90% of wealth managers say they are equipped for public-private convergence, but only 20% rate their data connectivity as well connected or better, new FE fundinfo research finds

The Private Markets Survey Report 2026 reveals a gap between private markets ambition and the infrastructure needed to deliver it at scale

Nine in ten (90%) wealth managers surveyed believe they are well-equipped to manage the convergence of public and private assets, yet only one in five (20%) rate their private markets data connectivity as well connected or better, and just 6% as fully integrated, according to new research from FE fundinfo. The Private Markets Survey Report 2026, the company’s inaugural study of the sector, reveals a gap between respondents’ confidence in their readiness and the operational infrastructure currently available to support private markets growth.

Private markets are moving higher up asset and wealth managers’ strategic and distribution agendas. Two-thirds (67%) of wealth managers rank private markets as a high priority over the next three years, 28% are already targeting retail clients for private markets access, and 51% see model portfolio providers as a key distribution channel. Delivering on this demand will depend on improvements to data infrastructure and platform capabilities.

The research, which surveyed 200 senior asset and wealth managers across the UK, Switzerland and Luxembourg, makes clear that data remains a major barrier to scaling private markets. Operational complexity and data quality ranked as the top two barriers to scaling retail and high-net-worth access, with limited liquidity options third.

Wealth managers: 46% still rely on frequent manual data reconciliation, despite 90% believing they are equipped to manage public-private convergence.
Asset managers: 83% believe they are well-equipped for public-private convergence, yet just 5% have fully integrated data connectivity.
Shared challenges: 78% of wealth managers and 72% of asset managers say limited comparability between public and private assets is hindering their private markets strategies.

The findings also challenge some of the conventional assumptions about what is holding private markets back. While liquidity has dominated much of the industry’s debate, just 18% of respondents identified it as a major barrier to scaling access for retail and high-net-worth clients. Meanwhile, suitability and client understanding were named the single biggest portfolio-level challenge for these clients by 45% of asset managers and 36% of wealth managers.

Firms are already beginning to respond to these challenges. Portfolio analytics is the leading capability investment priority for asset managers (65%), while 57% of wealth managers are prioritising workflow automation. Around half (49%) of wealth managers and 54% of asset managers expect specialist vendors to be the primary route to enhancing their private markets capabilities, compared with just 14% and 11% respectively planning to build solutions mostly in-house.

Maryam Longrus, Head of Private Markets at FE fundinfo, said:

“If private markets are going to sit alongside public assets in more investors’ portfolios, the infrastructure needs to allow the two to work together. Making private markets data more consistent and easier to use alongside public market data is fundamental to that. Our team combines more than 30 years of fund data expertise with deep private markets knowledge, so we can work through our data and products point by point. We reuse what public and private markets share and build only what is distinct, which gives investment managers and distributors public markets scale with private markets nuance.

Our research shows that wealth managers already see model portfolio providers as a key distribution channel for private markets, but unlocking greater adoption depends on having the infrastructure to incorporate private assets effectively alongside public investments. The focus now needs to be on closing those infrastructure gaps so that growing demand can translate into broader adoption.”

Russell Andrews, Head of Wealth & Asset Management Vertical, FIS Capital Markets, commented on the report:

“Private markets cannot scale on fragmented infrastructure. The decisive enabler will be genuine interoperability, underpinned by common data standards that allow information to move consistently, securely and in real time across the ecosystem.

“For FIS, connecting wealth managers, asset managers, private equity firms and fund administrators is essential to eliminating manual reconciliation, strengthening control, supporting new distribution channels and accelerating product innovation. Standardised data and interoperable systems are not operational enhancements; they are the foundation for sustainable industry growth.”

The FE fundinfo Private Markets Survey Report 2026 is available here.