If you’re looking for a new investment option that offers great potential returns, you should check out Willow Wealth.
This company is based in New York and offers investors a variety of alternative investment options that go beyond stocks and bonds.
Fees vary by offering.
Fortunly Rating
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
- Diverse investment options
- Self-directed IRAs available
- Investments are assets-backed
- Illiquid investments
- Mostly for accredited investors
Willow Wealth Overview
Willow Wealth is an American investment company founded in 2015 and based in New York.
The idea behind this investment platform is to give users an opportunity to invest in assets that are usually reserved for hedge funds and those with lots of capital.
Willow Wealth offers various investment opportunities - not just stocks and bonds - so you can diversify your portfolio by investing in real estate, private equity, private credit, Short Term Notes, managed portfolios, and IRAs, to name a few fields.
The majority of Willow Wealth’s funds are reserved for accredited investors only, but the Alternative Income Fund is also available for nonaccredited investors.
How Yieldstreet Compares to Similar Investing Platforms
$5,000
Vary by offering
$10
0.15% annually
$5,000
0.5%-1.5% annually
Investing With Willow Wealth
If you’re looking to diversify your portfolio, you can do so with Willow Wealth by investing in various asset-based funds like real estate, private credit, or private equity, or by simply investing in the Alternative Income Fund, which is a multiasset fund that’s great for beginners.
There are funds for both accredited and nonaccredited investors. While Willow Wealth claims to present those investing opportunities that are usually reserved for hedge funds to everybody, it’s mainly accredited investors who will get those opportunities.
You can invest in IRA funds, Short Term Notes, the Alternative Income Fund, managed portfolios, or direct investments. Alternatively, you can create your own customized portfolio with individual offerings.
Most of the investments on offer are asset-based, which gives them added security.
Private Equity
Willow Wealth gives investors access to private equity opportunities through its direct investing platform and managed portfolio options.
Private Credit
Private credit is another core category on Willow Wealth, giving investors exposure to income-focused opportunities outside public fixed-income markets.
Real Estate
Investing in real estate is one of the better options for long-term investments, as such assets are among the easiest to liquidate. Real estate remains one of Willow Wealth’s core private-market categories.
Short-Term Notes
Willow Wealth short-term notes are accessible only to accredited investors. The return rate offered here is not presented as a single fixed rate on the main page, but the product is designed to provide targeted monthly interest payments with principal projected to be returned at maturity.
The minimum for investment is $10,000, or $5,000 if it’s your first investment on Willow Wealth, making this fund a reasonable investment if you’re not sure where to put the bulk of your money.
Unlike most private market investments, where you have to lock up your money for years, you can invest in notes with terms under nine months and make a profit while you’re considering your next long-term investment.
The downside is that short-term notes are accessible only to accredited investors. This is a shame, because such an offer would be very attractive for all investors with its relatively low minimum and short liquidation period.
Yieldstreet Alternative Income Fund
The Yieldstreet Alternative Income Fund, formerly known as the Prism Fund, is available to nonaccredited investors, although its $10,000 minimum investment may still appeal to accredited investors as well.
This is a managed multiasset fund designed to provide income through a diversified mix of private-market investments. The fund charges a 1.0% management fee, has an adjusted annual expense ratio of 2.8%, and targets quarterly distributions.
The fund invests across a broad mix of private-market assets and gives investors exposure to 50+ income-focused investments. Current materials describe the portfolio as focused on asset-backed and cash flow-backed opportunities, with examples including transportation, residential real estate, and consumer exposure.
Another alternative worth considering is an IRA account. Willow Wealth lets investors add private-market investments to retirement accounts through its preferred custodian, Equity Trust.
There are traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs available. Willow Wealth also highlights white-glove onboarding for transfers and rollovers, which can make the setup process easier for investors moving an existing retirement account.
While some platforms offer retirement accounts with no account fees, Willow Wealth says its IRA setup comes with a simple balance-based account fee through Equity Trust. However, the company does not publicly list exact dollar amounts on the main IRA page, so readers may need to request more detail before opening an account.
Fees
The managerial fees are between 1.0% for the Alternative Income Fund and product-specific pricing for other offerings, and the exact percentage will depend on the type of fund you have.
We appreciate that Willow Wealth is pretty clear about its fees; once you’re set to invest in a certain fund, you’ll know the exact fee upfront. There are no unwanted surprises that you might experience with some other investment platforms.
Our Verdict
With companies such as Willow Wealth, you get access to a part of the market that was, until recently, reserved only for big capital. Handling these investments brings new challenges to the table, because finding investments that are safe and that can generate passive income isn’t easy.
We hope we’ve shown you the potential that an alternative investment platform can bring to your portfolio, as well as the risks that these high-return investments come with.
FAQ
Is Willow Wealth the same as Yieldstreet?
Yes. Willow Wealth is the new brand name for Yieldstreet, so many investors still search for the company under its former name.
Is Willow Wealth legit?
Willow Wealth is a real investment platform with publicly available product pages, fund materials, and app listings. That said, legitimacy is not the same as low risk. These are private-market investments, and they can be speculative, illiquid, and subject to loss.
Does Willow Wealth offer managed portfolios?
Yes. Willow Wealth offers Willow 360 Managed Portfolios, which are designed for investors who want a professionally managed private-markets allocation instead of selecting individual deals themselves. The minimum investment is $25,000.