Top Considerations for US Wealth Managers and Advisors in 2026
The role of the wealth manager is being rapidly redefined.
In a market shaped by higher funding costs, policy divergence, and rapid technological change, advisors are no longer judged solely on their ability to allocate capital. They are increasingly valued for their ability to interpret complexity, protect client outcomes, and embed resilience into portfolios amid persistent uncertainty.
Our overarching theme for this year — ‘Post-Consensus’ — captures the forces driving this shift. Long-held assumptions around free trade, central bank independence, and technological leadership are being challenged simultaneously. These debates are not abstract. They are influencing capital flows, asset pricing, and the operational demands placed on investment strategies. For wealth managers, this environment requires a more disciplined balance between conviction and caution, opportunity and oversight.
Nowhere is this more evident than in private markets. Allocations continue to expand as investors seek access to structural growth themes such as artificial intelligence, healthcare innovation, data infrastructure, and impact-oriented strategies. Yet the growing complexity of private market vehicles has elevated operational risk alongside return potential. Selecting top-quartile managers remains important, but it is no longer sufficient to achieving success. Advisors must understand how managers operate: how cash is controlled, how assets are valued, how governance functions, and how technology and third-party relationships are managed. Operational Due Diligence has become a cornerstone of fiduciary responsibility, helping ensure that client capital is protected as portfolios grow more complex.
Within private equity, secondaries have emerged as a powerful tool to address liquidity constraints and portfolio construction challenges. Slower exit activity and delayed distributions have increased demand for liquidity, while GPs are holding high-quality assets for longer. Secondary transactions, both LP-led and GP-led, may offer access to more mature portfolios, potentially reduced blind-pool risk, and often attractive entry valuations. For advisors, secondaries can help mitigate the J-curve, accelerate cash flows, and provide targeted exposure to proven assets and long-term themes.
Private debt is also undergoing its own evolution. While direct lending remains a core strategy, a narrow focus on corporate loans can concentrate risk and tie outcomes too closely to a single credit cycle. A more diversified approach — incorporating structured credit and specialty finance alongside direct lending — could broaden return drivers and help enhance resilience. This “Private Debt 2.0” framework reflects a more intentional approach to portfolio construction, blending different duration profiles, collateral structures, and sources of income to navigate a range of macroeconomic outcomes.
At the same time, liquid alternatives are being re-examined through a new lens. Hedge funds, once viewed primarily as diversifiers, are increasingly positioned as return enhancers in a higher-for-longer rate environment. Greater dispersion, wider spreads, and elevated volatility have revived opportunity sets that were muted during the zero-rate era. Event-driven, distressed, security selection, and macro strategies are all benefiting from conditions that reward skill, underwriting discipline, and active risk management. For wealth managers, the challenge lies in constructing balanced hedge fund allocations that seek to enhance returns while potentially managing liquidity, fees, and concentration risk.
Equity exposure presents a different but equally pressing challenge. Equities remain the primary engine of long-term growth, yet they are also the main source of portfolio drawdowns. In volatile markets, clients often struggle to stay invested through periods of stress. Cost-managed equity hedging may offer a practical solution, which could allow advisors to reduce downside risk without dismantling strategic allocations. Used thoughtfully, hedging can support behavioral discipline, preserve trust, and provide flexibility in portfolios that include significant illiquid exposure.
Across these areas, a common thread emerges. Success in today’s market environment depends on pairing strategic insight with operational excellence. In a hyper competitive marketplace, wealth managers who embed rigorous oversight, thoughtful diversification, and disciplined risk management alongside opportunity seeking may be better positioned to deliver resilient outcomes for clients. In an era defined by divergence and complexity, the ability to balance innovation with prudence has become one of the defining marks of effective advice.
