At a recent financial conference, I found myself engaged in a conversation that highlighted investment advisers’ reluctance regarding non-platform private market investments. The question was simple, “Why does the system make it so difficult for quality sponsors to be placed with your clients?” The answer was as telling as it was straightforward: “career risk.” This is not the first time I’ve heard this feedback.

Understandably, advisers are wary of attaching their reputations to sponsors that don’t have household name recognition, opting instead to align with major players, even if they fail to deliver returns. After all, it’s hard to fault the adviser if everyone fails together. This mindset underscores resistance within the industry to adapt to what is already happening — democratized access to private market investments outside the investment advisory community.

The parameters of a healthy portfolio have changed, and much has been written about th