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Stock Market Concentration Has Surpassed Its 1930s Peak. Should Investors Worry? “I’ve pointed out some broad similarities between the 1920s and 2020s, but there are many differences, of course. Market dynamics have changed, and regulation has come a long way. Institutions like the Federal Reserve are far more sophisticated.” (Morningstar)

Blackstone Bolsters Credit Fund to Meet Redemptions “The redemption requests eclipse BCRED's 5% asset threshold for payouts to investors. Blackstone covered the requests in full after the firm and its employees invested $400 million in the fund. The move further aligns the group with shareholders of the fund, Blackstone said.” (FundFire)

Hormuz Is Closed. Why Is Oil Only at a Nine-Month High? “Read that again: one of the most strategically important chokepoints in the world is shut, and oil is sitting at only a nine-month high. That tells you something about how soft the oil market had been coming into this event.” (ETF.com)

Dozens of Issuers Win Dual Share Class Approval. Rolling Them Out Won’t Be as Easy “Whether advisors are going to take advantage of the new share class remains to be seen. More than half of advisors said they actually preferred stand-alone ETFs to ETF share classes, according to a recent FUSE Research survey.” (The Daily Upside*)

How a Total Portfolio Approach Can Improve the 60/40 Portfolio “TPA offers a way to rethink portfolio construction without abandoning the familiar 60/40 framework altogether. Instead of starting with a fixed split, such as 60% stocks and 40% bonds, it begins by examining how different investments behave.” (Morningstar)

AB Shuffles Equities Executives as Two Strategy CIOs Exit “Dan Roarty, AB's chief investment officer for sustainable thematic equities, and Jim Tierney, chief investment officer for concentrated U.S. growth equities, will retire from the firm at the end of 2026, according to a public statement from AllianceBernstein.” (FundFire)

ICI, DCALTA Partner to Promote Private Assets in DC Plans “The Investment Company Institute will collaborate with the Defined Contribution Alternatives Association to promote expanded access to private investments in defined contribution plans, according to a Wednesday announcement from the ICI.” (PlanSponsor)

Private Markets’ Retail Expansion Spurs Demand for Data, Transparency “The growth of the private market investor base beyond institutional investors – supported by the buildout of semi-liquid products, such as interval and tender offer funds – and eventually even more liquid products, creates an increased revenue opportunity for private markets data and benchmark providers. These firms are expanding their efforts into the advisory channel by providing datasets and indices for such vehicles.” (AltsWire)

Liquidity Top of Mind for Private Assets in DC Plans “Researchers simulated 401(k) participant behavior to test whether semi-liquid private asset vehicles could function under real-world stress. The simulated 401(k) participants enrolled in managed accounts with fictional investors based on real participant data, including age, salaries and contribution rate distributions.” (PlanAdviser)

Private Markets Are Opening Up, but Will Individual Investors Pay the Price? “And when you say how to approach it, I would say that unless your client can put to work, I don’t know, $2 million to $10 million a year into private markets, they probably are thinking about this evergreen fund structure rather than direct fund commitments into drawdown funds. It is a diversifier.” (Morningstar)

Retail Investors Will Be Ripped Off in Private Markets with SEC Approval “The turmoil in the private credit market in the last year shows that the SEC’s push to expose retail investors to private credit is ill-advised. There is no question this is what private credit firms want. But the SEC does not exist to further the agenda of private credit firms. It exists to protect investors.” (Better Markets)

Inland Real Estate Group Appoints Michael Collins Head of Global Wealth “In this newly created role, Collins will lead the firm’s expansion into global private wealth markets. He is tasked with repositioning and growing Inland’s presence within the retail wealth management channel by establishing long-term partnerships with financial advisers and their individual investor clients.” (AltsWire)