The author argues that the wealth management industry has spent a decade preparing for the generational wealth transfer. It has expanded alternatives allocations in portfolios. However, it has not modelled the off-register asset base and its valuation path once these assets come under stress.
The following article is from Tatiana Collins (pictured
below), CEO of Ingenie, a London-based
investment intelligence platform for private markets, and partner
at Synthesis, a
Japanese advisory group. The editors are pleased to use this
content; the usual editorial disclaimers apply. To comment, email
tom.burroughes@wealthbriefing.com
and amanda.cheesley@clearviewpublishing.com
Tatiana Collins
Alternative investments within private wealth portfolios are
reaching higher concentration levels than the investment
framework is designed to handle. They account for close to a
third of portfolio allocation, according to JPMorgan’s Global
Family Office Report 2026, as wealthy individuals are drawn to
the promise of higher returns and thematic investing. Lifestyle
assets such as fine art, family real estate, classic cars, wine
and family-owned business interests occupy a largely unmanaged
subset that sits outside the standard framework applied by
institutional wealth managers.
Art and collectables represent approximately 10 per cent of
ultra-wealthy individuals’ net worth, according to Deloitte’s
Art and Finance Report 2025. Family real estate and
lifestyle assets add materially to this figure, suggesting that
the shadow wealth portfolio represents between 10 and 20 per cent
of their total wealth. If these assets were fully integrated into
the balance sheet, the true alternatives concentration for many
wealthy individuals would be closer to 50 per cent of portfolio
allocation.
The wealth management industry has been pursuing the total
portfolio view by attempting to consolidate client positions into
a balance sheet manually and by building holistic wealth
propositions. Advisors know that these assets exist but lack the
instruments to value and manage them coherently. Attempts to
create an integrated view are reasonable and well-intended;
however, they have not delivered the desired outcomes in the
following circumstances.
Proposition: the solutions offered are not compelling enough to
entice clients to bring their Shadow Wealth Portfolio into the
managed allocation.
Infrastructure: facilities to manage these assets meaningfully
within existing record-keeping systems are not integrated.
Trust: clients resist full disclosure of assets they consider
private.
The generational wealth transfer as a
trigger
The $84 trillion generational wealth transfer has been discussed
for a decade through the lens of how next-generation individuals
will invest: their channel preferences and service expectations.
The more important question is their investment preferences. The
next generation of clients is not only taking a self-directed
approach to managing wealth but also has different asset
preferences. The active investment tendency has already reshaped
proposition design, driving growth in digital advisory solutions,
self-directed trading applications and active portfolio mandates
that give clients greater visibility and control over their
investment decisions. Furthermore, UBS Global Wealth Management’s
2026 Next Generation Report surveyed 170 inheritors
globally and found that, while traditional asset classes remain
at the core, nearly half of individuals are actively building
exposure to investment themes ranging from digital assets to
sustainability. This represents a material shift in investment
philosophy from the previous generation.
Consequently, collectables, which have traditionally been
considered a safe haven and a reliable portfolio diversification
method, are likely to be liquidated fastest once inheritance is
transferred to a generation with no emotional attachment to these
assets. Their simultaneous release into secondary markets could
lead to supply saturation and consequent asset devaluation. Not
all assets may be affected. Genuinely high-quality pieces such as
museum-grade art with authentically documented provenance or
pristine classic cars with an unbroken ownership history will
hold value. The vulnerability lies in the mediocre middle: assets
packaged and marketed to wealth accumulators as more product
rather than better quality. The “brown’ furniture market in the
UK is one example, where Victorian antiques, once sought after
and sold for tens of thousands of pounds, are now available at
country auctions for as little as £10 apiece.
A high-conviction strategy as a solution
A typical balanced portfolio relies overwhelmingly on a
collection of investment options that serve as diversification
tools. Next-generation clients will interact with investment
philosophy in ways that the current framework does not
accommodate. The total portfolio view is an attempt to solve a
structural problem with a reporting solution. Rather than
continuing the search for a perfect total portfolio view that
private clients resist, a specialised managed portfolio built on
the wealth manager’s conviction is a powerful alternative. It
does something the total portfolio view has never been able to
achieve, not because it is a better product, but because it is
the only model that creates accountability through investment
strategy, governance mandate and expertise at the same time.
In January 2026, BlackRock and Partners Group launched what they
describe as a first-of-its-kind multi-alternatives Separately
Managed Account (SMA), making diversified alternatives exposure
available to private wealth clients through a single-account
structure. The precedent already exists, as some of Europe’s
oldest and most respected wealth managers, such as Julius Baer
and Lombard Odier, have built their entire investment philosophy
around exactly this principle: named strategies, defined risk
parameters and clear performance accountability.
