How to build a better portfolio thanks to a $30tn asset class

Please note this interview was filmed on 28 May 2026.

It's difficult to imagine an asset class well on its way to a US$30 trillion valuation (for context, the total market capitalisation of the ASX is around US$2 trillion) doesn't figure too highly in the thinking of many investors. 

But that has been the story of private markets, especially here in Australia, where investors may finally be catching on to the huge growth story that's been unfolding. 

For Geof Marshall, Head of Fixed Income & Lead - Private Markets at CI Global Asset Management (CI GAM), the reason behind the growth is twofold. It's the outsized returns generated in private markets and its value as a diversifier. 

At a time where stretched valuations and ever-growing expectations are putting increased pressure on public companies, the relative appeal of private markets becomes even more apparent.

"We're pivoting from looking at value or looking at growth at a reasonable price to shifting towards momentum," says Marshall. 

"Companies are on this 90-day shot clock between quarterly earnings, we've got companies that are staying private longer, companies that are deciding to go from public to being private and then shrinking market breadth."

SpaceX, OpenAI and "staying private longer"

The prevailing trend in private markets has been the tendency for innovative, well-backed companies to stay private as long as possible. And this has had a transformative effect on how private market investors operate, Marshall says. 

"I think we are fundamentally rewriting the rules of what private equity and venture capital look like," says Marshall. "I struggle to put the venture capital label on this cohort of what might be $2 trillion companies."

Two of the world's largest companies - SpaceX and OpenAI - are gearing up to go public at trillion-dollar valuations. Marshall sees two big upshots, one for private markets, and one for public markets. 

Knowing what to avoid

Right now, Marshall sees opportunities in private credit and private equity, specifically industrial buyouts and carve-outs.

"As we look at the American economy in particular, and reshoring a lot of their manufacturing capacity back to the United States, I think you could actually see a lot of renewed interest in what I would call older parts of the economy."

But he says what's arguably more important is avoiding bad opportunities. One big area he's avoiding is software - something public markets have now also learnt thanks to the SaaSpocalypse.

"Part of the reason we haven't done large cap buyout or really even middle market buyout is the legacy risk of software exposure," says Marshall. "Software was private equity's favourite trade, financed by private credit."

An optimised approach

Given the breadth of opportunity, CI GAM employs a multi-sector, multi-asset approach to private markets. And there's two key advantages to this strategy, says Marshall.

One is simply scale of access. "The key advantage is accessing managers that I think most investors, including institutional investors, may not be able to access," he says. 

The focus on liquidity is why CI GAM own private credit in its Private Markets Growth Fund, and why both it and the Private Markets Income Fund allocate a 10% liquidity sleeve as part of its strategic asset allocation (SAA), which is composed of index ETFs. 

Quantitative modelling showed the fund that the biggest call on liquidity will come when public markets are weakest, and the fund wants to protect against that eventuality. 

But for now, it's about harnessing the breadth and flexibility of private markets to deliver for investors. 

"The fundamental opportunity is building better portfolios."