The investment landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade. What was once the exclusive domain of institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals has now become accessible to everyday investors through innovative digital platforms. Alternative investments, which include assets beyond traditional stocks and bonds such as real estate, private equity, fine art, and private credit, have increasingly become essential components of diversified portfolios. This shift has been driven by technology-enabled platforms that democratize access to previously inaccessible asset classes.
Understanding Alternative Investments in 2026
Alternative investments represent a diverse category of assets that historically have shown low correlation with traditional markets. According to recent industry analysis, major financial institutions like BlackRock have adjusted their portfolio advisory recommendations from the traditional sixty-forty stock-bond split to a fifty-thirty-twenty allocation that includes alternative assets. This fundamental shift reflects growing recognition that alternatives can provide both diversification benefits and potential for enhanced returns, particularly during periods of market volatility.
The alternative investment market continues to expand rapidly, with data from leading platforms showing billions of dollars in assets under management and hundreds of thousands of active investors participating in these markets. The trend toward digitization and fractional ownership has lowered barriers to entry, making it possible for investors to access opportunities with minimums ranging from as little as ten dollars to higher thresholds for more sophisticated offerings.
1. Yieldstreet (Willow Wealth)
Yieldstreet, which recently rebranded elements of its offering under the Willow Wealth name, stands as the premier comprehensive alternative investment platform operating today. Founded in 2015, the platform has facilitated over six billion dollars in investments across an impressive array of alternative asset classes. What distinguishes Yieldstreet is its remarkably diverse offering under a single login, providing access to approximately ten different alternative asset categories including real estate, private credit, art, legal settlements, transportation, venture capital, private equity, and short-term notes.
The platform offers both individual deal investments and Managed Portfolios that spread investments across multiple private market opportunities. These Managed Portfolios come in three varieties tailored to different investor objectives: Income, Balanced, and Growth. A particularly noteworthy offering is the Alternative Income Fund, which represents a professionally managed, multi-asset class investment vehicle available to both accredited and non-accredited investors. This accessibility sets Yieldstreet apart from many competitors that restrict their best offerings to accredited investors only.
Yieldstreet’s fee structure ranges from zero percent to two-and-a-half percent annually depending on the specific investment, making it competitive within the alternative investment space. The platform has established itself through rigorous due diligence processes and transparent reporting, providing investors with detailed information about each opportunity. According to platform data, historical net realized internal rates of return have been attractive relative to traditional markets, though past performance naturally does not guarantee future results.
2. Fundrise
Fundrise holds the distinction of being one of the earliest pioneers in democratizing real estate investing, with operations dating back to 2012. The platform fundamentally changed the real estate investment landscape by making private real estate accessible to Main Street investors with remarkably low minimums. Today, investors can begin with as little as ten dollars in cash or one thousand dollars via IRA accounts, making it one of the most accessible platforms available.
The platform specializes primarily in real estate investments but has expanded to include private credit and venture capital opportunities. Fundrise offers several fund strategies that allow investors to tailor their risk profiles according to their investment objectives. The Income Fund focuses on generating yield through rental income and distributions, while the Flagship Fund emphasizes growth through property appreciation and development opportunities. This strategic variety enables investors to construct portfolios aligned with their specific financial goals and risk tolerance.
Fundrise operates through a unique structure that pools investor capital into diversified portfolios of commercial and residential properties across the United States. The platform handles all aspects of property management, from acquisition and financing to tenant relations and eventual disposition. Historical data suggests that diversified real estate portfolios have provided consistent returns, though investors should note that real estate investments carry inherent risks including market cyclicality and illiquidity. The platform has continued to innovate, recently introducing new asset classes and maintaining its position as a leader in accessible real estate investing.
3. Masterworks
Masterworks revolutionized art investing when it launched in 2017, creating the first and largest platform for fractional ownership of museum-quality contemporary art. The New York-based company has built an impressive portfolio of over four hundred paintings by renowned artists including Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the enigmatic street artist Banksy. The platform’s innovative approach involves purchasing multi-million dollar artworks, filing them with the Securities and Exchange Commission as Regulation A offerings, and then selling fractional shares to investors.
