- One in three affluent investors (32%) already allocate to private markets, with Millennials far more likely to invest than older generations
- Benchmarks and indices are seen as critical to building confidence and bringing private markets into the mainstream
- Strong trust in advisors makes them the primary gateway to private markets – but many are missing the opportunity
FTSE Russell, LSEG’s global index provider, today launched its 2026 U.S. Wealth Pulse Survey, showing that private markets are rapidly moving toward the mainstream of affluent investors’ portfolios, led by Millennials' stronger risk appetite and longer time horizons. 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.
Adam Gebler, Head of Wealth, Americas, at FTSE Russell, said:
"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. This creates a clear opportunity to better equip their advisors with the tools, education and solutions investors are seeking."
Satisfied with 2025 perfomance, investors cautious about 2026
The survey finds that more than nine in 10 affluent investors (91%) are satisfied with their 2025 performance, including nearly half (47%) who are very satisfied. This is a sharp rise from 2024 (80% satisfied and 30% very satisfied). Satisfaction is even higher among advised investors, with half (50%) saying they are very satisfied.
Looking ahead, optimism is more cautious. Two-thirds (66%) are positive about portfolio performance over the next six months and half (51%) about the U.S. stock market, both down from last year (76% and 57%, respectively). Positive sentiment toward the U.S. economy (45%), the global economy (40%) and inflation (33%) remains subdued and broadly unchanged.
Benchmarks and the road to mainstream
As private markets become part of mainstream investing, investors see standardised benchmarks as critical for building confidence. More than three-quarters (78%) say benchmarks increase their confidence in private markets, and 92% say benchmark comparison is important when evaluating returns – with 45% calling it “very important.”
Benchmarks matter most to younger investors, with 62% of Millennials rating them as very important, compared with just 40% of Gen X and 36% of Boomers.
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%).
Most investors are willing to trade liquidity for higher returns, with 57% prepared to sacrifice some liquidity in exchange for just moderately higher returns, and among those open to limited liquidity (e.g., 5+ year lock-up), more than four in 10 (44%) would require an annual premium (above public markets) of 5–9%, a quarter (26%) would require 10–14%, and almost a fifth (17%) would require 15% or more.
Advisors are key to adoption – an untapped opportunity
Most private markets investors access the asset class through an advisor. More than three-quarters (77%) invest with a financial advisor, with 44% relying on wealth managers or private banks, a pattern mirrored among prospective investors. Current investors have also accessed private markets directly (33%) or through a self-directed brokerage platform (36%).
Advisor recommendations are especially powerful. 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, and only around a quarter (26%) have had detailed conversations.
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%.
Private markets gaining traction – especially with Millennials
Private markets have become a significant part of affluent portfolios in a short period. One in three investors (32%) are currently investing in private markets, with 61% doing so for the first time within the past five years, with 74% allocating 10% or more of their portfolios.
Familiarity with private markets varies by asset class. Familiarity is highest with hedge funds (58%), private equity (56%) and private real estate funds (50%), while awareness is lower for private credit/private debt funds (45%), business development companies (BDCs) (34%) and interval funds (25%).
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 Gen X and just 11% of Baby Boomers. Looking ahead, a quarter (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.
Ali Zaidi, Head of Alternatives at FTSE Russell, comments on the findings:
“Investors effectively forgo the premium of private investments by positioning for liquidity that is not intended to be utilised, maintaining fully liquid portfolios despite long-term investment horizons. With regulatory and retirement tax frameworks structurally aligned with long-term capital, such portfolios may therefore be inherently inefficient. As private markets mature – bringing greater transparency through more timely performance data – investors are better able to introspect and align allocations with their investment horizons.”
Workplace plans could further drive adoption
Workplace retirement plans appear poised to become an important channel for expanding access to private markets. Among workplace plan participants, three-quarters (77%) say they would consider allocating to private markets if such options were made available, and more than a third (35%) say they would definitely do so.
FTSE Russell supports investors across private markets through a growing suite of benchmarks, including daily private market indices developed with StepStone and listed private market indices delivered in partnership with LPX.
