Good morning.
There’s a sucker born every minute.
The finance world is full of scams, and most people would like to think they’re smart enough to suss them out. The truth, however, is quite the opposite. Half of investors can’t recognize the tell-tale signs of fraud, according to new findings from FINRA. Some 50% of respondents said they would invest in hypothetical offers that are marketed with “no risk” and “guaranteed high returns,” hallmarks of fishy offerings. Younger folks with less than two years of investing experience were more likely to take the offer, while older generations with more than a decade of experience were less likely.
If only there were some type of financial professional who could advise investors before they make these kinds of mistakes …
What Will It Take to Actually Get Alts in More Portfolios?
It’s the first rule of finance: Don’t invest in what you don’t understand.
While access to alternative assets is expected to broaden under the Trump administration’s Securities and Exchange Commission, led by Paul Atkins, mass affluent clients, and even advisors, aren’t overly familiar with the investments, including venture capital, infrastructure or real estate deals. The key to greater alt acceptance may lie in introducing them through more traditional products, like certain kinds of mutual funds and ETFs.
“If you’re going to introduce a new asset class to the market, people will need time to become comfortable,” said Eric Pan, CEO of the Investment Company Institute. “I’m not advocating for direct sales of private assets to retail, but using [40 Act] funds.”
Old Products, New Tricks
One way to introduce alts to retail investors or mass affluent clients is through target-date funds, Pan told Advisor Upside at a Financial Times conference in New York City this week. Such funds automatically adjust asset allocations over time and are already popular in 401(k)s. While alternatives often carry higher costs and potential risk, the biggest hurdle for retail investors is illiquidity, Pan said. “If it’s a piece of infrastructure, it may take you 20 years to build a bridge,” he said. “If it’s real estate, you can’t sell that overnight.” He suggested closed-end funds, which are less liquid by design, as another solution.
Some firms are already using these vehicles to reach retail investors:
- KKR and Capital Group launched two private credit interval funds — a type of closed-end fund — earlier this year.
- Meanwhile, State Street and Apollo launched a series of target-date funds with exposure to private credit, private equity and real assets.
Another big piece of the equation is transparency. If firms want to attract more clients to alternatives, private market products are going to have to become more transparent. “That’s a requirement to unlock everything else,” BlackRock COO Rob Goldstein said during a panel discussion at the conference. “The more transparency you provide on private markets, I actually think you’ll see an increase in allocation of capital to the private market.”
Not So Fast. Some industry leaders remain skeptical, though. While PIMCO has launched private credit funds geared toward wealthy retail investors, company CEO Emmanuel Roman said the firm is “paranoid” about illiquidity risks, and that investors need to be compensated for locking up their investments long term. “You really have a burden of proof in terms of having a product, which delivers double-digit returns and offers what it says on the box in terms of liquidity,” he said during the conference. “It’s hard to make liquidity out of nowhere.”
The New Playbook For Advisors’ Independence
The old rules don’t apply. For years, the journey to independence followed relatively familiar tracks: many advisors either launched their own RIA or joined an existing firm.
Not anymore. An explosion of platforms, business models, and M&A players has created dozens of different, sometimes confusing, routes to independence. This guide from Fidelity breaks down this evolving landscape and helps advisors navigate it with clarity and confidence. Amid these shifting models, you’ll get:
- A fresh look at how business models have evolved — and what that means for control and support.
- Data on how joining vs. starting a firm can impact growth and scale.
- A framework to evaluate options based on goals, capabilities, and desired lifestyle.
Going independent means grappling with more variables than ever before. The good news? Now you have a framework to help guide through it systematically instead of guessing.
Is Goldman Wooing Retail Customers, Again?
Goldman Sachs might be contemplating another stroll down Main Street.
The Wall Street mega-firm took out a full-page ad in the Financial Times for its asset management business this week, a type of marketing that seems more retail-focused and is a rarity for the 156-year old company. Those ads, along with other spots that recently aired on CNBC, marks largely new territory for Goldman, according to Marc Nachmann, Goldman global head of asset and wealth management. The promotions are among the firm’s efforts to market its broadly available mutual funds and ETFs, he said at a Financial Times conference in New York City held this week. The consumer market has eluded Goldman for years, but could this time be different?
“One of the things, when you look at trends that are exciting for the industry, is retail at large is growing faster than the institutional space,” Marc Nachmann, Goldman global head of asset & wealth management, said at the FT LIVE conference in New York. “We’re spending a good amount of time on how to approach it the right way.”
Ad It Up
The company is trying to tap retail clientele and bolster its reputation as an asset manager, Nachmann said. “Goldman is obviously a very well-known brand, but we want to enhance what people think of us as an asset manager,” he said. Goldman’s products, however, are still largely focused on advisors who can get them in clients’ portfolios.
While Goldman may be one of the biggest investment firms in the world with more than $3 trillion in assets under management, it has a checkered past when it comes to retail banking. Its consumer-focused Marcus offerings flopped in recent years because of strategic missteps, missed profitability goals, huge tech costs and mounting tension among Goldman’s top brass, according to reports:
- Goldman started selling off parts of the Marcus business in 2022, and in April 2024, it sold the platform’s robo-advisor to Betterment.
- Similarly, Goldman and Apple appear to be ending their partnership on the Apple Card and Apple Savings account.
It’s not uncommon for larger Wall Street firms to retreat from mass affluent efforts, returning their focus to high-net-worth bread-and-butter clients. UBS, U.S. Bank and even JPMorgan decided to shutter their robo-advisors in recent years.