THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

The global asset gathering potential of the high-net-worth and mass affluent market is now fully recognized by an industry which has responded with a new generation of improved vehicles offering world class investment managers, greater transparency and more flexibility. This article is the first in a series which will explore this notable trend and the growing importance of wealth managers as a complement to the alternative investment industry’s historically institutional client base. Whether due to regulatory constraints, required minimum investment amounts, or operational burdens, alternative investments were usually the province of an elite group of private wealth clients and the wealth managers who served them. In the last decade, however, these hurdles have been largely removed, and as a result more investors in the U.S. and internationally are accessing previously unavailable private market assets such as private equity, credit and real assets as well as hedge funds. We believe this significant shift will accelerate as more wealth managers and their clients utilize these products, a trend we call “The Road to Mass Adoption.”