Publicly traded VC funds have been booming this year, amassing billions of dollars of pre-IPO equity as retail investors clamor for exposure to top startups before they go public. But that excitement is reversing, as SpaceX’s SPCX public debut and its wave of expiring share lockups flood the market with supply that scarcity had once made precious.

Closed-end funds marketed to retail investors—including Robinhood Ventures, Fundrise, and ARK Invest—traded at huge multiples to net asset value earlier this year. Retail investors lacking direct access to companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI drove prices higher. READ MORE