U.S. financial advisors currently allocate $2.2 trillion to less-than-fully-liquid private capital, and could manage an additional $2 trillion in the next five years “if the buildout of interval fund solutions, the adoption of other less-than-fully-liquid private capital product, and the streamlined access offered by alternative asset allocation models continues to grow,” according to The Cerulli Report—U.S. Private Markets 2026.

Many advisors believe that allocations to private assets will demonstrate value-add to clients and respond to investors’ demand for income-generating investments, Cerulli surveys show.

To scale private market solutions across retail channels, partnerships between traditional and private capital managers will be key. “Traditional asset managers seek differentiated capabilities that can enhance their product offerings and support more competitive value propositions,” said Daniil Shapiro, director at Cerulli.

“Private capital managers often lack the distribution scale and brand recognition required to penetrate retail channels, particularly beyond the ultra-high-net-worth segment and into the broader affluent market.”

Distribution is expanding into models, multi-asset vehicles, and defined contribution (DC) plans, creating a greater need for collaboration among asset managers, technology platforms, turnkey asset management providers (TAMPs), trust companies, and recordkeepers, Cerulli said in a release.

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