Retail Investors

Innovation within the private wealth space will bring wider benefits to the private equity industry at large, say Ardian’s Jan Philipp Schmitz and Erwan Paugam.

Specialisation trends are beginning to emerge in the evergreens space, allowing for more structured investments, according to Pantheon’s Michael Hutten and Victor Mayer.

Innovation in technology and product development is helping to widen access and bring efficiency to private markets investing, says iCapital chairman and CEO Lawrence Calcano.

Many of the most exciting investment themes today are taking place in private markets – and investors are eager to participate, says Kyle Kniffen, global head of alternatives, third-party wealth, at Goldman Sachs.

As financial advisers better understand the fundamental benefits of investing in the private markets, they are focusing on portfolio construction and implementation, says Bob Long, CEO of StepStone Private Wealth.

A Deloitte report forecasts that retail investors’ allocations to private capital could expand to $2.4trn by 2030 in the US.

"We harbour that view as a firm that a lot of the alternatives growth over the next five to 10 years will come globally," chief executive John Sweeney tells PEI.

Muted appetites have led to steep discounts, leaving some listed private equity trusts vulnerable to shareholder activism and an incoming tide of potential competitors.

As wealth managers increasingly turn their focus to alternatives, big-name firms are getting the lion’s share of the attention.