Financial advisers, including LPL Financial, Edward Jones and Vanguard, are increasingly selling alternative investments to clients, according to Investment News.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch also has altered their alternative investment programs, as it directs its focus on ultra-high-net-worth clients and includes new private equity managers as an option.
“Over the last several years, this has accelerated, and we are seeing meaningful growth in the alternative investment platform,” Mark Sutterlin, head of alternative investments, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told Investment News. Sutterlin started at Merrill Lynch as a financial adviser in 2008 during the mortgage crisis. “And it’s being driven by financial advisers.”
Alternative investment sales have reached $102.3 billion through July and are expected to reach $200 billion this year, according to Robert A. Stanger and Co, marking a significant increase from the $138 billion in total sales in 2024
