Bala Cynwyd-based Hamilton Lane is expanding its offerings for wealthy investors with a new fund and a rare acquisition, writes Melissa Karsh for Bloomberg.

The alternative asset manager wants to tap into a group of investors that includes business founders and other affluent clients that usually do not have as much access to private markets.

“We believe in democratizing access to private markets,” said Erik Hirsch, Hamilton vice chairman and head of strategic initiatives. “High-net-worth and other retail investors are part of a market segment that’s frankly clamoring to have similar opportunities to those available to institutional investors.”

To that end, Hamilton has launched a private-market fund for wealthy investors in the U.S. and their advisers. The asset manager is also in the process of acquiring long-short equity fund manager 361 Capital, which has over $600 million of assets.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Right now we’re basically offering a really good flavor of ice cream — but it’s one flavor and the retail world wants more than one flavor,” said Hirsch.

He added that the firm is “just listening to what the market is asking for and it’s adapting to it.”

Read more about Hamilton Lane at Bloomberg by clicking here.