Financial Planning summit asks: Do more clients need access to alts?

Financial advisors, regulators and clients are increasingly questioning whether alternative investments should become more accessible to regular investors, not just wealthy clients. 

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The debate has only intensified as some large wealth managers expand access to private credit, private equity and crypto products for smaller investors through self-directed brokerage accounts and other vehicles.

Financial Planning will examine those topics and more next month during a virtual summit, “Alternative Assets: Unlocking the World of Alt Assets for Accredited Investors.” The free event, which begins at noon ET on June 4, will feature three sessions looking at the benefits, risks and growing accessibility of alternative investments. Additional agenda information and registration details can be found here.

The three sessions are:

“Unlocking New Sources of Wealth: Establishing Strategies for Educating Clients on the Benefits and Risks of Alternative Assets.” 12 p.m. ET, featuring Michael Scarsciotti, senior vice president and head of investment specialists at Fidelity Investments, and Kevin Thompson, founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group.”Private Markets in Client Portfolios: Should Advisors Lean In?” 12:55 p.m. ET, featuring Toussaint Bailey, founder and managing partner of Uplifting Capital, and David Krakauer, vice president of portfolio management at Mercer Advisors.”Crypto in Client Portfolios: Alt Asset or Mainstream Allocation?” 1:50 p.m. ET, featuring Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals.

Much of the discussion will concern whether private markets and alternative investments should become more widely available to people who now meet the income and asset criteria for qualifying as an accredited investor. To be an accredited investor, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, people without special industry licenses now must have at least $1 million in assets (excluding a primary residence) and an annual income of at least $200,000 for the past two years for single earners and $300,000 for married couples. 

Though accredited-investor access will be a central focus, panelists are also expected to discuss whether alternative investments should expand even further into the retail market.

With advisors’ help, investors piled into private markets in 2025 

Not everyone thinks greater access to private markets is wise

Thompson, who runs his RIA out of Fort Worth, Texas, said he remains a skeptic. If a wealthy client comes to him with a strong interest in private markets, Thompson said he sometimes works with an outside asset manager to find suitable investment opportunities.

But for regular investors, the costs and other disadvantages of private equity, private credit and other investments tend to be too high. That’s especially true when it comes to illiquidity. Unlike investments in stock, bonds and other traditional assets, money invested in private markets often has to stay locked up for years before being withdrawn.

Thompson said his primary consideration when deciding if a client is a good fit for private markets is whether they’re likely to need liquidity.

“If somebody with half a million dollars comes to me and says, ‘What do you think about private credit and private equity?’ I have to say, ‘What can I do with half a million dollars?'” Thompson said. “You want me to lock up your money for the next 10 years? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Many large wealth and asset managers tout the often high returns and diversification benefits of private markets and alternative assets. Investors looking to find a haven from the ups and downs of publicly traded investments, they say, can find stability by looking to alternatives.

All that and more will be up for discussion next month. 

“Alternative assets can be complex and are ever-changing. We’re offering this virtual summit to help advisors navigate these options,” said Brian Wallheimer, Financial Planning editor-in-chief and host of two of the sessions on June 4. “This fits nicely into our mission of helping financial advisors grow their businesses and connect with their clients.” 

To read recent FP articles on private markets and alternative assets, scroll down: 

Did private credit investors know what they were getting into?

Many recent headlines about private markets have covered investors’ inability to withdraw billions of dollars they had invested in loans outside the regulated banking system.

Such private credit loans were never meant to be as liquid as bonds or other standard types of fixed income. But did advisors who recommended private credit to clients make that clear?

Private credit is deliberately illiquid — did advisors explain that? Trapped in private credit, investors wait to pull out $5B How to bust myths about private investments, per Morningstar 

Even if alts are costly and illiquid, they diversify portfolios

One of the biggest selling points for private and alternative investments is that they give investors a means of diversifying.

Their illiquidity is even promoted as a feature: The redemption limits placed on many private credit and real estate funds prevents investors from yanking their money out during times of economic distress.

Critics say this illiquidity may simply mask underlying problems in private markets. But diversification is often cited as a main reason that alternative assets should not be the exclusive preserve of the wealthy.

If steam goes out of stocks, can private markets fuel portfolios? Forget the returns. Advisors look to private markets for diversification The risks behind retail investors’ fervor for private markets 

Private investments in 401(k)s, other retirement plans

The Department of Labor set off alarm bells in March when it put forward a proposal to make it easier to allow private investments in 401(k)s and other defined-contribution retirement plans, which have become the default saving method for many Americans.

Critics contend the DOL’s rule, although increasing access, would also expose investors to the attendant risks and high costs of alternative investments.

DOL rule could reshape 401(k) access to alternatives  Plan sponsors signal cautious interest in private markets Do ‘modest’ private market returns justify the added complexity?