Private Markets Are Open: Should You Buy In?

For decades, private equity, private credit, and real assets were almost entirely out of reach for individual investors, reserved for university endowments, pension funds, and the ultra-wealthy. That’s changing fast. New distribution platforms, lower investment minimums, semi-liquid fund structures, feeder vehicles, and digital wealth infrastructure have opened private markets to a much broader audience.

The pitch usually sounds compelling and typically includes access to deals and managers once reserved for institutions, packaged into a fund that investors can purchase through an existing brokerage account at a fraction of the previously required minimum. That packaging is real, and it has genuinely lowered the barrier to entry. But what often gets less airtime is that the underlying assets did not become more liquid or easier to value just because the wrapper they come in is friendlier to everyday investors.

Regulators have noticed and are addressing this shift. In March 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission held a roundtable specifically on private market valuations and access, a clear signal that the pace of this expansion is on the governing body’s radar.

The timing is notable because 2026 has also delivered something of a stress test. Wealth channel sales of nontraded business development companies (BDCs) fell sharply in January, down nearly 40 percent from December and well off their record highs from earlier in the cycle. At the same time, managers triggered or tightened redemption caps across several major non-traded vehicles as they worked to balance investor requests for cash against funds built around illiquid, long-horizon assets. None of these structures failed outright, but the gap between how managers marketed them and how they actually behaved under stress became harder to ignore.

None of this means private markets are a bad idea. It simply means the marketing can outrun the mechanics. The way these opportunities are often presented can make it sound like investors are gaining access to compelling, exclusive ideas without giving anything up, which is rarely true. There are no solutions in investing, only trade-offs, and private markets carry a distinct set of them: illiquidity, valuation lag, capital call timing, and less transparency than is typical in public markets.

For anyone being pitched one of these strategies for the first time, the goal isn’t to memorize how each fund structure works. Instead, it’s to make sure expectations and the reality of what they’re purchasing line up. Here are four questions to ask before committing capital:

• How does this investment generate money, and under what circumstances might that money not come back? This is both a return question and a liquidity question. Investors should understand the path to a payout and the specific circumstances under which that path gets delayed or blocked.

• How is this valued, how often, and by whom? Private holdings do not trade on an exchange, so the price shown is someone’s estimate, not a market quote. Investors should know who is producing that estimate and how frequently it is updated.

• How is the person recommending this paid? Investors should ask whether the compensation tied to this particular product differs from the rest of the advisory relationship and, if so, how.

• What is no longer being bought? Money moving into private equity or private credit is money moving out of something else, whether that’s small-cap stocks or high-yield bonds. Investors should know what is being displaced and why that trade makes sense for their situation.

These aren’t trick questions, and there is no universally right answer to any of them. The point is for investors to get clear, specific answers from whoever is recommending the investment, then decide whether the trade-offs align with their goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance for being unable to access their money on short notice. If an answer feels vague or the explanation doesn’t hold up, that’s worth treating as a signal, not a technicality to dismiss. Deciding an investment is not the right fit is just as legitimate an outcome as deciding to move forward.

Private markets earned their reputation through patient, long-term capital. As access broadens to more investors, that patience and the diligence behind it matter more, not less. Investors considering this kind of exposure would benefit from working through these four areas with their advisor and wealth team before adding any private market allocation to a portfolio.

This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as financial advice or advice designed to meet the needs of any particular situation. All investments are subject to risk, including the potential loss of principal. The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions. AE Wealth Management, LLC (“AEWM”) is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser located in Topeka, Kan.

PUBLISHED JUNE 2026