Hiive

Hiive charges both buyers and sellers on a success-based model — fees are only earned when a transaction closes. Buyers pay up to 5.00% with a tiered reduction above $250,000. Sellers pay up to 6.80% with a tier reduction above $500,000 in the US (above $250,000 in Canada). There are no subscription, platform access, or execution fees. For Hiive Funds SPV investments, there is no annual management fee and no carried interest on most single-asset funds — investors pay a one-time brokerage fee at entry and an administrative fee on distribution (specific rate not publicly disclosed). Investors should underwrite net returns after these fees rather than focusing only on gross upside.

The effective minimum transaction size is $25,000. For high-demand companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, or OpenAI, direct transfer minimums often reach $100,000-$250,000 due to seller requirements and company transfer policies. Access to these names at $25,000 is typically available only through a Double Layer SPV structure that pools multiple investors into a single fund entity.

In 2024, 18% of direct share transfers submitted for company approval resulted in the company exercising its right of first refusal — up from 12% in 2023. When ROFR is exercised, the company purchases the shares itself and the original buyer receives no shares after 30-90 days of committed process time. Combined with the 10% outright blocked rate, roughly 28% of direct transfers in 2024 failed to deliver shares to buyers. The 90% seller success rate includes ROFR exercises as successful outcomes for sellers — buyers should focus on the 72% company approval rate and 18% ROFR rate. Hiive Funds SPV investments consolidate ROFR clearance at the fund entity level, eliminating individual buyer exposure.

It depends on the structure. For direct share transfers, Hiive does not issue any tax document — the company is responsible, and investors must proactively request year-end documents from the company HR or stock administration department. For Hiive Funds SPV investments, investors receive Schedule K-1s annually from Sydecar Inc as fund administrator, typically targeting late March-April delivery. K-1 delivery past April 15 is documented as a common outcome when the underlying company delays its own audited financials — investors should budget for extension filing costs.

Hiive Funds are Delaware LLC SPVs administered by Sydecar Inc that hold shares in a single private company and issue membership interests to investors. They consolidate multiple investors into one cap table entry, eliminate annual management fees and carried interest on most offerings, and allow $25,000 minimum access to high-minimum deals via Double Layer SPV. Investors receive K-1s rather than direct equity. Direct share transfers give buyers actual company shares subject to a 30-90 day company ROFR approval process with an 18% exercise rate in 2024. The two structures differ in fee profile, tax treatment, ROFR exposure, legal rights, and minimum thresholds.

The Hiive50 is an equal-weight price index of the 50 most liquid private company securities on Hiive, rebalanced quarterly by a liquidity score. It returned 38.4% in 2024 (15.1 percentage points above the S&P 500) and 49.1% in 2025. These figures are price-change-only and exclude fees and taxes. The Hiive50 reflects only the most active highest-demand names — the bottom quartile of the 3,000+ catalog showed 61% average bid-ask spreads in 2024, effectively untradeable without deep discounts. Index performance materially overstates what a typical investor would experience across the full catalog.

Traditional VC funds and many SPV platforms charge a 2% annual management fee regardless of performance. On a 10-year hold, that compounds to roughly 20% of initial capital consumed in fees before returns are calculated. Hiive Funds charges 0% annual management fee and 0% carried interest on most single-asset SPVs — meaning 100% of your invested capital remains at work throughout the hold period, and 100% of profits above cost flow to you (minus the one-time entry brokerage fee and distribution administrative fee). The benefit is largest for long-duration holds where fee drag compounds materially over time.

Buyers must be SEC-defined accredited investors: $1M+ net worth (excluding primary residence) or $200K+ annual income ($300K+ joint with spouse). Certain Hiive Funds structures require Qualified Purchaser status ($5M+ in investments) to access funds structured under 3(c)(7) exemptions. Non-accredited employees can sell shares they already own via the issuer portal but cannot purchase. Canadian investors must meet applicable exempt market investor requirements in their province.

Hiive offers a live order book with hourly pricing, a larger company catalog (3,000+ vs. 450+), higher transaction volume ($250M+ monthly), and 0% management fee / 0% carried interest on most Hiive Funds SPVs — a significant long-hold return advantage. EquityZen charges only buyers (3-5% tiered), handles ROFR at the platform level eliminating individual buyer exposure, and has more consistently documented K-1 timing in public materials. Hiive is better for price transparency, active trading, and long-duration fee efficiency. EquityZen is better for built-in ROFR protection and a simpler buyer-only fee schedule.

Key risks: (1) ROFR — 28% of direct transfers in 2024 failed to deliver shares to buyers (18% ROFR exercise + 10% outright blocked); (2) fake liquidity — 61% average bid-ask spread in the bottom quartile means most listings are not genuinely tradeable; (3) fee friction — 10-12% all-in cost at minimum sizes before any profit; (4) K-1 extensions — Hiive Funds K-1s commonly arrive after April 15; (5) concentration — Hiive50 performance applies only to the top 50 names; (6) binary outcomes — many pre-IPO positions go to zero.

Yes. Hiive Markets Limited is an SEC-registered broker-dealer (FINRA member, BrokerCheck CRD 316580) and SIPC member. It operates under Regulation Best Interest and publishes Form CRS, Regulation BI Disclosure, and Canadian Relationship Disclosure on its website. It is also a registered exempt market dealer in Ontario, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia. Registration is independently verifiable at BrokerCheck.

AltStreet tracks deal flow across Hiive, EquityZen, Forge, and 8 other pre-IPO platforms. Early access members get deal alerts filtered by company, structure type, and liquidity score — plus per-company ROFR risk flags and fee-adjusted return modeling. Join the waitlist at /early-access. Free. Launching Q3 2026.