84% of investors and advisors plan to raise private markets allocations

84% of institutional investors and wealth advisors intend to increase their private markets investments within the next two years, according to Brown Brothers Harriman's second annual Private Markets Investor survey. The bank polled 500 investors and advisors in the US, UK, Germany, Switzerland and Japan.

Among the 84% planning to add, private equity led at 54%, up 16 points from 38% a year earlier. Private credit drew 44% of those planning to add, up 20 points from 24%.

For advisors sizing private credit commitments, the survey's liquidity caution is that three in four respondents said it took longer to get their capital returned over the past year. Respondents named four to six years as their preferred deployment window, with two to three years second. Lata Vyas, BBH's head of alternative client solutions, said investors want to understand exactly how it works: how redemptions are governed and what to expect when they need access to their capital.

More than a quarter of respondents said they will allocate over 30% of their investments to private markets strategies in the next five years.

BBH described a "clear call" from respondents for more reliable reporting of liquidity calculations and clarity around redemption rules and gating criteria. More than three-quarters of respondents turn to general partners or advisors for help understanding those features, and investors said better transparency into underlying holdings, plus greater liquidity and trading efficiency, would speed their adoption of new structures and products.