Advisors are increasingly embracing alternatives as a growth engine for clients’ investment portfolios, viewing them now as essential, multi-purpose portfolio components and no longer just part of diversification strategies, according to the findings of iCapital’s new “2025 Global Advisor Survey,” released on Wednesday.
As alternatives increasingly become structural components of portfolios, technology and implementation now rank as the top advisor priorities, iCapital said.
“Advisors worldwide are embracing alternatives, and their message is clear: with growing allocations, technology solutions are key,” the online survey of 603 registered financial professionals across the U.S., Europe, APAC and the Middle East, found.
The focus of advisors has “shifted from ‘why alternatives’ to scaling operations, personalizing client portfolios, and running efficient, risk-managed businesses,” the survey said.
Advisor education is also a top priority amid strong investor appetite for private markets solutions, according to the survey, which also found that advisors want scalable technology solutions that streamline onboarding, reporting and data integration to meet increasing client demand.
U.S. Advisors Out Front
U.S. advisors are more than twice as likely as advisors in other countries to boost their alts allocations, according to the survey.
Attracting new clients is the top driver of alts engagement in the U.S., the survey found. A whopping 96% of advisors surveyed said they planned to maintain or increase their exposure to alts over the next year, which iCapital said indicates their permanence in portfolios.
Private equity (66%), credit (56%) and hedge funds (54%) are the most favored asset classes, which iCapital said reflects a focus on private markets and income generation.
Private equity (66%), credit (56%) and hedge funds (54%) are the most favored asset classes.
Innovation is also playing a role in the adoption of alts, with 77% of respondents saying they expected portfolios to hold up 10% or more of evergreens, which are investment vehicles that continuously raise funds with no fixed end date and without long-term lock-ups. U.S. advisors projected average exposure to evergreen strategies to increase to 11-15% within two years, according to iCapital.
Advisor Priorities And Challenges
Foundational learning remains a top advisor priority after technology and implementation, the survey found. Advisors are also looking for more advanced guidance on reporting, portfolio construction and operational integration, according to iCapital.
iCapital pointed to challenges noted in the survey, such as 55% of advisors saying they had difficulty assessing liquidity and risk across asset classes, and 53% saying they struggled to understand the portfolio impact of alts.
“Key takeaways” cited by the survey included client experience remaining “the central focus — shaping choices, exposing gaps and guiding priorities” and education gaps persisting — “especially around fund structures, technology, and execution.”
“Legacy workflows can’t keep up – manual processes and disconnected systems are holding advisors back.” – iCapital 2025 Global Advisor Survey
The other major takeaways cited by iCapital were: Allocating is tougher than understanding as “liquidity, risk, and fit make implementation complex”; operational friction is the largest barrier because “reporting, documentation, and eligibility slow things down”; and “legacy workflows can’t keep up – manual processes and disconnected systems are holding advisors back.”
Survey respondents were from nine countries. The survey was fielded in the first quarter of 2025, according to iCapital.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jeff.berman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
