By Rashad Kurbanov, CEO of Corastone
Across the global investment landscape, a major realignment is underway. Private markets, once the domain of large institutions and specialized investors, have become one of the fastest- growing segments in finance – across all audiences. Alternative assets now account for more than $16 trillion in global AUM, and that figure is expected to nearly double by 2030.
At Corastone, we view this shift as both an extraordinary opportunity and a defining test of the infrastructure that powers private investing. The surge in demand from wealth managers, advisors and their clients is bringing incredible growth possibilities to this market. But it’s also exposing how dependent the market still is on legacy processes – PDFs, static portals and manual data transfers – that were never designed for this level of activity.
The result is a hidden tax on growth that keeps the private markets from reaching their full potential. Expanding investor appetite is constrained by complex onboarding processes and the inability to adopt new products. The slow, laborious nature of managing subscription booklets and offline capital calls wastes precious resources. Each new counterparty integration introduces bespoke workflows and reconciliation burdens. Firms end up hiring more staff, not deploying more capital. The inefficiency is not simply operational – it’s strategic, limiting the ability of firms to expand access, reduce costs and deliver the kind of experience that today’s investors demand.
Corastone’s new eBook, Alternatives at Hyperscale, explores this friction in depth – and what the path forward looks like. In it, we trace how private markets reached this inflection point, why access is broadening so rapidly, how scalable, modern infrastructure can help firms support unprecedented demand and what it all looks like in practice.
We believe that the future of private markets will be defined by transparency and efficiency. Straight-through processing and shared data models are transforming what’s possible, replacing one-off connections with a single, standardized fabric that connects GPs, fund administrators and wealth platforms. The impact is tangible: faster onboarding, real-time visibility and
operational control across the investment lifecycle.
This isn’t about technology for its own sake. It’s about enabling growth with confidence. Private markets are entering their hyperscale moment, and the firms that modernize now will be the ones that lead in the decade ahead. Our opinion is that private markets will not truly scale until infrastructure is treated as strategy, beyond a mere back-office expense.
At Corastone, that’s where our focus lies – delivering the infrastructure to power the scale required for this new era, and helping our partners move from manual to modern without losing control in the process.
For those navigating this transformation, I invite you to read Alternatives at Hyperscale. It offers a clear view of where private markets are headed and how forward-thinking firms can position themselves to thrive.