diversification is becoming a bigger factor as we see unpredictable behaviour in financial markets, including swings in bonds and currency markets, and economies moving at different speeds.

“Having some exposure to quality defensive positions in global private credit is arguably more important in this environment, especially when you consider some of the geopolitical uncertainty around the globe.

“Only global markets provide the ability to truly diversify both statistically and structurally, spreading investments across industry, geography, and strategy.

“When you consider these opportunities are unlisted, with lower liquidity, diversification is even more essential.”

Richardson said depth of quality is key when measuring the effectiveness of diversified exposure. “There is great potential to diversify with quality because private credit is a dominant form of lending to mid-market corporates in the USA and Europe.

“For investors, we believe the most attractive segment of the market provides access to bilateral loans with enforceable protections, which are held to maturity and do not compete with traded private credit.”

Richardson said the local market does not have the capacity for true diversification across geography, strategy and industry. “Global private credit provides the opportunity for statistical and structural diversification across a number of senior secured direct lending managers with portfolios ranging from 200 to over 1,000 individual loans.

“Global private credit is not constrained in its ability to deploy capital in the same way that the local private credit market can be, where the opportunity is limited to a narrower set of opportunities, particularly commercial real estate.”

And growth in the global private credit market continues unabated, with Preqin forecasting it will be worth $2.7 trillion globally by 2027. “We expect growth to continue as structural supply and demand dynamics continue to work in private credit’s favour.

“It has been driven by a structural withdrawal of capital as regulations have prevented banks from holding too many long term assets with short-term liabilities.”

Pengana, in association with Mercer, has launched several different global private credit vehicles, including the TermPlus online fixed term accounts for retail investors, the listed Pengana Global Private Credit Trust (ASX: PCX), the unlisted wholesale Pengana Diversified Private Credit Fund, and an SMA Fund.

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Nehemiah Richardson,

Two of Pengana Credit’s global private credit investment vehicles have been given a Recommended rating by Lonsec, while the company’s innovative online term accounts, TermPlus, have received an initial Investment Grade rating.

The listed Pengana Global Private Credit Trust (ASX: PCX) was upgraded to Recommended by Lonsec. PCX is the most diversified global private credit vehicle listed on the ASX, and commenced trading in June 2024.

The wholesale Pengana Diversified Private Credit Fund was launched in late 2023 and has been given an initial rating of Recommended by Lonsec.

The retail consumer online term account products, TermPlus, which has redefined ease-of-access to global private credit, received an initial rating of Investment Grade for each of the one, two, and five-year terms on offer.

In its commentary on Pengana’s global private credit vehicles, Lonsec said they employ “…a global multi-manager strategy, offering broad diversification across individual borrowers, managers, and investment strategies helping to mitigate the default risk typically associated with private debt portfolios.”

Lonsec also said: “Pengana benefits from the strength of Mercer’s manager research capabilities, alongside significant scale, experience, and global resources. Mercer’s global Private Debt team brings over 20 years of ‘on-the ground’ presence in key regions.”*

Nehemiah Richardson, CEO of Pengana Credit, said the global private credit market is built on strong fundamentals and looks poised to grow. “Global private credit growth has been driven by a structural withdrawal of capital as regulations have prevented banks from holding too many long term assets with short-term liabilities.

“Hence private credit is playing an important role in the USA and European economies as private lenders fill in the vacuum left by the banks.

“For investors, this is providing a market with the depth and breadth of diversification and quality, which delivers income returns.”

The global private credit market is forecast to be worth $2.7 trillion globally by 2027, according to Preqin. “Structural supply and demand dynamics continue to work in private credit’s favour. As the industry grows it’s important to partner with top quartile managers who have proven experience across several cycles”, Richardson said.

* The ratings published on 11/2025 for Pengana Global Private Credit Trust and 11/2025 for Pengana Diversified Private Credit Fund and 11/2025 for TermPlus 5-Year Term, TermPlus 2-Year Term, and TermPlus 1-Year Term, are issued by Lonsec Research Pty Ltd ABN 11 151 658 561 AFSL 421 445 (Lonsec Research). Ratings are general advice only and have been prepared without taking account of investors’ objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider your personal circumstances, read the product disclosure statement and seek independent financial advice before investing. The ratings are not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold any product. Past performance information is not indicative of future performance. Ratings are subject to change without notice and Lonsec Research assumes no obligation to update. Lonsec Research uses objective criteria and receives a fee from the Fund Manager. Visit lonsec.com.au for ratings information and to access the full report. © 2025 Lonsec. All rights reserved.

