March is Asset Management Awareness Month, prompting wealth management firms to examine the systems and experiences that underpin their advice. While these evaluations have historically focused on traditional assets, today’s portfolios are more diverse.
Alternative investments have moved from the margins of portfolio construction to the mainstream. According to the 2025 CAIS & Mercer Alternative Investment Survey, 90% of advisors currently allocate to alternative investments, and nearly half devote more than 10% of client portfolios to alts. With 88% of advisors expecting to increase allocations over the next two years, alternatives are becoming a foundational part of portfolios.
The focus has shifted from whether to use alternatives to how they are delivered. As private assets become part of strategy, they must also be included in reporting, performance management, and communication.
Clients Don’t Think in Asset Classes
Clients don’t separate their wealth into “traditional” and “alternative” categories. Regardless of whether portfolios include public equities, private equity, private credit, real estate, or hedge funds, clients expect a single, consolidated view.
However, in many firms, alternatives are managed in separate systems or siloed spreadsheets. Clients often receive one report for public holdings and another, often less polished, report for private assets.
This fragmentation is operationally understandable, as most wealth management software was designed for daily pricing and liquid markets. Alternatives introduce capital calls, commitment tracking, irregular valuation schedules, and complex documentation. Without integrated infrastructure, operations teams shoulder the additional workload.
The consequences are predictable:
Manual processes increase the risk of error.
Inconsistent reporting undermines transparency.
Advisors spend time reconciling data instead of engaging clients.
Back-office inefficiencies ultimately impact the client experience.
Closing the Expectations Gap
Meeting today’s client expectations requires embedding alternative investments into the core advisory ecosystem. Leading firms are moving toward fully integrated financial advisor software that unifies public and private investments within the same reporting and client experience framework.
Platforms such as SS&C Black Diamond® Wealth Solutions enable firms to incorporate alternative holdings directly in portfolio views, performance reporting, and client communications. This ensures firms have access to:
Unified portfolio reporting across public and private assets
Household-level allocation views that include illiquid positions
Integrated performance tracking
Consolidated client deliverables
This integration depends on data integrity. That’s why firms are pairing portfolio platforms with specialized data solutions like SS&C Accord. Purpose-built for alternative investments, SS&C Accord uses AI-driven data extraction and professional review to aggregate statements, track capital activity, normalize valuations, and deliver structured data directly into Black Diamond.
The result is greater clarity and reduced complexity. Advisors gain accurate, timely visibility across all assets within a single ecosystem, while clients receive a clear view of their consolidated financial picture.
Raising the Standard
Asset Management Awareness Month emphasizes the need for firms to have the infrastructure that supports responsible, transparent, and scalable asset management. In today’s market, that includes more than public investments.
Clients measure sophistication through clarity, transparency, and confidence. Delivering these qualities across all asset classes gives clients a clearer picture of their portfolios and a stronger foundation for all financial decisions.
To learn more about how SS&C Black Diamond® Wealth Solutions supports alternative investment management, request a personalized demo, call 1-800-727-0605, or email info@sscblackdiamond.com today.
