WisdomTree CEO: Private Asset ETFs Are Asset Management's Next Frontier

The Quick Take

• WisdomTree CEO Jonathan Steinberg says ETFs with private market exposure are the next major evolution in asset management.
• Private asset ETFs would democratise access to private equity, private credit, and infrastructure — historically available only to institutional and ultra-high-net-worth investors.
• The structural shift would channel retail capital into private markets at scale, potentially compressing private equity return premiums while growing the total addressable market for ETF providers.

WisdomTree CEO Jonathan Steinberg, speaking at the BNY INSITE conference, identified ETFs with private market asset exposure as the next major stage in asset management evolution. The concept of private-asset ETFs — registered investment vehicles providing retail investors with exposure to private equity, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure — represents a significant democratisation of asset classes traditionally accessible only through lock-up structures available to institutional and high-net-worth investors. Regulatory frameworks in the US and Europe are evolving to permit such structures, with the SEC's recent semi-liquid fund guidance and ELTIF 2.0 in Europe opening pathways for retail-accessible private market vehicles.

Private asset ETFs would represent a structural expansion of WisdomTree's addressable market, moving the company beyond its existing thematic and factor equity ETF lineup into a category where fee structures are substantially higher — private credit and PE allocation fees typically run 50-100 basis points versus 10-30 basis points for liquid equity ETFs. The competitive landscape would include BlackRock, which has been building its private markets platform through its $12 billion acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners, and State Street's alliance with Apollo. For retail investors, the principal value proposition is access to asset classes historically generating higher risk-adjusted returns — private equity has outperformed public equity over 20-year horizons — but with the liquidity structure of an exchange-traded fund.

Watch for SEC rulemaking on semi-liquid private asset fund structures in 2026 — any final rule would be the primary regulatory catalyst enabling mainstream private asset ETF launches. WisdomTree's BNY INSITE commentary suggests the company is actively developing product infrastructure for such launches. The macro variable is interest rate direction: private credit ETFs become more attractive as traditional bond yields normalise, while private equity ETFs are more attractive in a lower-rate environment where private company valuations are less compressed. The first credible private equity ETF launch — from any provider — would be the decade's most significant product innovation for the asset management industry.

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