94% of high-net-worth investors now hold private or alternative assets, according to Long Angle's 2026 High-Net-Worth Asset Allocation Report, released March 2, 2026.1 The fifth annual benchmark study surveyed 233 community members with an average net worth of $17M and a range from $2M to over $100M — a sample that skews toward active, self-directed allocators rather than the broader HNW population. That context matters for interpreting the numbers, but does not diminish what they show: participation in private markets at this wealth tier has become close to universal.
The 60/40 Is Gone. The 60-10-30 Is Here.
The study's most structural finding is the death of the traditional balanced portfolio. The average respondent now holds 51% of net worth in public equities, 28% in private and alternative assets, 11% in home equity, 5% in bonds, and 5% in cash.2 Bonds and cash together represent a smaller share of net worth than private company equity alone — which stands at 12%.3 That inversion reflects a deliberate allocation decision, not drift: the 60/40 has been replaced by something closer to a 60-10-30 model, with illiquid alternatives occupying the space that fixed income once held.
The shift is more pronounced at higher wealth levels. For respondents above $25M, private and alternative allocations reach 34% of net worth — driven by private company equity that represents 21% of net worth at that tier, more than triple the 6% share among respondents in the $2M–$10M range.4 Scale enables access, and access drives concentration.
Where Adoption Remains Shallow
Not all categories within private markets have reached the same saturation. Only 23% of respondents allocate to private credit — the least-penetrated institutional asset class in the study, even as GP fundraising in the category has grown substantially.5 That gap is structural, not attitudinal: private credit has historically required institutional-scale minimums, and the vehicles designed to broaden access at the HNW level are still relatively new. The 23% figure suggests most HNW investors are participating in private equity and venture while leaving a major diversifying category essentially untapped.
One more data point worth noting: 42% of respondents now hold crypto, edging out private equity funds (39%) as the second most widely adopted alternative asset class.6 Whether that reflects genuine portfolio diversification or speculative positioning is a separate question — but the rank ordering signals that adoption of alternative assets increasingly runs ahead of familiarity with their underlying mechanics.
What It Means
Near-universal participation in private markets changes the strategic question for HNW investors. The question is no longer whether to allocate — the data suggests that decision has largely been made. The relevant questions are which categories, at what sizing, through what access points, and how the illiquid positions integrate with total net worth reporting and liquidity planning. The Long Angle study, with its 233-respondent sample, captures the behavior of a specific type of engaged, self-directed allocator; the population of HNW investors broadly defined is likely behind these numbers. But the directional trend it documents — away from the 60/40 and toward a heavier private markets allocation — is consistent with a structural reorientation, not a cyclical one.
