By Barry Bernstein, Managing Director, COO – Technology Services at ViewTrade
For decades, private markets have remained the exclusive domain of institutional investors and the ultra-wealthy. Today, key market drivers are converging to transform how private investments are accessed and integrated into the mainstream. Traditional brokerage firms can now add access to private markets, putting what once was out of reach, at investors’ fingertips.
The Allocation Gap and the Disconnect
Private markets represent a $16 trillion asset class. Yet, they remain largely disconnected from $27 trillion in retail accredited investor wealth across more than 24 million U.S. households.
In collaboration with Stocktwits, Monark surveyed 500 Accredited Investors. This revealed that approximately 50% of investors have less than 5% allocated to private markets today. Only 7.4% have allocated more than 20%, despite 34% seeking to allocate more than 20%.
Historically, non-institutional investors faced significant compromises—lower-quality opportunities or multilayered fee structures that erode returns. Today, we stand at a transformative inflection point where this standard is poised for disruption. Those who successfully embed private markets access into existing platforms and bridge the gap
stand to reshape the investment landscape.
The Four Driving Forces
1. Regulatory Changes: Numerous regulatory changes over the last three decades have laid the foundation.
● National Securities Markets Improvement Act (1996): Streamlined interstate offerings
● Regulation ATS (1999): Foundation for private securities trading platforms
● Electronic Signatures Act (2000): E-signatures validated
● JOBS Act (2012): Allowed for marketing and increased access to private investments
● Economic Growth Act (2018): Raised investor caps from 500 to 2,000
● Expanded Accredited Definition (2020): Added professional certifications
● Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act (2025): Enables knowledge-based qualifications
2. Technological Advancements: Advancements in cloud computing, e-signatures, and automated KYC/AML have reduced friction and costs. API integrations allow private markets infrastructure to plug directly into brokerage platforms, making scale economically viable.
3. Cultural Evolution: Cultural norms have fundamentally shifted.
● Online Capital Formation: COVID-19 normalized remote investing
● Entrepreneurial Focus: Startups glamorized across media channels
● Unicorn Proliferation: From 39 companies (2013) to over 1,200 (2025)
● Equity Compensation: Broader acceptance created individual shareholders seeking liquidity
● Special Purpose Vehicle Normalization: SPVs evolved from taboo to standard
● Digital Comfort: Millennials and Gen Z embrace digital platforms
4. Business Environment Evolution: The landscape evolved to support these opportunities.
● Platform Development: Emergence of SPV providers and digital investment banks
● Extended IPO Timeline: Companies staying private longer, with more growth taking place in private markets
● Secondary Transaction Acceptance: More companies supporting employee liquidity
● Asset Manager Innovation: Traditional managers developing retail products
The Brokerage Gateway
Our research reveals:
Over 60% of accredited investors prefer accessing private markets through existing brokerage relationships rather than specialized platforms. Nearly 70% have never used direct-to-consumer private investment platforms.
Integration into traditional brokerage platforms represents a critical catalyst. There are over 100 million brokerage accounts in the U.S., representing one of the largest direct-to-investor distribution channels. By leveraging established trust, relationships, and a superior user experience, private market opportunities can reach millions of investors already managing portfolios through their brokerage account.
What’s Missing?
Until now, the missing link has been embedded API infrastructure that enables brokerage firms to integrate private market access directly into existing accounts, eliminating the need for new platforms.
Beyond this, a few key challenges remain:
- Increased Investor Limits: Increasing private company investor caps beyond 2,000 and beyond 100 for 3(c)(1)
SPVs. - Enhanced Education: Equipping investors with knowledge to evaluate risks and opportunities
- Issuer Buy-In: Regardless of the tech, rules, and size of the investor pool, the solutions provided for issuers need to add value and solve problems. Luckily, this is already starting to happen.
Who Benefits?
For institutions, integrating private markets into brokerage platforms opens access to trillions in accredited investor capital. Those who act early can establish competitive advantage and capture new revenue streams.
For investors, accessing private markets within a brokerage account transforms what’s traditionally been a fragmented, manual, inefficient process into a seamless investment experience. Instead of juggling emails, PDFs, and multiple platform logins, investors can research, invest, and monitor their private holdings alongside their public portfolio in a single account.
This integration delivers immediate convenience through consolidated tax reporting and unified portfolio visibility, while providing structural advantages like enhanced secondary liquidity options for otherwise illiquid assets and streamlined liquidity event processing that keeps distributions within the same brokerage account.
The Bottom Line
Regulatory reform, technological advancement, cultural evolution, and business environment changes have converged to create a genuine inflection point. The next catalyst—seamless integration of private markets within a brokerage account—represents the key to unlocking full market potential.
With 60% of accredited investors preferring access to private markets via their existing brokerage accounts, the market signals demonstrate clear demand.
Note: The article was originally published in Traders Magazine on 16 October 2025. You can read the article here
