NEW YORK — New survey results published today by iCapital1, the global fintech platform shaping the future of investing, reveal advisor education and technology needs are top priorities amid strong investor appetite for private markets solutions. The 2025 Global Advisor Survey offers a broad range of insights and perspectives around alternative investing from more than 600 registered financial professionals across the U.S., Europe, APAC, and the Middle East.
Advisors Embrace Alternatives as a Growth Engine for Client Portfolios
Advisors are increasingly turning to alternatives not just for diversification, but as a powerful engine for client growth—now ranking alongside access as a top reason for adoption. In the U.S., attracting new clients is the leading driver of alts engagement. Nearly all advisors (96%) plan to maintain or increase their exposure to alternatives over the next year, signaling their permanence in portfolios. U.S. advisors are more than twice as likely as those in other regions to boost allocations. Private equity (66%), credit (56%), and hedge funds (54%) remain the most favored asset classes, reflecting a strong focus on private markets and income generation. Innovation is also reshaping adoption: 77% of advisors expect evergreens to comprise 10% or more of client portfolios, with U.S. advisors projecting average exposure to evergreen strategies to grow to 11–15% within two years.
Education and Technology Remain Critical as Advisors Deepen Alts Integration
According to iCapital’s findings, increased adoption of alternatives hasn’t diminished the need for education—foundational learning remains a top priority, just behind technology and implementation. As advisors expand their use of alts, they’re seeking more advanced guidance on reporting, portfolio construction, and operational integration. With alternatives becoming structural components of portfolios, technology and implementation now rank as the number one advisor priority. Advisors need scalable technology solutions that streamline onboarding, reporting, and data integration to meet growing client demand. However, challenges remain: 55% of advisors cite difficulty assessing liquidity and risk across asset classes, while 53% struggle to understand the overall portfolio impact of alternatives.
Methodology
The results in this report are from an online survey of over 600 registered financial professionals across the U.S., Europe, APAC, and the Middle East. Respondents were from nine different countries. The survey was fielded in the first quarter of 2025.
About iCapital
iCapital is a global leader shaping the future of investing for financial advisors, wealth managers, asset managers, and other industry participants. iCapital offers a diverse and complete range of non-traditional investment products on iCapital Marketplace, Enterprise Solutions, and both Technology and Data Services, designed to help drive better outcomes2 for all participants in the ecosystem.
With strategic investment from leading alternative asset managers and wealth managers globally, iCapital provides unrivaled access, data connectivity, education, and research programs to advisors and their clients. Leveraging AI and machine learning for digital identity (KYC/AML), iCapital supports compliant and secure investment lifecycle processes.
iCapital’s end-to-end platform manages the lifecycle of non-traditional investment products, making it easier to learn about, buy, manage, and integrate alternative assets, structured investments (SI) and annuities into portfolios, driving growth, scale, and efficiency. Our solution(s) can be customized and offers specific modules as needed.
iCapital has over $918.53 billion of global volume activity on platform, including $232 billion in alternatives platform assets, $203 billion in SI and Annuities Outstandings, and $483 billion in Data Solutions Reporting Assets, and serving over 2,975 wealth management firms and 112,000 active financial professionals.
Headquartered in New York, iCapital operates globally with 16 offices, including major hubs in Zurich, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, and Toronto, and an industry-leading R&D center in Lisbon. iCapital is recognized for its innovation and leadership, with accolades from Euromoney (World’s Best Technology Provider for Wealth Management), CNBC (World Top Fintech Companies), and Forbes Fintech 50.
For more information, visit https://icapital.com | Twitter (X): @icapitalnetwork | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icapital-network-inc
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- iCapital, Inc., and its affiliates (together, “iCapital”)
- iCapital delivers better outcomes by streamlining financial operations, enhancing technology infrastructure, and empowering smarter decision-making through reporting and analytics.
- April 30, 2025
Important Information
This material has been provided to you for informational purposes only by iCapital, Inc. and/or one of its affiliates including Institutional Capital Network, Inc. (collectively, “iCapital”). This material is the property of iCapital and may not be shared without its written permission. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission of iCapital. “iCapital” and “iCapital Network” are registered trademarks of Institutional Capital Network, Inc.
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