A recent survey of independent financial advisors by Bank of America found that nearly three-quarters of respondents expect to raise their allocations to private markets. About half those surveyed said they have just 1% to 10% of assets they advise allocated to alternative assets, while 16% have none. Blackstone, the largest alternative asset manager with a roughly $211 billion market capitalization, rallied upwards of 30% last year. Even after those gains, investors are still optimistic on the long-term story for alternative managers, citing robust earnings growth forecasts. Top picks Wall Street is trying to separate the wheat from the chaff among alternative asset managers.

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