James Martin

In 2026, private wealth investors plan to increase allocations to private market investments, according to insights from 390 advisors surveyed in leading global private markets firm Hamilton Lane’s (Nasdaq: HLNE) 2026 Global Private Wealth Survey.

Private Markets Allocations on the Rise

The survey found that 86% of private wealth professionals plan to increase private market investments this year, with portfolio optimisation being the top motivator. Currently, 97% of private wealth professionals surveyed allocate between 1–20% of their book of business to private markets, and the majority expect those allocations to grow in 2026. Within this allocation, respondents reported an even spread across private markets strategies, with Private Equity at 19%, Private Real Estate at 18%, Private Credit at 16%, Venture Capital & Growth at 16% and Private Infrastructure at 15%.

In terms of what drives client interest, advisors ranked performance and diversification as the top reasons for investing in private markets.

Risk vs. Reward

Despite common misconceptions, the survey findings show that most private wealth clients do not see private markets as riskier than public markets. In fact, 83% of respondents view private market risk/reward as similar, or view the reward as higher compared to public markets, reinforcing confidence in these strategies.

Growing Interest in Venture Capital

While respondents’ allocations today are fairly evenly spread across strategies, Venture Capital & Growth emerged as a favourite among respondents for 2026, with 47% planning to increase allocations to this strategy. Further, when asked which strategies resonate most with new, highly engaged investors, more than half pointed to Venture Capital & Growth.

Additional global key findings:

• Education continues to be important, with 81% of wealth professionals reporting that client education significantly boosts interest in private markets, underscoring the importance of addressing knowledge gaps, particularly at the product level.
• Entry points into private markets tend to start with Private Equity and Venture Capital & Growth.
• Forty-six percent of respondents named Infrastructure as the strategy to which they plan to increase allocation in 2026, just behind Venture Capital & Growth (at 47%).

James Martin, Head of Global Client Solutions at Hamilton Lane, commented: “The survey results point to the increasingly important role private markets play within wealth management portfolios, due to the portfolio optimisation and diversification benefits these investments can provide. Across our own client base and in the survey results, we see investors and their wealth advisors becoming more sophisticated around assessing risk/reward tradeoffs and recognising the strong link between education and interest in the asset class.”

Scott Thomas, Head of Private Wealth Solutions for Australia at Hamilton Lane, added: “This year highlighted a shift among private wealth investors and their advisors toward building more resilient portfolios, and the findings reflect what we’re hearing in the market today: private markets are viewed through a more nuanced risk‑reward lens than in the past. As we look across strategies, Venture Capital & Growth stands out as investors seek access to innovative, high-growth private companies, many of which are not available in the public markets.”

Today, Hamilton Lane’s Evergreen Platform serves thousands of advisors, offers 11 evergreen funds and manages $15B AUM*. For more information on Hamilton Lane’s Private Wealth business, click here. To view the full report and findings, click here.

Survey Methodology

The online survey was conducted in partnership with Wakefield Research between October 23 and November 4, 2025. The 390 global respondents included private wealth firms, RIAs, family offices and other advisor professionals from the Americas, APAC and EMEA. Hamilton Lane’s affiliation with the survey was not disclosed to respondents.

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*AUM is calculated as the net asset value (NAV) as of November 30, 2025, plus net subscriptions received for the December 1, 2025 dealing date, and is presented in USD millions.

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Scott Thomas

More than 90% of survey respondents currently allocate client capital to private markets, with essentially all of them (99%) planning to allocate some portion of client portfolios to the asset class this year, according to a recent independent survey conducted by leading global private markets investment management firm Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE).

Uptake continues

With more than half of advisors (52%) reporting that they plan to allocate 10%+ of clients’ portfolios to private markets, the survey affirmed the broader industry trend of strong, growing interest in the private markets among non-institutional investors.​

Seventy percent of advisors plan to increase clients’ allocation to the asset class compared to 2023.​

Advisors cited performance and diversification as the top reasons for the spike in interest in the private markets.

