Key Takeaways
- • Nearly 50% of RIAs currently allocate 10% or more of assets under management to private market investments, with 81% expecting to maintain or exceed this allocation level within five years, signaling a structural shift in portfolio construction.
- • Private markets have transitioned from niche "alternative" allocations to core portfolio building blocks, driven by pursuit of higher returns, diversification benefits, and access to a broader investment universe unavailable in public markets.
- • KKR's 2025 RIA Private Markets Survey of over 100 RIAs reveals that institutional-quality private market solutions—including private equity, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure—are now central to how wealth advisors meet client objectives.
- • Doug Krupa, Head of Global Wealth Solutions in the Americas at KKR, stated that RIAs increasingly recognize they need solutions beyond public markets to achieve client goals, reflecting a fundamental repositioning of alternative assets within wealth management strategy.
- • RIAs are leveraging evergreen vehicles and institutional-quality private placements to differentiate their practices and deliver improved risk-adjusted returns while maintaining operational efficiency.
Summary
The designation of private markets as "alternative" assets no longer reflects how registered investment advisors are deploying them within client portfolios. According to KKR's 2025 RIA Private Markets Survey—which gathered responses from more than 100 RIAs—private market investments have evolved from peripheral allocations to foundational components of wealth management strategy.
The survey data demonstrates this structural shift with precision. Nearly half of surveyed RIAs currently maintain private market allocations of 10% or more of assets under management, while 81% expect to maintain or exceed this threshold within five years. This forward-looking consensus indicates that RIAs view private markets not as tactical overlays but as essential infrastructure for portfolio construction.
The driving forces behind this repositioning are three-fold: RIAs seek higher return potential relative to public equities, diversification benefits that reduce portfolio correlation to equity and credit cycles, and access to investment opportunities fundamentally unavailable in public markets—including private equity, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure assets. Doug Krupa, Head of Global Wealth Solutions in the Americas at KKR, underscored this imperative in recent remarks, noting that "in more and more of our conversations with RIAs, they recognize that they need solutions beyond what is available in public markets to achieve their clients' goals."
The timing of KKR's findings reflects broader industry momentum. The survey was released following KKR's 3rd annual RIA Forum and RIA Advisory Board meeting in October 2025 at KKR's New York headquarters, where top executives and decision-makers from leading RIA firms gathered to exchange strategic insights and provide thought leadership on private markets adoption. Attendees included CIOs, directors of research, and other key portfolio decision-makers from leading RIAs across the United States.
Operationally, RIAs are increasingly adopting evergreen vehicles and institutional-quality private placements to streamline access to private markets while simultaneously differentiating their service offerings and delivering improved risk-adjusted returns to clients. This operational infrastructure—combined with growing access to institutional-grade deal flow—has removed historical barriers to private market participation that once made such allocations impractical for wealth advisors managing mid-market and high-net-worth client bases.
The survey data demonstrates this structural shift with precision. Nearly half of surveyed RIAs currently maintain private market allocations of 10% or more of assets under management, while 81% expect to maintain or exceed this threshold within five years. This forward-looking consensus indicates that RIAs view private markets not as tactical overlays but as essential infrastructure for portfolio construction.
The driving forces behind this repositioning are three-fold: RIAs seek higher return potential relative to public equities, diversification benefits that reduce portfolio correlation to equity and credit cycles, and access to investment opportunities fundamentally unavailable in public markets—including private equity, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure assets. Doug Krupa, Head of Global Wealth Solutions in the Americas at KKR, underscored this imperative in recent remarks, noting that "in more and more of our conversations with RIAs, they recognize that they need solutions beyond what is available in public markets to achieve their clients' goals."
The timing of KKR's findings reflects broader industry momentum. The survey was released following KKR's 3rd annual RIA Forum and RIA Advisory Board meeting in October 2025 at KKR's New York headquarters, where top executives and decision-makers from leading RIA firms gathered to exchange strategic insights and provide thought leadership on private markets adoption. Attendees included CIOs, directors of research, and other key portfolio decision-makers from leading RIAs across the United States.
Operationally, RIAs are increasingly adopting evergreen vehicles and institutional-quality private placements to streamline access to private markets while simultaneously differentiating their service offerings and delivering improved risk-adjusted returns to clients. This operational infrastructure—combined with growing access to institutional-grade deal flow—has removed historical barriers to private market participation that once made such allocations impractical for wealth advisors managing mid-market and high-net-worth client bases.
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