2025 Alts Leaders Survey Reveals Striking Differences in Adoption Across Channels

Paradise Valley, Ariz., Sept. 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alternative Investments Market Intelligence (ALTSMI) today released its latest research note, Adoption Snapshot: Who’s Using Alts—and How Much?, drawn from the 2025 Alts Leaders Survey. The study captures weighted insights from senior distribution executives representing more than 65.9% of all private wealth flows into alternative investments.

The findings show that while adoption of private market alternatives is broadening, meaningful penetration remains uneven across distribution channels.

Key Statistics from the 2025 Survey

Wirehouses Lead in Impact: 23% of clients use alts, allocating on average 16% of portfolios. This yields an implied 3.75% of total client assets, nearly 3× the share of Independent BDs and 5× the RIA community overall.
Independent Broker-Dealers lag in adoption to their peers remains at 9%, but participating clients allocate 13% of their portfolios, producing just over 1% implied assets. Suitability restrictions, client wealth levels, and historical fund performance continue to constrain growth.
RIAs: A Tale of Two Cohorts: Committed RIAs report 29%+ adoption with allocations averaging 11.2%, resulting in a healthy 3.35% implied assets. Most RIAs, however, remain on the sidelines, dragging the capital-weighted average down to just 0.78% implied assets across the channel.
Wide Dispersion Remains: Firm-level adoption ranges from single digits to more than 80%, reflecting disparities in infrastructure, education, and operational readiness.

“Adoption of private market alternatives isn’t a uniform trend, it’s a story of leaders, laggards, and those still watching from the sidelines” said Mark Goldberg, founder of ALTSMI. “Wirehouses are institutionalizing adoption with infrastructure and CIO-driven support, while a subset of RIAs is proving what committed firms can achieve. But for much of the market, alternatives remain early stage, which means opportunity for managers and distributors alike.”

The full research note is available here: https://www.altsmi.com/post/adoption-snapshot-whos-using-alts-and-how-much

About ALTSMI

Alternative Investments Market Intelligence (altsmi.com) delivers proprietary research and benchmarking for the private wealth alternatives ecosystem. Founded by industry veteran Mark Goldberg, ALTSMI’s flagship Alts Leaders Survey provides data-driven insights to help managers and distributors navigate the evolving landscape of private markets.

For AltsMI
Peter Page, VOCTAUS
ppage@vocatusllc.com

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