What’s Real, What’s Noise, and Where's the Edge?
Private markets are still commanding attention, digital assets are no longer fringe, direct investing keeps rising, and AI is moving to workflow.
With market signals often hard to separate from noise, this article highlights a handful of select takeaways from BNY Wealth’s new study. This is not a full summary, but a curated selection of findings that may inform ongoing conversations.
Private Markets: Conviction Meets Capacity
The study reports a 34% rise in professionals planning to increase private equity allocations over the past 12 months, with the strongest momentum at $1B+ offices—a 69% rise planning to increase PE fund investments. The underlying drivers remain familiar: structural shifts in public markets since 2008 and the appeal of the illiquidity premium. The study suggests that for investors able to manage lockups and pacing, private markets continue to be viewed as a core engine of long-term compounding.
Digital Assets: From Edge Case to Agenda Item
Digital assets are moving mainstream. 74% of investment professionals have invested or are exploring the space—up 21% year over year—while “no interest” responses fell 37%. Regulatory tailwinds (including support from the current U.S. administration) suggest digital assets are no longer fringe. Do you have the governance, controls, and data to evaluate exposure thoughtfully?
AI: From Theme to Workflow
AI tops the conviction list: 83% of professionals rank it as a high-conviction theme for the next five years. Crucially, 52% of family offices are already using AI to support investment decisions, and AI enthusiasm is feeding growth-focused private equity interest. The next edge won’t come from saying “AI”—it’ll come from operationalizing it across sourcing, diligence, and portfolio monitoring.
Direct Investing: Appetite Up, Bandwidth Tight
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of family offices anticipate making six or more direct investments in the coming year—10% higher than what they actually did last year. The catch: resources. As origination and diligence demands grow, many are turning to external consultants and co-investments to scale throughput without swelling headcount.
Luxury & “Uncorrelated” Assets: A Broader Toolkit
Roughly one-third of investors already hold “uncorrelated” assets—watches, art, sports-related investments—and the study notes room to grow given new opportunities in sports team ownership and media rights. With inflation anxiety up, real-asset and scarcity narratives may keep this category on the table—but the study emphasizes the importance of execution discipline around valuation, provenance, and liquidity.
Risk Radar: Policy, Taxes, Trade—and Inflation Back on Top
Shifts in U.S. policy (regulation, spending, trade, taxes) are reshaping risk/return math in ways that create both headwinds and openings. The headline risk move: inflation jumps to the top investment concern among U.S. investors, with a 39% increase in reported worry. The study notes that these shifts are bringing renewed focus on pacing, scenario analysis, and liquidity planning..
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This is not a comprehensive summary of the original document. We have extracted select information. Download the full report.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or recommendations.
