The retail alternatives market continues to evolve, creating new opportunities for asset managers, wealth platforms and investors alike.

In our latest Perspective First podcast episode, Gautham Ratnakar is joined by Nick Ablahani, Managing Director, Head of Retail Alternative Products, and Lance Christofferson, Senior Vice President, Head of Product and Strategy, at Ultimus Fund Solutions to discuss the trends shaping the next phase of growth in retail alternatives.

The conversation explores:

• Alternative investments in retail, focused on service providers and how they are servicing the retail products in the market. 
• Why the scale of that shift is now hard to ignore: interval and tender offer funds have grown from a niche structure a decade ago to more than 300 funds today.⁷
• Private credit has become the most popular allocation within these vehicles.

Listen to the full episode now.

Sources 

1. Ultimus Fund Solutions, “Ultimus Announces Registered Alternatives Gateway Platform,” July 23, 2024.
2. Ultimus Fund Solutions, “Ultimus Assists in Tender Offer Fund Launch for Hamilton Capital,” March 28, 2023.
3. Ultimus Fund Solutions, “Ultimus Continues to Set the Benchmark in Fund Administration at 2024 Awards,” GlobeNewswire, December 11, 2024.
4. Lance Christofferson, LinkedIn profile, accessed July 2026.
5. Preqin, “Preqin Releases Private Markets in 2030 Report,” October 16, 2025.
6. Bain & Company, Global Private Equity Report 2024 (Boston: Bain & Company, 2024).
7. XA Investments, “Interval Fund Daily Observations,” accessed July 2026.
8. Rule 23c-3, 17 C.F.R. § 270.23c-3, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed July 2026.
9. ACA Group, “Overview of Interval Funds: Rule 23c-3,” accessed July 2026.
10. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Fund Structures Comparison Chart, October 24, 2025.
11. ACA Group, “Interval Funds Basics,” accessed July 2026. (* Note: interval fund electronic ticketing is available via NSCC's Fund/SERV platform.)
12. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Definition of Eligible Portfolio Company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Release No. IC-28266, Federal Register, May 20, 2008.
13. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, “New Legislation Will Benefit Business Development Companies,” April 2018.
14. Ropes & Gray LLP, “Fully Invested: Exchange Act-Registered Private Funds (the ‘34 Act Fund),” June 2025.
15. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “Changes to Exchange Act Registration Requirements to Implement Title V and Title VI of the JOBS Act,” Small Business Compliance Guide, accessed July 2026.
16. WealthManagement.com / Morningstar, “Evergreen Funds Grow to $607B Despite Redemptions,” 2026 (Morningstar PitchBook data).
17. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “Exchange Act Reporting and Registration,” accessed July 2026.
18. Carlyle Private Equity Partners Fund L.P., Form 10: General Form for Registration of Securities (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2025).
19. Nick Darsch, “Interval Fund Proration: Turning Product Features into Functionality,” Nasdaq, February 26, 2021.
20. Lord Abbett Credit Opportunities Fund, Form N-23C3A: Notification of Repurchase Offer Pursuant to Rule 23c-3 (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, March 9, 2020).
21. Bisnow, “BREIT Raises $1B More Than Investors Redeem, Reversing 3-Year Trend,” March 2026.
22. Chilton Capital Management, “Turning Up the Heat on BREIT,” April 1, 2025.
23. Emily Bannister and Sonali Wilson, “Private Credit Outlook for 2026: 5 Key Trends,” Wellington Management, December 4, 2025.
24. Dylan Thomas and Gaurang Dholakia, “Global Private Credit Fundraising Increased in 2025,” S&P Global Market Intelligence, January 2026.
25. White House, Executive Order 14330, “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors,” August 7, 2025.
26. U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives, Proposed Rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 16088 (March 31, 2026).
27. Lindsey R. Camp and Todd D. Wozniak, “Executive Order Calls for More Access to Retirement Plan Alternative Asset Investment Options,” Holland & Knight, August 13, 2025.

28. Retirement Investment Choice Act, H.R. 5748, 119th Cong. (2025) (introduced October 14, 2025; referred to committee).

    *Note: the changes referenced are Executive Order 14330 (August 2025) and the DOL's proposed rule (March 2026), which remains pending finalisation; a bill to codify the EO, H.R. 5748, was introduced in October 2025 and remains in committee.