I’m not usually a fan of private equity for the average Canadian investor. The offerings most people get access to come with high fees, fund-of-fund structures, performance charges, redemption gates, and long lock-ups. You’re often paying a premium for illiquidity and getting very little transparency in return.
There are publicly traded alternatives on the TSX that give you private-equity-style exposure without those drawbacks. These operate as publicly listed partnerships or trusts, hold portfolios of mid-market private companies, and pay investors income based on what their holdings earn. Here are two worth a closer look.
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Alaris Equity Income Partners
Alaris Equity Income Partners (TSX:AD.UN) remains one of the more overlooked names in Canada. The firm provides capital to U.S. and Canadian mid-market companies, but instead of taking straight equity or piling on debt, Alaris uses a preferred-equity structure.
Preferred equity occupies a unique spot in the capital stack. It’s senior to common equity, so Alaris gets priority distributions, but without the strict covenants and refinancing risks of traditional debt. You don’t get the full upside that common shareholders do, but you get something far more stable: contracted, recurring distributions that adjust annually based on company performance.
This model supports a high level of income. Based on the latest quarterly payout, units yield about 7.09%. That’s significantly higher than most dividend-paying stocks on the TSX, and the companies Alaris invests in tend to be outside the typical energy-and-financials mix Canadians already hold. It adds diversification while keeping the income predictable.
Brookfield Business Partners
Brookfield Business Partners (TSX:BBU.UN) is a different beast entirely. Instead of preferred equity, Brookfield takes direct ownership stakes in businesses across industrials, infrastructure services, business services, and manufacturing.
Once they buy into a company, they don’t sit back and collect distributions—they actively reshape, optimize, and eventually recycle the capital into new opportunities. This is classic Brookfield: buy underperforming or unloved assets, fix them, increase cash flows, and sell at a higher valuation.
The nature of this strategy means income is not the primary objective. The yield is a modest 0.78%, which makes sense given the focus on growth and capital appreciation. For investors who want public-market access to true private-equity-style turnarounds, BBU.UN is one of the closest options available in Canada.
The Foolish takeaway
Both stocks offer liquid, transparent access to private-equity-like strategies without the heavy fees, redemption restrictions, or complexity that come with traditional private equity funds. They can be held in registered accounts, and unlike most private partnerships, their financial reporting is public and easy to evaluate. If you want exposure to private markets without handing over control or paying through the nose, these two are solid places to start.
