After many years of hiding behind mystique and illiquidity, private markets are being forced into the light. Private equity, private credit, and private real estate have been sold, hard, to investors on the premise that they offer higher returns with less risk.

As fund managers push for these investments to become more accessible to retail investors, I think caution is warranted. I’ve always been skeptical of private assets, and I think my skepticism is being validated. 2026 has been a wakeup call for everyone who was convinced that private assets were special.