Advisors Accelerate Alts Allocations Despite Growing Operational Barriers
Financial advisers are increasing their alternative investment allocations even as confidence in the global economy weakens, creating greater demand for technology, risk analytics and operational support, according to iCapital’s 2026 Global Advisor Survey.
Eighty-nine percent of respondents plan to maintain or raise alternative allocations during the next 12 months. The share expecting to increase allocations nearly tripled to 39% from 14% in 2025, while 50% expect to maintain current exposure.
“The survey was intentionally designed to understand the behavior, priorities, and challenges of advisors already engaged in alternative investing. The findings should therefore be viewed as representative of active alternatives users rather than the broader advisor population,” explained iCapital.
Client demand also remained resilient, with 84% of advisers reporting that interest in alternatives increased or held steady over the past two years.
” The results suggest demand for alternatives remains broad-based as they become a more established part of portfolio construction,” according to iCapital
Those findings contrasted with a decline in economic confidence. The portion of respondents holding a positive outlook for the global and their local economies fell to 61% from 74%.
Advisers are also becoming more selective. Interest in venture capital increased to 37% from 26%, while real estate rose to 50% from 44%. Interest declined for private credit, private equity and hedge funds.
Implementation challenges are growing as alternatives become more established in portfolios. Fifty-nine percent cited difficulty assessing liquidity and risk across asset classes, while 53% identified compliance and regulatory concerns. Portfolio construction was cited by 49%.
Technology is increasingly central to addressing those issues. Risk and performance analytics were identified by 51% as a critical integration need, followed by portfolio-management system integration at 43% and customer relationship management connectivity at 30%.
“One interesting finding is how allocation interests are shifting. We’re seeing increased interest in venture capital and real assets, which signals that advisors are looking more broadly for diversification and new sources of return,” Gary Gallagher, President of iCapital, told Connect Money.
“Looking ahead, we’ll be watching how advisor needs continue to evolve around implementation, portfolio construction, technology, and the capabilities firms need to scale alternatives across a broader range of client portfolios. That’s where we see the industry conversation heading,” he added.
The survey was conducted in the first half of 2026 and included 870 financial professionals actively using alternatives across 15 countries.