In recent years, private market investments have been promoted as solutions to almost every portfolio challenge. They are described as sources of enhanced return, reliable income, diversification and insulation from public market volatility. In some environments, these claims are defensible. In others, they are not.
That inconsistency is not a defect. It is inherent in the nature of private markets — and it is precisely why expectations around their role must be carefully calibrated.
Private market investments, whether in real estate, infrastructure, private equity or private credit, are cyclical. They are influenced by economic growth, interest rates, capital availability, regulatory frameworks and investor sentiment, just like publicly traded securities. There are periods when
