I wouldn’t touch 95% of the private/alt funds that get put in front of me.

So it’s no wonder people are skeptical of “alts.”

You’re usually getting:

• Less transparency
• Less liquidity
• Higher fees

That said, the best private market managers can be incredibly valuable additions to a portfolio.

Here are a few things I look for:

• Same team - does the retail vehicle use the same investment team as the institutional strategy?

• Access to the best ideas - do the best deals get allocated equally, or are they reserved for big institutional investors?

• Can the structure actually support the strategy - does the fund structure allow the manager to execute across their full opportunity set, or are they boxed in?

That last point is one of the most overlooked.

The structure of a private investment vehicle determines what a manager is actually allowed to do.

Can they:

• Invest in control buyouts?
• Participate in minority growth deals?
• Buy secondaries?
• Provide structured financing?
• Make follow‑on investments into existing winners?

A lot of retail structures were designed to reach the broadest possible investor base, not to maximize investment flexibility.

That’s one reason we often prefer private partnerships available to Qualified Purchasers ($5M+ of investable assets, excluding a primary residence).

Manager selection matters.

But don’t ignore the wrapper the manager is investing through.

Sometimes the structure is just as important as the strategy.