Fidelity Expands Advisor Arsenal with Turnkey Private Market Portfolios
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In a strategic move to capitalize on the growing advisor appetite for alternative investments, Fidelity Investments has rolled out two comprehensive suites of turnkey model portfolios dedicated to private markets. The new offerings, structured as multi-asset, open-architecture portfolios, are built to provide exposure to the traditionally hard-to-access arenas of private equity, private credit, and private real estate.
The portfolios, named Fidelity Model Portfolios with Private Markets (focused on I and Z share classes) and Fidelity Model Portfolios with Private Markets—ETF Focused, are now accessible to eligible registered investment advisors (RIAs) and broker/dealers via the Envestnet platform. The firm indicated plans to expand distribution to additional platforms in the near future.
This launch is part of a broader industry shift, as a surge of interest from individual investors in diversifying beyond public markets forces a fundamental change in wealth management offerings. Asset managers are racing to develop products that package private market exposure for the wealth and retirement channels. Recent months have seen a flurry of activity, from BlackRock and Partners Group launching a separately managed account (SMA) investing through evergreen funds, to Bitwise introducing crypto-focused model portfolios.
"Advisors see the clear portfolio diversification benefits and practice differentiation that privates can offer, but the operational complexity and due diligence burden remain significant hurdles," said Amanda Robinson, head of wealth advisory managed solutions specialist distribution at Fidelity, in a statement accompanying the launch. "Our goal with these turnkey models is to dismantle those barriers, giving advisors a scalable, research-vetted solution."
The new suites build upon Fidelity's earlier forays into the space, including custom portfolios blending public and private assets launched in 2025, and other multi-fund portfolios on Envestnet. The firm is not alone; several competitors have also debuted similar model portfolio solutions on Envestnet and other turnkey asset management platforms (TAMPs).
In a related initiative, Fidelity also announced Alternative NavigatorSM, a new continuing education (CE)-accredited program designed to bolster advisors' knowledge of alternative investments through expert-led sessions, tutorials, and curated resources.
Industry Voices React
David Chen, Portfolio Manager at Horizon Advisors: "This is a logical and necessary evolution. Fidelity is providing the infrastructure that allows mainstream advisors to participate in an asset class that was once the exclusive domain of large endowments and family offices. The key will be how effectively they communicate the liquidity trade-offs to end clients."
Marcus Thorne, Independent RIA: "Finally, a major player is offering a truly turnkey solution that doesn't require me to become a full-time private markets analyst. The open-architecture approach is crucial—it means I'm not locked into only Fidelity's funds, which builds trust."
Rebecca Shaw, Founder of Financial Transparency Forum: "Here we go again—packaging opaque, illiquid, high-fee private assets into neat little models for retail investors. This isn't 'democratization'; it's a potential mis-selling crisis waiting to happen. Where is the clear warning about the drastic lack of liquidity and valuation opacity in the marketing materials?"
Arjun Mehta, Head of Alternatives at a Regional Bank Trust Division: "The concurrent launch of the education program is the smartest part. You can't just drop these sophisticated tools on an advisor's desk. Fidelity seems to understand that success requires building competency alongside the product."