The investment thesis behind Masterworks is compelling. Contemporary art has demonstrated remarkable appreciation over the past several decades, with data showing an average annual appreciation of over eleven percent since 1995. This performance has outpaced the S&P 500 by substantial margins while maintaining relatively low correlation with traditional markets. Masterworks has completed twenty-three successful exits as of 2025, with returns ranging from approximately four percent to over seventy-seven percent, and ten paintings achieving returns exceeding twenty percent.
Investors should understand that Masterworks typically holds artworks for three to ten years before selling them, either privately to collectors or at major auction houses. The platform charges a one-and-a-half percent annual management fee plus twenty percent of profits upon sale, a fee structure similar to traditional hedge funds. A significant advantage is the secondary market launched by Masterworks, allowing investors to potentially exit positions before artwork sales, though liquidity is not guaranteed. The minimum investment has historically been around fifteen thousand dollars, though this can vary and the platform sometimes waives minimums at their discretion. The platform provides extensive research and market data, making it educational as well as investment-focused.
4. iCapital
iCapital represents the institutional-grade end of alternative investment platforms, serving as a critical infrastructure provider connecting wealth managers, asset managers, and institutional investors. Founded with the mission of streamlining access to alternative investments, iCapital has grown into a comprehensive ecosystem handling over significant assets across its various platforms. The company operates multiple distinct platforms including the iCapital Marketplace and the Structured Investments and Annuities Platform.
What sets iCapital apart is its focus on the wealth management channel and its sophisticated technology infrastructure. The platform provides comprehensive solutions for the entire alternative investment lifecycle, from educational resources and due diligence to transaction processing, reporting, and investor management. iCapital’s technology has been particularly transformative in reducing operational friction and enabling advisors to incorporate alternatives into client portfolios more efficiently than traditional methods allowed.
Recent developments include iCapital’s adoption of blockchain technology to process fund activity, representing the cutting edge of financial technology application in private markets. The platform offers access to private equity, private credit, hedge funds, real estate, and structured products from top-tier asset managers. iCapital is particularly relevant for financial advisors and registered investment advisors seeking to provide their clients with institutional-quality alternative investments. The platform’s emphasis on education through initiatives like AltsEdge helps advisors develop expertise in alternative investment strategies, contributing to broader market sophistication.
5. Arrived (formerly Arrived Homes)
Arrived has emerged as one of the most innovative and rapidly growing fractional real estate platforms, backed by notable investors including Jeff Bezos through Bezos Expeditions, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff. Launched in 2019 and formerly known as Arrived Homes, the platform enables investors to purchase fractional shares in single-family rental properties and vacation rentals for as little as one hundred dollars per share. This remarkably low minimum makes Arrived one of the most accessible real estate investment platforms available.
The platform’s recent developments mark a significant evolution in real estate investing. In November 2025, Arrived announced a twenty-seven million dollar fundraise and launched the Arrived Secondary Market, described as a “stock market for real estate.” This peer-to-peer marketplace allows investors to buy and sell shares of rental properties directly from one another, providing unprecedented liquidity in an asset class traditionally characterized by illiquidity. In the first three weeks of operation, the secondary market saw over fifty-seven thousand buy and sell orders, demonstrating strong investor demand for tradable real estate shares.
Arrived has funded over five hundred fifty properties across sixty-five markets in the United States, with more than eight hundred fifty thousand registered investors and over three hundred million dollars invested on the platform. The company handles all aspects of property management including acquisition, financing, tenant relations, maintenance, and eventual property sales. Investors receive quarterly dividends from rental income while waiting for property appreciation. The platform targets holding periods of five to seven years, aligning with real estate’s nature as a longer-term investment, though the new secondary market provides exit options for investors seeking earlier liquidity. Arrived charges a one-time sourcing fee of four to six percent of the purchase price, disclosed transparently for each property.
