Advisors aren’t offering the most diversified approach unless they are educating the client in the advantages of alternative investments, said a panel of alternative investment professionals.
That was the argument of XA Investment managers along with others in the private equity business, who held a news briefing at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
And one of the better alternatives is private equity investing, they argued. That is in part because a big regulator is pushing to open up private equity investment to a broader range of individual investors. Ultimately, the argument comes down to have enough good investment choice, one official said.
“The growth of the private equity market and the private credit market now swamps the size of the public markets,” said Kimberly Ann Flynn, a CFA and managing director with XA Investments.
Flynn noted that private investing can’t be provided in an ETF or mutual fund.
She added that those ignoring or without access to the private equity are missing out on significant investment opportunities that could improve retirement assets. And she noted the regulators want to help individual investors become involved in a market where they have been traditionally shut out or received very little in entities such as IPOs.
“Historically. The big institutions have had access to these deals, but you want the individual investor to also have access to them,” says Chris Shepherdson, managing director of CR Capital Group. Shepherdson says. “You don’t want the leftovers for the average retail investor.”
The SEC recently issued a proposal stating their desire to expand retail investor and retiree access to private equity and venture capital.
Individual investors may be missing opportunities because they are overallocated to stocks and under allocated to private equity, Flynn argued.
She and others at the conference contended that the SEC will likely change the qualifications for investing in these funds. That will make it easier for the small investor to buy private equity shares.