Contacts
Methodology
FTSE Russell’s 2026 Wealth Pulse Survey was an online quantitative survey of 600 U.S. retail investors conducted by independent research firm 8 Acre Perspective between March 18 and March 30, 2026. All respondents had a minimum of $500,000 in investable assets (excluding workplace accounts and real estate), and 393 had $1 million or more. Participants were aged 25 or older, were either the primary or joint decision maker for their household’s finances, and held individual stocks, mutual funds and/or ETFs outside of workplace retirement plans.
About FTSE Russell, an LSEG business
FTSE Russell is a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide. FTSE Russell calculates thousands of indexes that measure and benchmark markets and asset classes in more than 70 countries, covering 98% of the investable market globally.
FTSE Russell index expertise and products are used extensively by institutional and retail investors globally. Approximately $20 trillion is benchmarked to FTSE Russell indexes. Leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks choose FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create ETFs, structured products and index-based derivatives.
A core set of universal principles guides FTSE Russell index design and management: a transparent rules-based methodology is informed by independent committees of leading market participants. FTSE Russell is focused on applying the highest industry standards in index design and governance and embraces the IOSCO Principles. FTSE Russell is also focused on index innovation and customer partnerships as it seeks to enhance the breadth, depth and reach of its offering.
FTSE Russell is wholly owned by LSEG.
For more information, visit FTSE Russell.
© 2026 London Stock Exchange Group plc and its applicable group undertakings (“LSEG”). LSEG includes (1) FTSE International Limited (“FTSE”), (2) Frank Russell Company (“Russell”), (3) FTSE Global Debt Capital Markets Inc. “FTSE Canada”, (4) FTSE Fixed Income LLC (“FTSE FI”), (5) FTSE (Beijing) Consulting Limited (“WOFE”), FTSE EU SAS ("FTSE EU"). All rights reserved.
FTSE Russell® is a trading name of FTSE, Russell, FTSE Canada, FTSE FI, WOFE, FTSE EU and other LSEG entities providing LSEG Benchmark and Index services. “FTSE®”, “Russell®”, “FTSE Russell®”, “FTSE4Good®”, “ICB®”, “Refinitiv”, “WMR™” “FR™” and all other trademarks and service marks used herein (whether registered or unregistered) are trademarks and/or service marks owned or licensed by the applicable member of LSEG or their respective licensors.
FTSE International Limited is authorised as a Benchmark Administrator and regulated in the United Kingdom (UK) by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") according to the UK Benchmark Regulation, FCA Reference Number 796803. FTSE EU SAS is authorised as Benchmark Administrator and regulated in the European Union (EU) by the Autorité des Marches Financiers (“AMF”) according to the EU Benchmark Regulation.
All information is provided for information purposes only. All information and data contained in this publication is obtained by LSEG, from sources believed by it to be accurate and reliable. Because of the possibility of human and mechanical inaccuracy as well as other factors, however, such information and data is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. No member of LSEG nor their respective directors, officers, employees, partners or licensors make any claim, prediction, warranty or representation whatsoever, expressly or impliedly, either as to the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability of any information or LSEG Products, or of results to be obtained from the use of LSEG products, including but not limited to indices, rates, data and analytics, or the fitness or suitability of the LSEG products for any particular purpose to which they might be put. The user of the information assumes the entire risk of any use it may make or permit to be made of the information.
No responsibility or liability can be accepted by any member of LSEG nor their respective directors, officers, employees, partners or licensors for (a) any loss or damage in whole or in part caused by, resulting from, or relating to any inaccuracy (negligent or otherwise) or other circumstance involved in procuring, collecting, compiling, interpreting, analysing, editing, transcribing, transmitting, communicating or delivering any such information or data or from use of this document or links to this document or (b) any direct, indirect, special, consequential or incidental damages whatsoever, even if any member of LSEG is advised in advance of the possibility of such damages, resulting from the use of, or inability to use, such information.
No member of LSEG nor their respective directors, officers, employees, partners or licensors provide investment advice and nothing in this document should be taken as constituting financial or investment advice. No member of LSEG nor their respective directors, officers, employees, partners or licensors make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in any asset or whether such investment creates any legal or compliance risks for the investor. A decision to invest in any such asset should not be made in reliance on any information herein. Indices and rates cannot be invested in directly. Inclusion of an asset in an index or rate is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold that asset nor confirmation that any particular investor may lawfully buy, sell or hold the asset or an index or rate containing the asset. The general information contained in this publication should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from a licensed professional.