6. CrowdStreet
CrowdStreet operates as a sophisticated real estate crowdfunding platform targeting accredited investors who meet specific net worth and income thresholds. The platform differentiates itself through its focus on institutional-quality commercial real estate opportunities across diverse property types and geographic markets throughout the United States. Since its inception, CrowdStreet has facilitated billions of dollars in commercial real estate investments, providing accredited investors access to opportunities previously available only to institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
The platform offers two primary investment approaches. Individual investors can select specific commercial real estate projects across various sectors including multifamily residential, office buildings, retail centers, industrial properties, and mixed-use developments. Alternatively, investors can choose from CrowdStreet’s diversified funds that spread capital across multiple projects and sponsors, providing built-in diversification. The minimum investment requirements are generally higher than retail-focused platforms, often starting at twenty-five thousand dollars or more depending on the specific offering.
CrowdStreet emphasizes thorough due diligence and transparency, providing detailed information about each sponsor, property, business plan, and financial projections. The platform vets potential sponsors carefully and provides ongoing reporting throughout the investment lifecycle. Investors should note that commercial real estate investments typically do not generate significant cash flow during the holding period, as many deals focus on value-add strategies or development projects that distribute returns primarily upon property sale. The potential returns can be substantial, but these investments carry corresponding risks including market risk, sponsor execution risk, and extended illiquidity periods.
7. Public.com
Public.com has evolved from its origins as a social investing platform for stocks into a comprehensive investment ecosystem offering traditional and alternative assets. The platform’s mission centers on making investing more accessible and engaging for both novice and experienced investors through its user-friendly interface and educational approach. Public.com now provides access to stocks, exchange-traded funds, cryptocurrencies, bonds, options, and increasingly, alternative investment opportunities.
The platform has distinguished itself through its elimination of payment for order flow, instead charging transparent fees and offering competitive pricing. Public.com’s social features allow investors to follow and learn from other investors, share investment theses, and engage in discussions about markets and investment strategies. This community-oriented approach helps demystify investing and creates an educational environment for users still developing their investment knowledge.
Recent expansions have focused on bringing alternative investments to Public.com’s user base, with offerings that include access to private credit opportunities, venture capital investments through partnerships with established alternative asset managers, and other non-traditional investment vehicles. The platform’s interface makes it straightforward to diversify across traditional and alternative assets within a single account. Public.com also provides fractional share investing, allowing users to invest in expensive assets with smaller dollar amounts. The platform appeals particularly to younger investors and those seeking to build diversified portfolios while learning about different asset classes through accessible educational content and community engagement.
8. Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers stands as one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated brokerage platforms available globally, serving everyone from retail investors to institutional clients. While primarily known for traditional securities trading, Interactive Brokers offers extensive access to alternative investments including futures, options, forex, bonds, and increasingly, private market opportunities through partnerships and platform integrations. The firm’s technology infrastructure and global reach make it a powerhouse in the brokerage industry.
The platform provides access to markets in over one hundred fifty countries and offers trading in stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds, funds, and more. Interactive Brokers is particularly known for its professional-grade trading tools, competitive pricing structure, and extensive market data offerings. The company’s margin rates are among the lowest in the industry, and its commission structure is highly competitive, particularly for active traders who execute large volumes of trades.
For alternative investments specifically, Interactive Brokers facilitates access to commodities futures, options on futures, forex markets enabling exposure to currency movements, and an extensive bond marketplace including corporate, municipal, and government bonds globally. The platform has also begun integrating access to private market investments through partnerships, recognizing client demand for alternative asset exposure. Interactive Brokers appeals to sophisticated investors who value advanced trading capabilities, global market access, and comprehensive research tools. The platform requires more investment knowledge than many beginner-focused platforms but offers unparalleled flexibility and capabilities for those who develop proficiency with its tools.
