Affluent investors are increasingly adding private-market assets to their portfolios, led by millennials’ stronger risk appetite and longer time horizons.
And while investors report strong satisfaction with portfolio performance in 2025, they are more cautious regarding the rest of 2026, though younger investors are more optimistic than those approaching retirement.
These are among the key conclusions of the FTSE Russell 2026 Wealth Pulse Survey, of 600 U.S. retail investors conducted in March. All respondents had a minimum of $500,000 in investable assets (excluding workplace accounts and real estate) and 393 had $1 million or more.
Wealth managers are increasingly seeking to act on such trends.
“Our research shows investors are interested in private markets, but they’re looking for guidance on how to incorporate and use them, which means activation runs through the advisor,” says Adam Gebler, head of wealth, Americas, at FTSE Russell. “This creates a clear opportunity to better equip their advisors with the tools, education and solutions investors are seeking.”
Advisor recommendations are especially powerful, the survey found. While just over half of investors who work with an advisor (55%) are interested in private markets regardless of whether their advisor recommends it, 89% say they would invest following a strong recommendation from their advisor. Yet engagement remains uneven, as nearly half of investors with an advisor (48%) have not discussed private markets. Only around a quarter (26%) have had detailed conversations.
Generational differences are pronounced. Nearly nine in 10 millennials (87%) are familiar with private markets and two-thirds (67%) already invest, compared with 30% of Generation X and just 11% of baby boomers. Looking ahead, 24% of those surveyed that are not yet investing in private markets expect to do so in the next 12 months. Of these potential investors, 56% were millennials compared to just 19% for boomers.
Workplace retirement plans appear poised to become an important channel for expanding access to private markets. Among workplace plan participants, 77% say they would consider allocating to private markets if such options were made available, and 35% say they would definitely do so.
Demand for education is high. Most affluent investors (72%) want to learn more about private markets, with advisor-led discussions their preferred source of information, ranked among the top three by 62%. While high return potential is the main attraction of private markets for affluent investors (67%), performance uncertainty remains the biggest barrier (42%), ahead of high fees (36%) and complexity (35%).