Knowledge gap

​In terms of their own knowledge of the private markets, 97% of advisors report either advanced (55%) or intermediate (42%) understanding. While advisors are knowledgeable, their clients may not be.

The survey found that advisors acknowledge that their clients believe alternatives may provide portfolio benefits but may not be educated enough on the asset class.​

For example, 50% of advisors rate their clients’ knowledge about private markets investments as beginner or having little to no knowledge of the asset class – requiring basic education, despite their strong interest in the asset class. Only 4% of advisors rated their clients’ knowledge about private markets as advanced, or well versed in the asset class and confident in talking about private market details, trends and products. In other words, there is an opportunity to increase end investors’ private markets knowledge.

“The punchline from this survey was an affirmation that as interest in private markets grows, there is a clear need for more education,” said Steve Brennan, Head of Private Wealth Solutions at Hamilton Lane. “We’ve found that a foundational understanding of the asset class affirms initial interest from new investors and contributes to a sustained investing appetite for those who are already allocated. We anticipate that, as private wealth investors become more knowledgeable about and familiar with the asset class, private markets allocations will likely also increase.”

When asked what private markets tools and information advisors would find helpful in their practice, advisors cited education, thought leadership and events as the top three ways to improve their clients’ knowledge of the asset class.

“Our survey shows that giving private wealth clients more opportunities to learn about private markets investing can help both advisors and clients achieve their goals,” said Scott Thomas, Hamilton Lane’s Head of Private Wealth, Australia.

“Resources like Hamilton Lane’s Knowledge Center, Chart of the Week and our ongoing podcast series, Private Markets Made Human, were created to help advisors and clients develop private markets acumen to further their unique investment objectives.”

Read the report.

Survey methodology ​

The online survey was conducted from November 27 – December 22, 2023. The 232 global respondents included private wealth firms, RIAs, family offices, and other advisor professionals from the U.S., Canada, LatAm, EMEA and APAC.

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Scott Thomas

Leading private markets investment management firm Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE) has announced that its Global Private Assets Fund (“GPA” or the “Fund”) has reached approximately AUD$6.3B in AUM and has built a five-year track record of performance, one of a small group of private markets evergreen products globally to have reached this milestone. With an annualised net performance of 14.00% since inception as of 31 March, 2024, GPA has delivered strong performance to date and has experienced significant investor interest driven by demand for new, diversified sources of return.

Since launching in 2019, GPA has navigated a range of market conditions and seen a steady increase in demand from private wealth and institutional investors. The Fund offers thoughtful portfolio construction diversified across buyout, credit and venture capital/growth through a single allocation.  With over 170 investments in the vehicle as of 31 March  2024, GPA is open to select retail and wholesale investors in Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

GPA was Hamilton Lane’s first offering on its Evergreen Platform, which today has expanded to include the Private Assets Fund (“PAF”), registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“40 Act”), making PAF more widely available to qualified U.S. clients, including certain individual investors, their wealth advisors, as well as institutions. Additionally, the Platform includes the Senior Credit Opportunities Fund (“SCOPE”), which is open to qualified high-net-worth investors and their advisors in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia. With plans for additional evergreen offerings in the works, total AUM for the firm’s Evergreen Platform sits at nearly US$7 billion as of 31 March 2024.​

Scott Thomas, Hamilton Lane’s Head of Private Wealth, Australia, commented: “The evergreen structure has proved to be hugely appealing to investors who previously had limited access to private markets, and that demand has only grown over the past five years. An evergreen fund with a track record like GPA, coupled with Hamilton Lane’s 32+ years focused exclusively on the private market is rare, and we are proud to be one of the few platforms able to offer that to a diverse range of investors.”

Brian Gildea, Head of Evergreen Portfolios, said: “Private markets have historically outperformed public markets, and as investors look for greater access to those returns, GPA offers a single allocation exposure to a diverse private assets portfolio. Evergreen portfolios continue to be more accommodating for certain investor types, allowing for more flexibility than typical closed-ended structures.”

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