For decades, McKinley Carter has introduced clients to investments beyond traditional stocks and bonds. At first, we did this one opportunity at a time, based on a client's specific situation or a manager we happened to know. But over the past several years, we've taken a more deliberate approach. We've formalized private market investments as a distinct sleeve of the portfolio, built on research, due diligence, and clearly defined roles within each client's broader strategy.
This shift reflects something we've learned over time. Private markets (including private equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure) offer something the public markets cannot. These are businesses and assets you own, not just trade. The returns come from building value over years or decades, not from market sentiment. For clients with the right time horizon and liquidity profile, this can mean better outcomes. It can also mean better sleep at night, depending on the allocation.
I spent fifteen years on the West Virginia Investment Management Board's Alternative Investments Committee. I oversaw institutional investors (pension funds, endowments, and foundations) allocating meaningful portions of their portfolios to private markets. They did this not for excitement or complexity, but because the math worked. The long-term returns justified the illiquidity. The diversification mattered. The income could be substantial. That experience shaped how we think about these investments for individual clients.
The challenge has always been access. Until recently, serious private market exposure required capital most individual investors simply didn't have, or relationships most wealth managers couldn't cultivate. That's changing. Through our partnership with CAIS, we've secured institutional-quality access to opportunities historically reserved for large institutional investors. Alongside research from Mercer and our own investment committee's work, we evaluate every allocation carefully before bringing it into a client portfolio.
Here's how we structure it. Some clients are seeking growth. In the right situation, private equity and venture capital can deliver that, with well-selected managers outpacing their peers. Other clients prioritize income and downside protection. Infrastructure and private credit can play that role, often with yields that feel refreshingly clear in today's market. Most clients want something in between… complementary strategies that work together to dampen volatility while raising returns.
The point is not to make private markets sound exotic. It's to acknowledge what they are: a mature asset class, backed by decades of data, that belong in many high-net-worth portfolios alongside a solid core of stocks and bonds. They're not a replacement for liquidity or diversification. They're a complement to it.
We've been thoughtful about this. Our team has done the work. If you're curious whether private markets belong in your portfolio, the next step is simple. Talk with your advisor about the opportunity, not to sell you on a specific fund, but to think through whether this kind of allocation fits your timeline, your capital needs, and the outcomes you're trying to create. That's how this is supposed to work.