Markets in a Minute
The Projected Growth of Alternative Assets
This infographic is available as a poster.
This infographic is available as a poster.
The Projected Growth of Alternative Assets
When it comes to investing, the focus is typically on stocks and bonds. However, in recent years, many investors have turned their attention to another opportunity: alternative assets.
In fact, global assets under management (AUM) in alternatives are projected to grow by 62% from 2020-2025. In this Markets in a Minute from New York Life Investments, we explain what alternative assets are and which categories will see the most growth.
What are Alternative Assets?
Alternative assets are investments that fall outside of the traditional asset classes of stocks, bonds, and cash. They are broken up into the following asset classes:
- Private equity: Investing in companies that are not publicly traded or listed on a stock exchange. This can also include the acquisition of public companies by a private investment fund or investor.
- Private debt: Investing in companies in the form of debt as opposed to equity. Private debt is not typically financed by banks, nor traded or issued in an open market.
- Hedge funds: Largely unregulated funds that can invest across a wide range of asset classes and instruments. These funds aim to ‘hedge’ risk and maximize profits regardless of which direction the market moves through long (buy) or short (sell) positions.
- Real estate: The acquisition, financing, and ownership of real estate assets by private investment vehicles, funds, or firms. This includes residential, commercial, and industrial properties both at the time of original listing and when being sold between two parties afterwards.
- Infrastructure: Investment in services and facilities considered essential to the economic development of a society. This includes energy, logistics, telecoms, transportation, utilities, and waste management.
- Natural resources: Investment in the development, enhancement, or production of various types of natural resources. This includes agriculture, renewable energy, timberland, water, and metals.
In contrast to traditional markets, alternative assets are typically less liquid and less regulated.
Global Growth
According to Preqin, all alternative asset classes will see significant growth in global AUM. Here’s how the projections break down from 2020 to 2025:
| 2020 | 2021P | 2022P | 2023P | 2024P | 2025P | CAGR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private equity | 4.4T | $5.1T | $5.9T | $6.8T | $7.9T | $9.1T | 15.6% |
| Private debt | $848B | $945B | $1.1T | $1.2T | $1.3T | $1.5T | 11.4% |
| Hedge funds | $3.6T | $3.7T | $3.8T | $4.0T | $4.1T | $4.3T | 3.6% |
| Real estate | $1.0T | $1.1T | $1.1T | $1.2T | $1.2T | $1.2T | 3.4% |
| Infrastructure | $639B | $668B | $697B | $729B | $761B | $795B | 4.5% |
| Natural resources | $211B | $222B | $233B | $245B | $258B | $271B | 5.1% |
| Total | $10.7T | $11.7T | $12.9T | $14.1T | $15.5T | $17.2T | 9.8% |
Private equity will grow the fastest, and will also see the highest growth in dollar terms. In fact, its proportion of alternative assets’ AUM is expected to rise from 41% in 2020 to 53% in 2025. Preqin predicts that this will be due to both strong performance and asset flows, with 79% of surveyed investors planning to increase their allocation to private equity.
Private debt is also expected to see strong growth. With greater risk appetite than banks, private debt funds could be active in emerging technologies such as pharmaceuticals and the remote working industry. These funds take on higher risk in anticipation of higher yield potential, an attractive proposition for investors amid low interest rates in many areas.
Similarly, investors will likely turn to real estate for its yield potential. Long-leased assets usually offer stable cash flows and indexed rents, making them one of the asset classes that may hedge inflation. However, the industry is projected to have the lowest compound annual growth rate, given the uncertainty facing office and retail spaces post COVID-19.
The Opportunities in Alternative Assets
Outside of investments such as liquid alternatives, alternative assets have typically only been accessible to institutional investors. However, recent regulatory changes by the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) mean that private markets are opening up to individual investors if they meet certain criteria.
Alternative assets offer a number of compelling opportunities, including portfolio diversification, lower correlation with public markets, and potential outperformance. In fact, research has found that private equity was the best-performing asset class in a public pension portfolio, based on median annualized returns from 2010-2020.
According to Preqin’s projections, it appears investors are realizing this potential. While stocks and bonds will likely remain central to portfolios, alternative assets can help to broaden investors’ horizons.
Markets in a Minute
The Average American’s Financial Portfolio by Account Type
From retirement plans to bank accounts, we show the percentage of an American’s financial portfolio that is typically held in each account.
The Average American’s Financial Portfolio by Account Type
Where does the average American put their money? From retirement plans to banks, the typical financial portfolio includes a variety of accounts.
