Institutional Investors and Wealth Advisors Remain Bullish on Private Markets, With a Sharpened Focus on Liquidity: New Report From BBH Investor Services

Private markets are growing in importance to investors’ overall portfolios, according to new research from Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) Investor Services today.

In BBH’s second annual Private Markets Investor Survey, over a quarter of investors say more than 30% of their investments will be allocated to private markets strategies in the next five years. Most investors (84%) plan to increase their private markets investments within the next two years, with private equity ranking as the top target for new investment (54%), up 16 points from last year, followed by private credit (44%), up 20 points year-over-year. The survey captures the views of 500 institutional investors and wealth advisors in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan.

Liquidity emerges as a top priority for investors in this year’s report. Investors signaled that their preferred window for capital deployment in private markets is four to six years, followed by preference for an even shorter window of two to three years. These shorter capital timeframes could be driven in part because three out of four private market investors indicated the time it took to get capital returned grew longer over the past year.

“Investors are leaning into private markets, and macro and geopolitical uncertainty is only strengthening that conviction," said Lata Vyas, Head of Alternative Client Solutions at BBH. "At the same time, they're becoming more discerning about liquidity, and they want to understand exactly how it works: how redemptions are governed and what to expect when they need access to their capital.”

The findings also highlight transparency as a key focus for investors, with a clear call for more reliable reporting of liquidity calculations and clarity around redemption rules and gating criteria. To help with understanding these features, more than three-quarters are turning to GPs or advisors for support.

When considering innovative products, investors rank private market ETFs as an attractive fund structure, but most say better transparency into underlying holdings and greater liquidity and trading efficiency would speed up their adoption of these fund types.

On the topic of innovation, institutional investors and wealth advisors view tokenization as delivering several benefits to private markets, such as blockchain security, fractional ownership, and an increased liquidity window.

“Interest in private markets product innovation is underpinned by investors’ desire for greater liquidity and access options,” says Chris Adams, Global Head of Business Development for Alternative Funds Services at BBH. “The managers who succeed will be the ones who pair structures offering liquidity, like evergreen funds, with clear rules, real transparency, and a genuine commitment to investor education.”

Click here to download BBH Investor Services 2026 Private Markets Investor Survey.

* For the purposes of this press release, the term “investors” captures the combined audience of institutional investors and wealth advisors within the methodology below.

Survey Methodology: The BBH Private Markets Investor Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 500 institutional investors and wealth advisors across the United States (150), the United Kingdom (100), Japan (100), Germany (100), and Switzerland (50), between Aug. 5 and Aug. 17, 2026, using an email invitation and an online survey. In each market, a 50/50 quota was established between institutional investors (pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, insurance firms, and family offices) and wealth advisors (private banks, RIAs, and wealth management firms). Participating wealth advisors serviced accredited, high-net-worth, or ultra-high-net-worth clients.

About Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH)

Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) is a global financial services firm known for premium service and specialist expertise. For more than 200 years, BBH has partnered with clients to navigate complexity, innovate with purpose, and succeed in evolving financial markets. Its 6,000 employees serve clients and their investments in more than 90 markets from 18 offices worldwide. As a private partnership, BBH is uniquely structured to put clients first and deliver success that lasts.

BBH Investor Services is a leading provider of asset servicing and operating model solutions to global asset managers and financial institutions. Asset servicing capabilities include custody, global tax services, depositary and trustee services, fund accounting, administration, and transfer agency. Operating model solutions address platform, data, and connectivity challenges across open-architecture environments, helping clients drive growth, operational efficiency, and resiliency while enhancing reporting and oversight.

References to specific types of securities and asset classes are for informative purposes only and are not intended to be and should not be interpreted as recommendations.

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