Cantor Fitzgerald, Lincoln Convert Private Oil and Gas Fund Into Interval Fund
Cantor Fitzgerald Asset Management and Lincoln Energy Partners launched the Cantor Fitzgerald Energy Fund, an interval fund that invests primarily in non-operated U.S. oil and gas interests.
The fund did not start from scratch. On Oct. 23, it acquired all of the assets and liabilities of Del Rio Royalty Company II LLC through a tax-free reorganization. The predecessor, a private fund managed by Lincoln, began operations Feb. 15, 2022. Investors in the predecessor fund received Class S shares in the exchange.
As of Oct. 26, the portfolio included about 3,000 wells run by more than 200 operators across U.S. basins, with exposure to oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, the companies said. They said the reorganization created one of the first funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 to offer direct investor access to the asset class.
Registered energy funds aren’t new to the interval fund space, however. FS Investments’ FS Energy Total Return Fund, for example, was declared effective in March 2017, with Magnetar Asset Management as sub-adviser, but it invested in the equity and debt securities of public and private energy companies rather than holding oil and gas interests directly. It reorganized into an open-end mutual fund in 2020.
The new Cantor Fitzgerald fund prices net asset value daily, pays monthly distributions, and offers to repurchase at least 5% of outstanding shares each quarter. The first repurchase offer is expected in December 2026. Ultimus Fund Distributors LLC is the distributor and will sell shares on a best-efforts basis, directly and through broker-dealers and other selling agents. Shares are generally offered only to U.S. persons for federal income tax purposes.
Under normal market conditions, the fund said it will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in energy-related assets in the continental United States. Those assets include non-operated working interests, mineral and royalty interests, and overriding royalty interests held through subsidiaries and joint venture vehicles. The fund may also hold publicly traded energy securities and borrow up to one-third of its managed assets. It has applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for exemptive relief to co-invest alongside affiliates of its adviser.
The adviser, Cantor Fitzgerald Energy Advisors LLC, is a newly organized joint venture between Cantor Fitzgerald Investors LLC and Lincoln affiliate LEH II Management LLC. It charges an annual management fee of 2.25% of daily net assets across all share classes.
The fund offers four share classes. Class A shares (CNRAX) carry a sales load of up to 5.75%, which shrinks as the purchase gets larger and drops to zero at $1 million or more. They also pay a 0.25% annual shareholder servicing fee. Class C shares (CNRCX) have no upfront load but pay a 0.25% servicing fee and a 0.75% annual distribution fee. They also carry a 1% charge on shares repurchased within 365 days of purchase. Both classes require a $2,500 minimum investment, or $1,000 for retirement accounts.
Class I shares (CNRGX) require a $2,500 minimum and carry no sales load or servicing fee. Intermediaries may waive that minimum for broker-sponsored discretionary fee-based advisory programs and for registered investment adviser clients in fee-based accounts that meet it in aggregate. Class S shares (CNRSX), which predecessor fund investors received in the reorganization, require a $10 million minimum, which advisory clients can likewise meet in aggregate.
The adviser agreed to waive 1% of its management fee – reducing 2.25% to 1.25% – through Oct. 15, 2027, for Class A, C, and I shares, and through Oct. 15, 2029, for Class S shares. It also agreed to cap ordinary operating expenses through Oct. 15, 2028: 3.25% for Class A, 4% for Class C, and 3% for Classes I and S.
The predecessor fund returned 17.4% for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025. Its annualized return was 9.9% over three years and 23.8% since inception, the fund reported. The S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index returned -1.92%, 0.37%, and 6.66% over the same periods. The predecessor fund charged higher fees than the new fund’s Class S shares, and its returns have not been adjusted to reflect Class S fees and expenses. As a private fund, it was not subject to ’40 Act restrictions.
“With strong fundamentals supporting the U.S. oil and gas sector, we believe non-operated assets offer a compelling way to access project-level cash flows in a critical segment of the energy market,” said Craig Brede, a managing partner at Lincoln.
Lincoln was founded in 2013 and is based in Englewood, Colo. It has sponsored nine private vehicles that invest solely in non-operated oil and gas interests. The firm said it had about $440 million in total assets under management as of June 30, 2026.
Cantor Fitzgerald Asset Management said it managed $32.2 billion in assets as of June 30, 2026, across about 70 active strategies spanning traditional markets, real assets, private markets, hedge funds, commodities, private credit, and digital assets.
As previously reported by AltsWire, Cantor Fitzgerald Income Trust Inc., a nontraded real estate investment trust, honored 27% of repurchase requests submitted for September 2026. That is the lowest rate since March, when it filled 17% of requests. The REIT has now prorated repurchases for 10 straight months. It also launched a 9.5% Series A preferred stock offering on the NYSE in April.
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