Advisor demand for alternatives shifts to delivery

iCapital's 2026 Global Advisor Survey, covered by Wealth Solutions Report, found 89 percent of advisors plan to maintain or increase their alternatives allocations over the next 12 months. Thirty-nine percent expect to increase them, up from 14 percent a year earlier.

The report, "The Next Phase of Alternatives Growth," released Monday, frames the demand story as increasingly clear. The harder problem, it argues, is delivery. Though access and education still matter, firms are concentrating on portfolio construction, risk assessment, reporting, compliance and operational efficiency, iCapital said. The survey also shows rising demand for tools that help advisors incorporate alternatives across a wider variety of clients and portfolios, not just the wealthiest.

"The demand story is increasingly clear," the report says. "Yet delivering alternatives consistently across firms remains challenging." Gary Gallagher, iCapital's president, said in the release that the findings suggest the conversation is shifting beyond access and education.

The strongest signal is the 51 percent of advisors who call risk and performance analytics tools critical. That is an operations complaint, not a product complaint. Advisors have the products and the mandate; what they are telling iCapital they lack is the ability to monitor, report and manage alternatives as a core holding. The 39 percent expecting to increase allocations is intent, not a closed sale. The 89 percent who plan to hold or raise includes those already at target.

For RIAs, the implication is that the alternatives opportunity will be captured by firms willing to invest in the plumbing behind the allocation. For sponsors, the survey says demand will keep showing up; the winners will be those who make the back-office experience as polished as the pitch. The report's own conclusion is the sharpest: the next phase of growth depends less on creating demand and more on expanding the capabilities to serve it.