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Michael Maughan

Pengana Capital Group has added senior Australian equities investment expertise to its ranks, with the appointment of Michael Maughan as a Senior Portfolio Manager within the Pengana Australian Equities team.

Michael Maughan previously held a long-term position as a Portfolio Manager at Tyndall Asset Management, and brings over 25-years of experience in equities research and portfolio management.

Russel Pillemer, CEO of Pengana Capital Group, said Michael is highly regarded and will be a huge asset to Pengana’s Australian equities team. “Michael is well-known for his disciplined investment approach, deep company insights, and consistent delivery of income and growth outcomes for clients.

“Michael will operate as a peer alongside our existing senior team members, contributing to the collaborative culture that defines Pengana’s investment philosophy”, Pillemer said.

Rhett Kessler, CIO and Senior Fund Manager for the Pengana Australian Equities Fund added: “Michael brings expertise across technology, media, telecoms, transport and property, which complements the team’s existing strengths and expands our research depth.

“We also value Michael’s disciplined focus on fundamental cash flow analysis, his strong senior corporate relationships, and his clarity in communication with both clients and stakeholders.”

Michael said he feels a natural affinity with Pengana’s approach. “I’m thrilled to be joining Pengana’s Australian equities team. I’ve always admired Rhett Kessler and Anton du Preez and the team for their integrity and skill as investors, operators, and communicators.

“While we all bring varied experiences and skills, we share the same philosophy and have a genuine commitment to growing clients’ wealth steadily and responsibly”, Maughan said.

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Nehemiah Richardson,

Listed investment trust, Pengana Global Private Credit Trust (ASX: PCX), which provides investors access to a highly diversified portfolio of global private credit securities, has announced it will offer $82 million via an entitlement offer and a shortfall offer to its investors, at a subscription price of $2.00 per unit.

PCX, which has a net asset value (NAV) of approximately $165.44 million, listed in June 2024, and has paid monthly distributions equalling an annualised distribution of 8.0 per cent since launch. Distributions are delivered from a diversified global private credit portfolio of 24 underlying global private credit funds, with exposure to over 3,500 individual loans.

The PCX entitlement offer will allow existing PCX investors to subscribe for one new unit for every two units held on the record date of 10 October 2025. The entitlement offer opens on 15 October 2025 and closes on 29 October 2025.

Any units not taken up by existing investors will then be made available under a shortfall offer, which also opens on 15 October 2025 and closes on 30 October 2025.

The most recent NAV per unit, on 31 August 2025, was $2.02. If the 30 September 2025 NAV is above $2.00, PCX will increase the distribution announced on 29 October, targeting an ex-distribution NAV of approximately $2.00 in seeking to avoid existing unitholders being diluted.

Nehemiah Richardson, CEO at Pengana Credit, said PCX offers investors a liquid, cost-efficient, and diversified way to access highly sought after global private credit markets. “There is a large demand for global private credit’s historically stable and consistent income, and there is plenty of capacity for PCX to grow given the size of the global market.

“Global private credit plays a large role in the US and European economies, with the majority of all mid-market corporate lending now provided via private lenders.

“This has created an opportunity to target investments in defensive industries, via senior secured loans to quality companies, thereby providing another source of income for Australian investors.”

Richardson said there are still few purely global private credit approaches for non-institutional investors in the Australian market. “PCX has no exposure to Australian private credit, and therefore has a low correlation with local fixed income, property and other asset classes.”

PCX broke new ground when it first listed, through the introduction of an innovative quarterly off-market buyback offer making quarterly redemptions at NAV available to investors. This was designed to put a floor under the share price, giving greater price certainty to investors, and has since been copied by other LITs in the market.

“So far the quarterly off-market buyback offer has been a huge success, and delivered the price certainty that we hoped.” Since listing PCX has been trading at a premium to NAV as retains healthy demand from Australian advisers and high net worth investors seeking to diversify reliable sources of income.

PCX targets stable monthly distributions and has a target cash distribution yield of no less than 7% per annum. It also aims to return NAV accumulation to investors periodically through increased distributions.

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