The question is why a passive mandate would be the right solution
for alternatives allocation for individuals already leaning
towards more active investing.
Self-directed investing works for liquid, publicly traded
equities, where investors have access to real-time data, pricing
transparency and immediate market access, whereas the investment
horizon for alternative investments is measured in years, with
constrained liquidity. The high-conviction portfolio demands a
robust investment governance structure for an asset class that
cannot simply be treated as a product-shelf selection without
significant risk of poor timing, valuation errors and liquidity
mismanagement. Next-generation investors who actively manage
their public equity portfolios through a digital platform also
need a specialist to manage their private markets exposure
holistically. Hybrid SMA structures provide meaningful
visibility, reporting frequency and customisation rights that
address individuals’ preference for control without compromising
governance discipline.
Implications for advisors
In practice, such a solution means three things. At the
foundation are genuinely high-quality assets and accurate value
assessment across the entire asset base. This distinction
requires specialist knowledge that most generalist wealth
advisors do not possess, but it creates an opportunity for
differentiation for those who do.
Beyond that, firms need a genuinely consolidated view of
individuals’ or families’ total wealth, whether actively or
passively managed, liquid or illiquid, and on or off the
register. This requires the operational infrastructure to connect
private markets data and is operationally demanding. Private
markets reporting runs on quarterly cycles, whereas public
portfolios update daily. Lifestyle assets are, at best, reviewed
annually. Reconciling them into a coherent total portfolio
picture is both operationally and technically demanding for firms
already managing significant complexity within legacy systems.
Finally, firms must meet the next generation’s preference for
active management by giving clients meaningful control over
portfolio personalisation. This is not a quick fix and requires
building or acquiring an entire capability stack, alongside a
patient, sequenced and operationally grounded investment advisory
approach spanning CIO functions, analytics, decision engines,
platforms and communications delivery.
The industry has spent a decade preparing for the generational
wealth transfer. It has modelled channel preferences, built
digital platforms and expanded alternatives allocation. However,
it has not modelled privately managed alternative assets and
their valuation trajectory once they come under stress. Once
these assets start to move, what is off the client’s balance
sheet starts to matter more than what is on it. Wealth managers
who can bring a high-conviction portfolio architecture, not just
a product shelf, measured against a clear benchmark and with full
liquidity transparency, will offer a value proposition compelling
enough to capture the next generation’s mandate and bring the
Shadow Wealth Portfolio into the total view.
References
BlackRock and Partners Group (2026) Multi-Alternatives Separately
Managed Account Launch. Press release, 29 January. Available at:
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/newsroom/press-releases/article/corporate-one/press-releases/blackrock-and-partners-group-launch-private-markets-sma-for-wealth-platforms
Deloitte Private and ArtTactic (2025) Art and Finance Report
2025. Deloitte Luxembourg. Available at:
https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-zone2/at/de/docs/presse/2025/deloitte-art-finance-report-2025.pdf
Hunsader, K J Lawrey, C. and Affuso, E (2025)
‘Evaluating collectibles as alternative investments: a
hedonic pricing analysis of vintage Hot Wheels’, Review of
Behavioral Finance, 17(3), pp. 462. Available at:
https://www.emerald.com/rbf/article-abstract/17/3/462/1247556/Evaluating-collectibles-as-alternative-investments
JP Morgan Private Bank (2026) Global Family Office
Report 2026. JP Morgan Private Bank. Available at:
https://privatebank.jpmorgan.com/eur/en/insights/reports/2026-family-office-report
UBS Global Wealth Management (2026) UBS Global Next
Generation Report 2026. UBS, April. Available at:
https://www.ubs.com/us/en/wealth-management/our-solutions/private-wealth-management/family-advisory-philanthropy/articles/global-next-generation-report.html
About the Author
Tatiana Collins is CEO of Ingenie, an investment intelligence
platform for private markets, and Partner at Synthesis, a
Japanese advisory group. She has spent 20 years designing
strategies, commercialising and scaling advisory and
discretionary portfolio management solutions at leading wealth,
asset management and sovereign wealth institutions including
HSBC, Citi and DBS in Europe and Asia-Pacific. She has
collaborated with Imperial College London on AI application in
digital advisory and with University College London on AI model
efficiency in financial infrastructure. Her current focus is on
how emerging technologies are reshaping portfolio management and
investment decision-making as firms navigate the shift towards
agentic AI.