In this graphic from Morningstar, we explore what percentage of a person’s money is typically held within each account.
Breaking Down a Typical Financial Portfolio
People put the most money in employer retirement plans, which make up nearly two-fifths of the average financial portfolio. Bank accounts, which include checking, savings, and CDs, hold the second-largest percentage of people’s money.
| Account Type | % of Financial Portfolio |
|---|---|
| Employer retirement plan | 38% |
| Bank account | 23% |
| Brokerage/investment account | 14% |
| Traditional IRA | 10% |
| Roth IRA | 7% |
| Crypto wallet/account | 4% |
| Education savings account | 3% |
| Other | 1% |
Source: Morningstar Voice of the Investor Report 2024, based on 1,261 U.S. respondents.
Outside of employer retirement plans and bank accounts, the average American keeps nearly 40% of their money in accounts that advisors typically help manage. For instance, people also hold a large portion of their assets in investment accounts and IRAs.
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Account Insight for Advisors
Given the large focus on retirement accounts in financial portfolios, advisors can clearly communicate how they will help investors achieve their retirement goals. Notably, Americans say that funding retirement accounts is a top financial goal in the next three years (39% of people), second only to reducing debt (40%).
Americans also say that building an emergency fund is one of their financial goals (35%), which can be supported by the money they hold in bank accounts. However, it can be helpful for advisors to educate clients on the lower return potential of savings accounts and CDs. In comparison, advisors can highlight that investment or retirement accounts can hold assets with more potential for building wealth, like mutual funds or ETFs. With this knowledge in mind, clients will be better able to balance short-term and long-term financial goals.
The survey results also highlight the importance of advisors staying up to date on emerging trends and products. People hold 4% of their money in crypto accounts on average, and nearly a quarter of people said they hold crypto assets like bitcoin. Advisors who educate themselves on these assets can more effectively answer investors’ questions.
Markets in a Minute
5 Factors Linked to Higher Investor Engagement
Engaged investors review their goals often and are more involved in decisions, but which factors are tied to higher investor engagement?
5 Factors Linked to Higher Investor Engagement
Imagine two investors. One investor reviews their investment goals every quarter and actively makes decisions. The second investor hasn’t reviewed their goals in over a year and doesn’t take part in any investment decisions. Are there traits that the first, more involved investor would be more likely to have?
In this graphic from Morningstar, we explore five factors that are associated with high investor engagement.
Influences on Investor Engagement
Morningstar scores their Investor Engagement Index from a low of zero to a high of 100, which indicates full engagement. In their survey, they discovered five traits that are tied to higher average engagement levels among investors.
| Factor | Investor Engagement Index Score (Max = 100) |
|---|---|
| Financial advisor relationship | Don’t work with financial advisor: 63 |
| Work with financial advisor: 70 | |
| Sustainability alignment | No actions/alignment: 63 |
| Some/full alignment: 74 | |
| Trust in AI | Low trust: 61 |
| High trust: 74 | |
| Risk tolerance | Conservative: 62 |
| Aggressive: 76 | |
| Comfort making investment decisions | Low comfort: 42 |
| High comfort: 76 |
Morningstar’s Investor Engagement Index is equally weighted based on retail investors’ responses to seven questions: feeling informed about composition and performance of investments, frequency of investment portfolio review, involvement in investment decision-making, understanding of investment concepts and financial markets, frequency of goals review, clarity of investment strategy aligning to long-term goals, and frequency of engagement in financial education activities.
On average, people who work with financial advisors, have sustainability alignment, trust AI, and have a high risk tolerance are more engaged.
The starkest contrast was that people with high comfort making investment decisions have engagement levels that are nearly two times higher than those with low comfort. In fact, people with a high comfort level were significantly more likely to say they were knowledgeable about the composition and performance of their investments (84%) vs. those with low comfort (18%).
Personalizing Experiences Based on Engagement
Advisors can consider adjusting their approach depending on an investor’s engagement level. For example, if a client has an aggressive risk tolerance this may indicate the client is more engaged. Based on this, the advisor could check if the client would prefer more frequent portfolio reviews.
On the other hand, soft skills can play a key role for those who are less engaged. People with low comfort making investment decisions indicated that the top ways their financial advisor provides value is through optimizing for growth and risk management (62%), making them feel more secure about their financial future (38%), and offering peace of mind and relief from the stress of money management (30%).
The Average American’s Financial Portfolio by Account Type
5 Factors Linked to Higher Investor Engagement
The Top 5 Reasons Clients Fire a Financial Advisor
The Top 5 Reasons Clients Hire a Financial Advisor
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