Advisors want more alternatives but scaling up is the hard part
Demand for automated subscription and redemption processing also rose sharply, from 26% to 41%. Separately, 59% of advisors identified technology and implementation as a priority area for continuing education — underscoring that the knowledge gap in the field has shifted from understanding what alternatives are to understanding how to operationalize them.
That shift in educational priorities mirrors the broader industry transition. Interest in foundational alternatives content rose modestly, but the appetite for practice management content jumped from 37% to 41%, and technology-focused learning remained the most in-demand category overall at 58%.
The asset class picture is also evolving. Private equity remained the most sought-after category at 66%, roughly flat from the prior year. But interest in hedge funds climbed from 42% to 54%, and venture capital interest rose from 26% to 37% — suggesting advisors are not just adding alternatives exposure broadly but are actively reshaping which parts of the alternative landscape they want to own. Real estate interest, by contrast, fell from 50% to 44%, consistent with a broader reassessment of the sector.
Meanwhile, advisors’ expectations for evergreen fund exposure are rising. The share anticipating that their clients will hold 11% to 15% in evergreen strategies over the next two years climbed from 51% to 67%, while the share expecting less than 5% exposure fell sharply. That trajectory points to a structural buildout of semi-liquid alternatives across client portfolios and raises the operational stakes considerably for firms that are not yet equipped to manage those positions at scale.
The full iCapital 2026 Global Advisor Survey report is available at icapital.com
