Here’s How Advisors Are Navigating the Private Markets Boom

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Advisor allocations to alternative investments are set to just about double over the next five years, topping $4 trillion, according to Cerulli. While there’s a lot of talk about wider access to private assets, much of that increase is driven by Washington policymakers pushing for alts in 401(k)s and asset managers selling products. Yet, some advisors on the ground are staying cautious and sifting through the hype to find practical opportunities inside client portfolios. It’s an area where advisors can add value as more and more products hit the market. 

“Private market access is only going to keep expanding, and portfolio construction has to catch up,” said Erik Kratz, CIO at Arena Private Wealth.

Semi-Liquid Surge

Historically, private markets were reserved for high-net-worth investors because of high costs of entry, illiquidity, opacity and complexity. While plenty of those risks remain, advisors are pressing forward, with over 80% citing portfolio diversification as their primary driver. To bridge the liquidity gap, advisors are increasingly favoring semi-liquid interval funds, vehicles that typically hold both public and private assets:

• Interval funds reached $132 billion in assets across 147 funds by the end of 2025, up substantially from prior years, Cerulli found.
• Specifically, advisors are increasingly using the funds to target private equity, infrastructure and real estate.

Boutique Blueprint

Traditional asset managers have been partnering with each other and alternatives firms to launch semi-liquid funds meant for high-net-worth and mass-affluent clients. Almost 60% of asset managers cite the demand for income-generating investments as a significant industry growth driver, per Cerulli. Just last month, partnerships between Vanguard, Wellington and Blackstone, in addition to T. Rowe Price and Goldman Sachs, launched their own semi-liquid funds. 

However, advisors deeply familiar with private markets aren’t necessarily buying in, at least for now. Chad Tischer, a CFP at family office Wealthspire, said his firm mostly works with boutique managers that have under $1 billion in capital to target investments in small-cap companies. “[Large managers are] obviously successful and have done great work, but in this specific alternatives market, it’s an area where we have less interest rather than more,” he told Advisor Upside.

Keeping Cautious. As hype for private markets balloons, some advisors remain skeptical. Hardik Patel, founder of Trusted Path Wealth Management, said there’s a meaningful gap between what makes sense for a small number of UHNW clients and what’s being marketed as suitable for everyone. “Our job as fiduciaries is to help clients understand the real trade-offs,” he told Advisor Upside. “That’s a different conversation than ‘This is the next big thing,’ but it’s the one that serves clients better.”