Individuals and family offices in private markets: transparency becomes an expectation

Private companies are no longer owned by institutional investors alone. Executives who hold shares, family offices and individual savers now expect clear information on what they own.

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French private equity opens up to individuals

French private equity firms raised €42.9bn in 2025 (up 10%) and invested €36.4bn in 2,904 companies and infrastructure projects (France Invest and Grant Thornton, 25 March 2026, accessed 13 October 2026).

A share of this capital that is still small but growing comes from individuals. They contributed €3.1bn in 2025, up 8%, of which €2.6bn came through life insurance policies, up 25% (France Invest, 14 April 2026, accessed 13 October 2026).

These savers do not buy a company's shares directly. They hold units in a fund, often within a life insurance policy, which in turn invests in private companies.

Three types of holders with similar expectations

Several non-institutional holders often sit side by side in a private company.

• Executives who hold shares. Managers have put part of their personal wealth into the company, often through a management incentive plan: the set of shares and instruments that gives them a stake in value creation.
• Family offices. These organisations manage the wealth of one or several families. They may co-invest alongside a fund, meaning they take a direct stake in the same company in the same transaction.
• Individuals investing through funds. Their link to the company is indirect, but their interest in what the fund does is real.

Their situations differ. Their need is the same: to know exactly what they own, what it represents and what changes when a capital transaction takes place.

What transparency means in practice

For a shareholder, transparency starts with a few simple facts: the number and class of their shares, the rights attached to them, the history of their transfers and the documents behind them (shareholder meeting minutes, subscription forms, share transfer forms).

It also means understanding what they would receive on a sale. In a company with preference shares or value-sharing mechanisms, the answer depends on the waterfall, meaning the order and the amount each shareholder receives when the company is sold. An executive who holds 2% of the shares does not necessarily receive 2% of the sale price.

Finally, it means the same information for everyone: two shareholders in the same class should see the same rights, based on the same documents.

This information exists within the company. It is often spread across the share register, the finance team's spreadsheets and exchanges with advisors.

An expectation that changes the relationship with shareholders

For management teams and funds, answering each question one by one becomes heavy as the number of holders grows. A request for a statement or a question about vesting (the schedule under which a beneficiary gradually acquires their rights) often arrives when the finance team is busy elsewhere.

Tax and legal questions specific to each shareholder are a matter for their own advisors, whom they should consult. The company, on the other hand, can provide information that is reliable, up to date and the same for everyone.

The wider the shareholder base, the more this information becomes part of the relationship of trust between the company, its investors and its executives.

Conclusion

As private markets open up to individuals and family offices and executives take a larger place in the capital, more people need to understand the capital structure. Able gives every shareholder a personal space where they can see their position, the history of their transactions and their documents, based on the register kept by the company.