The Bid 255: The Rise of Private Markets: Access, Liquidity, and Portfolio Diversification
18 snips
Mar 27, 2026 Jon Diorio, Head of Product and Alternatives at BlackRock U.S. Wealth, talks private markets and alternative investments in plain terms. He explains why companies stay private longer and how access has widened for individual investors. He covers liquidity differences, longer time horizons, and how private assets can be slotted into portfolios. He also flags the need for due diligence and better advisor tools.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Public Market Shrinkage Makes Private Markets Central
- Public markets have shrunk in breadth: the Wilshire 5000 went from ~7,500 stocks in the late 90s to ~3,400 today.
- Jon Diorio says most of the economy now sits in private markets, so accessing growth and yield increasingly requires private exposure.
Amazon Example Shows Wealth Created Before IPOs
- Jon Diorio uses Amazon as an example: it went public in 1997 with a $400 million market cap and is now around $2.4 trillion.
- He points out that much wealth creation now happens while companies remain private longer, motivating demand for private access.
Structure and Technology Lowered Barriers to Entry
- Two forces widened private market access for wealth clients: new product structures and better technology.
- Diorio cites fewer QP barriers, easier tax reporting alternatives to K‑1s, and platforms that simplify onboarding.