NEPC’s Karen Harding was recently quoted in Crain Currency on the growing shift among wealthy families from traditional 60/40 portfolios toward greater allocations to private markets and alternatives, sharing insights on secondaries pricing, pre-IPO momentum, and evolving views on private credit. Read the full article on Crain Currency’s website.
Wealthy families are abandoning the traditional 60/40 portfolio for a new allocation model — one that devotes 30% to alternatives, from private equity and infrastructure to hedge funds and secondaries. As multifamily offices enter 2026, they’re betting that differentiated returns lie in private markets, not public ones, and they’re building portfolios with longer time horizons and less liquidity to match.
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Karen Harding, partner and private wealth team leader at Boston-based investment consulting firm NEPC, said pricing in the secondaries market remains strong for sellers, particularly those holding funds with high-performing companies. Buyers, however, should temper expectations. “If you’re buying secondaries, your expectations should be lower than if you’re building out your own direct portfolio of PE funds.” Direct secondary purchases can be attractive but often require general partner approval, which can complicate transactions.
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Harding said she expects pre-IPO and M&A activity to accelerate, suggesting that a SpaceX IPO could “open the floodgates” after years of remaining private.
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Harding was more cautious, noting some recent red flags due to the increase in defaults and some large outflows, as well as lower interest rates reducing their returns. “When people were first really excited and putting all their money in, interest rates were higher. And now rates have come back down. So what they thought they were going to get, they’re getting less today as a piece of it.”
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