Brendan McCurdy, Global Head of Investment Strategy for Wealth for Ares Wealth Management Solutions, joined Julie Cooling, Founder and CEO of RIA Channel, to discuss the growing investment opportunities in private markets.
As electricity demand continues to rise, McCurdy sees meaningful opportunities in private infrastructure. He points out that producing just one gigawatt of power requires approximately 1.9 million solar panels, highlighting the massive scale of investment needed. With AI, cloud computing, and streaming driving rapid growth in data usage, the supply-and-demand dynamics in private infrastructure appear increasingly favorable for long-term investors.
For value-oriented investors, McCurdy looks to private real estate. He says that after the market entered a recovery trajectory in 2025, investors who get in now are accessing attractive cap rates and high yields, which are often tax-advantaged. He also notes that since many funds marked assets down during the downturn, investors are benefiting from a temporary fee holiday.
More broadly, McCurdy believes private markets remain in the early stages of adoption among mass affluent and retail investors. While advisors typically allocate just 2% to 3% of client portfolios to private markets, institutional investors often allocate 40% to 50%. Although there is still significant room for growth, he sees substantial long-term potential as access continues to expand
Ares Wealth Management Solutions is a private markets pioneer with knowledge across private credit, private equity, and private real assets. As one of the largest non-bank lenders globally, its purpose-built investment solutions focus on making private markets accessible to a broad set of investors.
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