Half your Portfolio. The Case for Private Markets at Scale.

At IPEM Wealth 2026 in Cannes, Brendan McCurdy from Ares Management laid out a bold framework for private markets allocation and identified two asset classes he believes investors are systematically underweighting right now. 

Key takeaways from this interview

01. Infrastructure: The supply-demand gap is enormous
Surging electricity demand, the energy transition, and aging infrastructure are creating one of the largest capital deployment opportunities Ares has ever seen. Brendan believes the need for infrastructure investment has never been more acute or more investable. 

02. Real Estate is recovering, and most investors are missing it
After years of cap rate compression, real estate yields have reset meaningfully higher. Brendan's view: the recovery is already underway, but the headlines haven't caught up. Investors still avoiding the asset class may be leaving significant value on the table. 

The real estate recovery is already underway. Investors are missing it because they're not taking a serious look at it right now. - Brendan McCurdy, Ares Management

03. Ignore the headlines, the fundamental are strong
Despite market volatility, Ares' private loan book shows robust earnings growth, low leverage, and minimal non-accruals, well below long-term averages. Brendan's message: what's happening in the public credit markets is not what's happening in private lending. 

04. Up to 50% in Private Markets
Ares model portfolios point to private markets representing as much as half of a well-constructed portfolio. The key mental shift: stop treating private markets as "alternatives" and start treating them the same way you think about equities and fixed income.