9. CAIS
CAIS operates as a critical infrastructure platform specifically designed to democratize access to alternative investments for independent financial advisors, registered investment advisors, and their clients. The platform’s mission centers on solving the operational complexity and access challenges that have historically prevented advisors from incorporating alternatives into client portfolios efficiently. CAIS combines sophisticated technology with human expertise throughout the entire investment process, from pre-trade research and due diligence to trade execution and post-trade reporting.
The platform provides access to an extensive menu of alternative investment strategies spanning private equity, private credit, real estate, hedge funds, structured notes, and more. CAIS maintains relationships with top-tier asset managers across the alternative investment landscape, curating opportunities and making them accessible through a single, unified platform. This aggregation dramatically reduces the operational burden on advisors who would otherwise need to establish individual relationships and operational connections with dozens or hundreds of fund managers.
CAIS has been particularly focused on expanding access to alternative investments for a broader range of investors beyond just the ultra-high-net-worth segment. The platform works with advisors serving clients across the wealth spectrum, helping to bring institutional-quality alternative investments to a wider audience. The company provides extensive educational resources, market insights, and thought leadership to help advisors develop expertise in alternative investments and communicate effectively with clients about these strategies. CAIS represents the infrastructure layer that enables the broader democratization of alternative investments through the wealth management channel.
10. Coinbase
Coinbase represents the leading cryptocurrency exchange platform in the United States and operates as a publicly-traded company, providing transparency through quarterly SEC filings that many cryptocurrency platforms lack. Founded in 2012, Coinbase has established itself as one of the most trusted and user-friendly platforms for buying, selling, and storing digital assets. The platform offers access to hundreds of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and numerous altcoins, making it a comprehensive gateway to the digital asset ecosystem.
What distinguishes Coinbase in the alternative investment landscape is its emphasis on security, regulatory compliance, and user experience. The platform provides FDIC insurance on U.S. dollar balances held in accounts, offers institutional-grade custody solutions for large holders, and maintains robust security protocols to protect user assets. Coinbase’s transparency as a public company subject to SEC oversight provides investors comfort that is absent from many cryptocurrency exchanges, particularly following high-profile failures of other platforms.
Coinbase offers multiple product tiers tailored to different user types. The standard Coinbase platform emphasizes ease of use with a clean, intuitive interface ideal for beginners entering cryptocurrency markets. Coinbase Pro (now integrated into Coinbase Advanced Trade) provides more sophisticated trading tools, advanced order types, and lower fees for active traders. The platform also offers staking services allowing users to earn yields on certain cryptocurrencies, a Coinbase Card that enables spending cryptocurrency like traditional currency, and educational programs that reward users for learning about different cryptocurrencies.
The fee structure varies based on transaction size and payment method, with costs generally higher than some competitors but justified by many users through the platform’s security, reliability, and customer service. Coinbase represents an essential platform for investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrency as an alternative asset class, offering the combination of accessibility, security, and regulatory compliance that has made it the market leader in U.S. cryptocurrency investing.
Conclusion
The democratization of alternative investments represents one of the most significant developments in personal finance over the past decade. Platforms like Yieldstreet, Fundrise, Masterworks, iCapital, Arrived, CrowdStreet, Public.com, Interactive Brokers, CAIS, and Coinbase have fundamentally transformed access to asset classes that were previously the exclusive domain of institutional investors and the ultra-wealthy. These platforms leverage technology to reduce costs, improve transparency, and provide user experiences that make alternative investing accessible and understandable.
For investors in 2026, the opportunity to incorporate alternatives into portfolios has never been more accessible or varied. Whether seeking real estate exposure through Fundrise or Arrived, art investments through Masterworks, comprehensive alternative access through Yieldstreet, or cryptocurrency exposure through Coinbase, platforms exist to meet virtually any alternative investment interest. The key to success lies in education, appropriate allocation, diversification, and alignment of investment selections with personal financial objectives and risk tolerance. As these platforms continue evolving and new entrants emerge, the future of alternative investing promises even greater accessibility, transparency, and opportunity for investors worldwide.
