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Liquidity concerns hold back asset owners from expanding private markets

Morningstar’s survey of 504 asset owners found 63% listed liquidity as the biggest barrier, even as average private market targets are projected to rise to 23% of assets within five years.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Fund Industry

Asset owners are increasingly interested in boosting exposure to private markets, but liquidity worries are slowing decisions, according to results from Morningstar’s fifth annual Asset Owner Perspectives Survey.

Morningstar Indexes and Morningstar Sustainalytics polled 504 asset owners across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific in July 2026, and 63% of respondents cited liquidity as the top barrier to expanding private market allocations.

The survey also found that the average private market target allocation is expected to increase from 19% of assets today to 23% within five years, creating what the survey describes as a gap between appetite and access.

The respondents included pension funds, insurers, family offices, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds, and more than half, 57%, managed at least $1 billion in assets, with 26% managing $10 billion or more.

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