Qual è l'approccio di AlTi Tiedemann Global per i clienti con patrimoni elevati (UHNW) riguardo alle strategie di investimento?

AlTi Tiedemann Global ritiene che le formule pre-confezionate siano spesso fuorvianti per i clienti UHNW. L'approccio è operativo e replicabile, basato sull'esperienza di Nancy Curtin e del suo team di oltre 50 professionisti.

Come si posiziona AlTi Tiedemann Global rispetto alla crescente allocazione nei mercati privati?

L'articolo suggerisce che la questione non è più se allocare nei mercati privati, ma come gestirli efficacemente. Questo indica un focus sull'implementazione e la gestione attiva di tali investimenti.

Quali sono i pilastri fondamentali dell'approccio di investimento di AlTi, come suggerito dalle intestazioni?

Le intestazioni indicano che i pilastri sono: stabilità attraverso liquidità e protezione del flusso di cassa, diversificazione per ottenere rendimenti stabili e difesa, e crescita attraverso la sinergia tra mercati pubblici e privati.

Qual è il ruolo della diversificazione nell'ambito della strategia di investimento di AlTi?

La diversificazione è vista come un elemento di 'zavorra', fondamentale per garantire rendimenti stabili e fornire una componente difensiva al portafoglio complessivo.

In che modo AlTi Tiedemann Global integra i mercati pubblici e privati nella sua strategia di crescita?

L'approccio mira a creare una sinergia tra i mercati pubblici e privati per favorire la crescita. Questo implica un'allocazione strategica che sfrutti i punti di forza di entrambi i settori.

The AlTi line for large assets

Nancy Curtin, Global Chief Investment Officer at AlTi Tiedemann Global, spoke at Ipem Wealth 2026 in Cannes to clarify that, for UHNW clients, pre-packaged formulas are often misleading.

Her experience leading a team of over 50 professionals makes the approach operational and replicable for private banking and family offices.

In the context of the expected growth in flows to private markets, the question is no longer whether to allocate, but how to manage illiquidity and operational risk.

Estimates discussed in Cannes indicate individual assets increasing from 2.7 to 9.3 trillion dollars by 2028, a trajectory that requires rigor in vehicle selection and liquidity planning.

Private markets: core, not a fad

Curtin reiterated that private markets have been integrated into UHNW mandates for over twenty years in AlTi practices, with the aim of applying endowment and foundation techniques to private portfolios.

This means transforming the composition of the portfolio into a structure that aims for resilience against inflation and fiscal shocks, not simply chasing an illiquid premium.

Therefore, for wealth managers and private bankers, access is not enough: what matters is the governance of the vehicle, the quality of the investor base, and the co-investment of managers.

From an advisory perspective, the discipline is to avoid “watered-down” solutions and favor those aligned with institutional investors and large assets.

No Yale Model: customization and fiscal governance

Curtin ruled out the universal applicability of standard rules such as 50/30/20 or generalized academic models.

For UHNWs, what matters is tolerance for illiquidity, preferences for certain assets, and income needs that can vary dramatically from year to year.

For a family office or private banker, this translates into governance processes that incorporate tax planning and legacy strategy from the outset of portfolio construction.

The goal is to reduce the risk of tactical decisions dictated by deadlines and constraints rather than long-term convictions.

The three-bucket operating scheme for managing different objectives

Curtin proposes a functional model with three distinct containers to align risks and objectives: stability, diversification, and growth.

This approach shifts the focus from the “asset class” label to the function that each investment must perform in the overall portfolio.

For wealth managers, this means designing mandates that clearly separate liquidity needs from long-term return needs, reducing the risk of forced sales.

The point is to make it clear where performance is sought and where, instead, protection is paid for.

Stability: liquidity and cash flow protection

The first bucket is dedicated to lifestyle and liquidity and is not designed to take on excessive risk.

Curtin emphasizes the need to maintain a very short duration in this portion to prevent tax deviations or extraordinary expenses from forcing the monetization of growth assets.

For those advising UHNW clients, the operating rule is simple: liquidity is a policy against the worst loss, i.e., the forced sale of the best assets.

This is also where dry powder is built up to manage moments when the market misprices risk.

Diversification as ballast: stable returns and defense

The second bucket acts as ballast to protect the portfolio, aiming for more regular returns and limiting downside.

Curtin pointed out that, in recent periods, combined strategies of private credit, infrastructure, real assets, and absolute return have shown results of around 10%-12%, emphasizing stabilization rather than the promise of linear performance.

For UHNW portfolio managers, this means calibrating exposures that offer protection in drawdowns while maintaining tax efficiency for taxable clients.

The value lies in overall resilience, not in individual components.

Growth: public and private in synergy

The third bucket is dedicated to growth and combines passive exposures to broad markets, active management of themes, and a selected component of private equity.

Curtin emphasizes that public and private are not substitutes but complements: private equity still requires long horizons and rigorous selection to achieve the expected premium.

This segment requires wealth managers to implement governance that avoids both overexposure and the illusion of guaranteed returns from illiquidity.

The construction must be consistent with the client’s objectives and real time horizon.

Evergreen and liquidity ladder: selective utility

Curtin appreciates evergreen funds for their ability to build a ladder of liquidity with differentiated windows, making them particularly useful in private credit and infrastructure.

However, he rules out the automatic use of evergreen in private equity, where long duration is an integral part of the return engine.

For those who build wealth management solutions, the assessment must focus on the consistency between the liquidity offered and the actual liquidity of the underlying asset, as well as the composition of investors.

The risk to avoid is “superficial” liquidity that translates into gating or repricing at the worst possible times.

Manager selection: concentration where needed, diversification where required

Curtin distinguishes between areas where manager concentration preserves alpha and areas such as private credit where diversification is crucial for capital protection.

In private credit, the primary objective is capital recovery: the portfolio must be granular and managed by teams with experience in restructuring and adverse cycles.

For hedge funds, on the other hand, selection focuses on managers with a replicable track record and attention to tax efficiency.

For taxable clients, net return becomes the true measure of performance.

The rule of thumb: bottom-up risk management

The operational conclusion is that risk management is not a top-down exercise in percentages, but a bottom-up process that identifies what you own, what risks you are paying for, and how those risks interact with client objectives and cash flows.

In a landscape where individual assets in private markets are expected to grow through 2028, the ability to design portfolios governed by liquidity, protection, and growth becomes a competitive advantage.

Immediate implications for private bankers and family offices

For those who build solutions for UHNW clients, the operational priorities are to validate the quality of vehicles and managers, structure a liquidity ladder consistent with the underlying assets, and integrate tax governance and legacy planning into portfolio construction.

The push of private markets toward the wealth channel creates opportunities, but the value to the client depends on the advisor’s ability to govern illiquidity, concentration, and tax risk with clear operational disciplines.