Alternative Investment Trends
Beyond 60/40:
Alternative Investment Trends
A report for financial advisors on how allocations to private equity, private credit, and hedge funds are shifting — and what separates the top managers from the rest.
90%1
Advisor alts adoption
2025 advisor survey
88%1
Plan to increase
Next two years
49%1
Above a 10% allocation
Share of advisors
75%2
Ivy Endowment Alts
FY2025 average
IN THIS REPORT
- 01
Adoption is broad and still building.
90% of advisors already use alternatives, and 88% plan to increase allocations over the next two years, with nearly half already above a 10% allocation in client portfolios.
- 02
The endowment template.
Ivy League endowments hold a majority of assets in private and alternative strategies — the reference point advisors are borrowing from as they move beyond 60/40.
- 03
Distinct roles per asset class.
Private equity for growth, private credit for contractual income, hedge funds for diversification — each solves a different portfolio problem.
- 04
Manager selection decides the outcome.
Top- versus bottom-quartile dispersion in private markets dwarfs anything in public equities, so access and diligence matter more than the allocation decision itself.
Sources. Superscript numbers refer to the sources below.
- Industry advisor survey on alternative investments in wealth management, 4th annual edition, December 2025.
- Crystal Capital Partners Ivy League Endowment analysis, FY2025.
Full source list and methodology notes appear in the report.