Expanding the Conversation: Why InvestCloud Joined the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the IPA Wealth 2026 conference in Newport Beach — our first as a new member of the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (IPA).

For many in the private markets ecosystem, IPA needs no introduction. The organization plays an important role in advancing education, best practices, and dialogue around private markets and alternative investments. What made this experience particularly meaningful for me — and for InvestCloud — is that this audience represents a different part of the market than where we traditionally operate.

APL sits at the heart of the managed account infrastructure powering some of the largest wealth and asset management firms in the world. Our platform enables trading, rebalancing, performance reporting, and operational oversight — the essential engine that allows financial advisors to serve their clients at scale.

Historically, our focus has been squarely on enabling advisors and the retail investors they serve. IPA brings together a more institutional audience — asset managers, product manufacturers, and industry stakeholders shaping the evolution of private markets.

And that’s precisely why being there mattered.

A Convergence Moment for Private Markets

Private markets are no longer a niche conversation. They are increasingly central to portfolio construction discussions across both institutional and wealth channels.

Yet one theme was clear throughout the event: expanding access is both an opportunity and a responsibility that requires thoughtful design.

The dialogue focused heavily on how firms are aligning technology, regulation, and investor experience to responsibly broaden participation in private markets. Equally clear was the importance of data and AI, which increasingly sit at the center of personalization, risk management, and scalable advisor and investor engagement.

At the same time, as product innovation accelerates, operational enablement — the how of delivering private markets within managed account structures — remains one of the most critical challenges facing wealth managers today.

At InvestCloud, this is where we believe we can add meaningful value.

Bridging Institutional Innovation and Advisor Enablement

Our mission is not simply to support private markets, but to make them operationally viable inside the systems advisors already use to run their businesses.

That means:

• Streamlining how alternative assets are modeled, allocated, and monitored within managed accounts
• Supporting rebalancing and trading workflows that account for liquidity and subscription dynamics
• Enabling performance reporting that reflects both public and private holdings
• Providing infrastructure that allows firms to scale private markets efficiently and compliantly

To support this shift from interest to implementation, we have introduced two complementary innovations within APL:

• Private Markets Account — enabling public and private assets to coexist within a single managed-account structure
• Private Markets Network — intelligent infrastructure that executes private markets orders in-good-order at managed-account scale

Together, these capabilities are designed to help firms operationalize private markets responsibly and at scale.

The conversations at IPA Wealth reinforced something important: the industry increasingly recognizes the opportunity in private markets, but many wealth firms are still navigating how to implement them effectively at scale.

Technology is the bridge.

Serving a Shared Objective — Through Responsible Enablement

As private markets gain momentum in the wealth channel, there is healthy debate around the pace and scope of expanding access — and how to responsibly broaden participation. That debate is essential. Expanding access requires education, risk awareness, and thoughtful implementation.

At IPA Wealth, several conversations reinforced this dynamic. Firms are experimenting with new structures, designed to bridge accessibility gaps, alongside enhanced advisor education programs and portfolio analytics that better contextualize private assets. There was meaningful discussion around liquidity design, transparency, and integrating operational processes such as capital calls, valuations, and reporting into familiar advisor workflows.

Our goal is not expansion for expansion’s sake, but responsible enablement — providing the infrastructure, operational intelligence, and governance capabilities that allow wealth management firms to incorporate private markets in ways that align with their fiduciary duty and client objectives.

At InvestCloud, we sit at the operational core of managed account platforms. We see firsthand that interest in alternatives is growing — but interest alone is not enough. Firms need systems, workflows, liquidity-aware modeling, performance reporting, and supervisory frameworks that make implementation practical, transparent, and scalable.

That is the role we are committed to playing.

Why Membership Matters

Becoming a member of IPA reflects our commitment to being part of the broader alternatives conversation.

It signals that we are:

• Listening to asset managers and institutional stakeholders
• Investing in understanding the evolving private markets landscape
• Committed to helping wealth managers operationalize alternatives responsibly
• Focused on building connective tissue between product innovation and advisor execution

For me personally, it was energizing to engage with new leaders across the ecosystem — to learn, to challenge assumptions, and to explore where infrastructure can accelerate progress.

Looking Ahead

As we continue to deepen our involvement in the alternatives space, our focus remains clear:

• Help wealth management firms move from interest to implementation
• Enable financial advisors with tools that simplify complexity
• Deliver infrastructure that makes private markets scalable inside managed accounts

Just as importantly, we look forward to continuing the conversations that began at IPA Wealth — engaging with new leaders across the ecosystem, expanding our thinking, and learning from perspectives that challenge and strengthen our own.

Private markets are evolving quickly. The dialogue around responsible access is evolving with them. Being part of the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives community allows us to contribute meaningfully to that evolution — not only through technology, but through thoughtful collaboration.

I’m especially looking forward to continuing the discussion at the IPA Summit 2026 in Washington, D.C., where the intersection of policy, regulation, product innovation, and wealth implementation will take center stage.

The future of private markets in wealth management will not be shaped by product innovation alone. It will be shaped by partnership, infrastructure, and a shared commitment to responsible enablement.

We are proud to be part of that work.