As advisors look to bring alternatives to more client portfolios, they will need the infrastructure to understand how these funds work and to communicate it to clients.

According to Schwab’s 2026 Independent Advisor Outlook Study, 45% of RIAs now offer alternatives, and another 13% plan to add private market investments within three years.

But offering alternatives and getting clients to adopt them are two different things. The firms that see real growth are the ones whose advisors can recommend these funds with confidence and answer every question that follows.

That’s what Sekond is built for.

Clients want alternatives. The information hasn’t caught up.

Clients hear about well-known managers backing the private companies everyone is talking about, and they want a share of those returns. Semi-liquid funds are how they get access.

The problem is what happens after a fund is approved. Most advisors learn about a fund from their research team, then rely on the manager’s one-pagers and marketing materials for updates. That leaves them answering questions about liquidity, returns and holdings without an independent source.

When advisors aren’t sure of the answer, they hold back. Allocations stay small, and alternatives never become the growth driver they could be.

One trusted view, from fund research to the client conversation

Sekond is the research and advisor enablement platform for semi-liquid funds. We turn complex fund data into clear, independent answers, so your firm can offer these funds with confidence and explain them clearly.

Every fund on Sekond is built around the questions every client asks:

• Liquidity: When can I get my money out? Redemption windows, demand against the cap and time to exit.

• Performance: How does the fund stack up? Returns after fees, benchmarked against other semi-liquid funds and the public markets.

• Risk: What could go wrong? The worst drawdown and how long it took to recover, leverage, and how much income is paid in kind instead of cash.

• Concentration: What am I actually invested in? The underlying holdings, sector and geographic exposure, and when a manager moves into something new.

Every data point comes from regulatory filings and public fund documents, and links back to its source. When a client asks where a number came from, your advisor has the answer.

What this means for your firm

Bring alternatives to more clients

Advisors who can explain a fund clearly can recommend it with confidence. Clients who understand what they’re buying are more likely to say yes. That’s how alternatives move from a handful of portfolios to many.

Grow AUM with the households you already serve

Your clients are already hearing about alternatives elsewhere. If they don’t get a clear answer from you, that money can end up in a direct deal or with another firm. Sekond gives your advisors the answers to keep those allocations in the relationship.

Compete for bigger clients

Wealthier prospects expect their advisor to speak to alternatives. An advisor who can walk through a fund’s liquidity, performance, risk and holdings in the first meeting stands out.

Keep the clients you have

The real test of an alternatives allocation is a liquidity event, like a redemption request that only gets partially filled or a fund that shifts its strategy. Sekond monitors every fund and alerts advisors when liquidity, performance or strategy changes, so they can reach clients before clients reach them.

How it works

1. Your research team evaluates the market and decides which funds the firm offers, comparing funds side by side on consistent definitions.

2. Sekond monitors every approved fund, flagging changes in liquidity, performance, risk and concentration.

3. Your advisors answer clients with the firm’s view, organized around the questions and backed by source-linked data.

The result is a firm that speaks with one voice on every approved fund. Your research desk also spends less time answering the same fund questions one advisor at a time.

Know every fund. Answer every client.

See how Sekond can help your advisors bring alternatives to more clients: book a demo.

Sources

• Schwab 2026 Independent Advisor Outlook Study, October 29, 2026