A fee and expense waiver that held net costs to between 1.34% and 1.63% in the fund’s first period lapsed as of July 31, leaving the stated expense load in force.

July 30, 2026

Ardian is registering up to $2.5 billion of units in Ardian Access LLC, the Delaware limited liability company through which the global private markets firm sells its private equity secondaries strategy to US accredited investors. The prospectus carries an August 1, 2026 date, and units continue to be offered monthly at net asset value.

The offering follows a fast start. Ardian Access commenced operations on June 12, 2025, and by the close of its March 31, 2026 fiscal year reported net assets of $884.4 million in Class J units, $144.0 million in Class I units and $62.3 million in Class D units. Class J, which carries the highest distribution fee of the three, was the largest class by a wide margin.

Performance over that stub period was strong. Net asset value per unit rose from a $10.00 starting value to $11.64 for Class J, $11.66 for Class I and $11.65 for Class D. Total return, not annualized, was 17.33% for Class J, 17.61% for Class I and 17.47% for Class D. Portfolio turnover was zero and total distributions ran between $0.09 and $0.10 per unit.

Costs Step Up as the Waiver Lapses

Those results benefited from adviser support that has now ended. Ardian Access incurred no management fees for the year ended March 31, 2026 because they were waived under a fee waiver and expense deferral agreement with Ardian US LLC, the fund’s adviser. That agreement expired as of July 31, 2026. The adviser separately reimbursed $3,156,145 of fund operating expenses during the year and had recouped the entire amount by March 31, 2026. Waived management fees were not subject to recoupment, and the fund states that returns would have been lower absent the waiver and the recoupment.

The gap between waived and unwaived economics is wide. Net expenses ran 1.63% for Class J, 1.34% for Class I and 1.53% for Class D, against gross ratios of 2.75%, 2.30% and 2.50% respectively; neither figure captures the expenses of the private funds in the portfolio. The prospectus fee table, which does include acquired fund fees, puts total annual expenses at 3.39% for Class J, 3.14% for Class D and 2.94% for Class I. Its components:

• Management fee: 1.50% annualized, assessed monthly on net asset value calculated after subscriptions but before same-month repurchases.
• Distribution fee: 0.50% on Class J, 0.25% on Class D, none on Class I.
• Acquired fund fees and expenses: 0.57%.
• Other expenses: 0.75% for Class J and Class D, 0.80% for Class I.
• Interest on borrowings: 0.07%, estimated for the current fiscal year.

There is no incentive fee or performance allocation at the fund level. Members do bear underlying manager carry, which the fund describes as typically 20% of an underlying fund’s net profits alongside asset-based fees of 1% to 2%.

Secondaries First, With GP-Led Deals in the Mix

The strategy leads with secondary purchases of existing interests in third-party private equity and, to a lesser extent, venture capital funds, including broad portfolios acquired from limited partners and positions in single-asset and multi-asset continuation, annex and other newly formed vehicles organized by general partners. Direct co-investments alongside Ardian-managed funds and third-party sponsors form the second leg, with primary commitments in a smaller complementary role. Over time the adviser intends to hold at least 80% of net assets in private assets, with up to 20% in cash, money market instruments, short-term debt and other liquid holdings for liquidity management.

Ardian and certain advisory affiliates hold co-investment exemptive relief permitting the fund to invest alongside affiliated funds and accounts, subject to allocation conditions that can reduce or eliminate its participation in a given deal. The fund also expects to run an over-commitment strategy, committing more than available capital to keep more of the portfolio deployed, and flags the attendant risk of penalties or forfeiture if capital calls cannot be funded on time.

Terms and the Liquidity Question

Units are sold only to accredited investors. Minimums are $25,000 for Class J and Class D and $1 million for Class I, with $10,000 for subsequent purchases; intermediaries may aggregate client accounts to meet those thresholds and may set higher minimums of their own. No class carries an upfront sales load, though intermediaries may charge their own placement fees or commissions on Class J and Class D. Foreside Fund Services acts as distributor on a best-efforts basis. Units are generally offered as of the first business day of each calendar month, with subscription documents due five business days ahead and funding three business days ahead.

Liquidity is discretionary rather than contractual. The units are not listed, no secondary market is expected, and members have no right to require redemption. The adviser expects to recommend that the board conduct quarterly tender offers for approximately 5% of net asset value, with the program beginning one year after operations commenced, but the fund has no obligation to repurchase. Units held less than one year carry a 2.00% early repurchase fee on a first-in, first-out basis, retained by the fund for the benefit of remaining members, and oversubscribed offers are filled pro rata.

The fund may borrow to pay expenses, buy portfolio assets, fund repurchases and meet capital calls, subject to 300% asset coverage for debt and 200% for preferred units. It has elected regulated investment company treatment and intends to distribute at least 90% of annual net taxable income, with members receiving Form 1099-DIV rather than partnership reporting. Up to 25% of total assets may sit in wholly owned corporate subsidiaries that pay entity-level tax, the structure used to keep the fund’s income profile inside the RIC tests while it holds partnership interests.

Ardian reported approximately $200 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2025, with more than 1,080 employees across 19 offices and more than 1,850 investors. The adviser, Ardian US LLC, has been SEC-registered since 2004 and reported approximately $2.8 billion under management as of the same date. PricewaterhouseCoopers audited the fiscal 2026 financial statements.

Two questions now shape how the next $2.5 billion is received. The first is whether performance holds up with the full 1.50% management fee and the rest of the stated expense load actually being paid rather than waived. The second is whether the quarterly tender program, once running, clears at or near the 5% target, since it is the only liquidity mechanism advisers can point clients to in a vehicle with no listing and no redemption right.