As the financial landscape continues to evolve, wealth advisors are staying ahead by broadening their expertise in alternative investments. These assets—ranging from private equity and private credit to real estate and commodities—offer more than just diversification beyond traditional stocks and bonds; they offer the potential for higher returns that advisors can leverage to help clients meet their wealth preservation goals.
Advisors increasingly tell us that investors are pushing them to invest in alts, not the other way around. Clearly, word has gotten out about alts, but there is still much to do. Since our last Outlook, some of the biggest names in wealth management, such as BlackRock and Morgan Stanley, have called for boosting alts allocations in client portfolios to as high as 15% or even 20%. With growing interest in alts, advisors who can effectively navigate these investments will be better equipped to provide tailored strategies for clients. Continued training to boost alts proficiency among advisors is crucial to a successful alts experience.
Fortunately, the industry is pulling together to educate advisors about alts as evidenced by the overwhelming level of contribution to this report. The Blue Vault 2025 Alternative Investments Mid-Year Outlook and Select Sector Reports—our largest and most comprehensive report to date—is a collaboration by some of the industry’s brightest minds. The purpose of the Outlook is to provide advisors with a review of where alternative investments stand at the mid-way point of the year and what to look for as we move ahead.
The Outlook is a product of the Blue Vault Alts Educational Board, which consists of 16 executives from 16 different wealth firms across the financial services industry. The report includes article content from 20 different industry firms on a variety of topics. We hope you’ll take the time to look through and review the content, as you prepare your practice for what promises to be a riveting fall season and year-end. With so much economic activity and variations of data trends, so many different opinions, and so many options to consider as we adjust to market abnormalities and trends, we hope the Alts Mid-Year Outlook will help you simplify the complex. Special thanks to Bluerock’s Josh Hoffman for his leadership role in making the Outlook take shape.
Stacy H. Chitty
Managing Partner