The Master Investor Podcast with Wilfred Frost

“This is the Era of the Retail Trader": Sonali Basak on Democratising Private Markets

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Feb 5, 2026

Sonali Basak, Chief Investment Strategist at iCapital and former Bloomberg Wall Street correspondent, explains how technology is lowering barriers to private markets while keeping institutional-style diligence. She covers bond and long-end yield risks, private credit vintage and manager selection, market breadth beyond the Magnificent 7, and why infrastructure software may win in the AI era.

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INSIGHT

Platform Bridging Public And Private Markets

iCapital sits at the intersection of public and private markets, offering access to funds and structured products previously out of reach for many investors.
The platform combines fund due diligence, model portfolios, and structured public-market investments to bridge institutional-grade access to individuals.

INSIGHT

Lower Minimums Are Democratizing Access

Minimums for private market access are falling from millions to tens of thousands, enabling broader investor participation.
Sonali stresses this must happen responsibly with institutional-level transparency and education.

INSIGHT

Private Companies Dominate Growth Opportunities

Private companies now dominate the revenue-generating universe, with many staying private longer and creating allocative gaps for public-only investors.
iCapital sees infrastructure and other non-equity private assets as routes to diversify away from mega-cap concentration.

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Sonali Basak joins the Master Investor Podcast to discuss her transition from Bloomberg anchor to Chief Investment Strategist at iCapital, a key player in democratising access to private markets.

The former lead Wall Street correspondent at Bloomberg Television and host of "Bullish," shares insights on iCapital's role in this new age of retail investing, explaining how technology is lowering minimum investment levels without removing rigorous due diligence.

Basak cautions on bond market risks, predicting fewer Fed cuts in early 2026 and potential upticks in long-end yields due to US fiscal pressures and global spillovers from Japan and Europe. In private credit, she highlights floating-rate benefits in a higher-rate environment but warns of vintage risks from low-rate deals and urges focus on proven managers. On equities, she welcomes market broadening beyond the Magnificent 7, favouring infrastructure software over vulnerable SaaS amid AI shifts.

The episode traces Basak's path from broadcasting to investing - the reverse of Wilf’s - reflecting on what she has learnt from some of her most high profile guests while at Bloomberg, including Stan Druckenmiller and Ken Griffin. She advises young professionals to embrace inexperience as an edge and embrace being new to a situation.

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