Many high-net-worth and affluent individuals and families have begun following the lead of institutional investors — allocating part of their portfolios to alternative investments such as private equity, venture capital or hedge funds. To satisfy this demand, most major PE firms and many diversified asset managers, such as BlackRock, have been offering “alt” funds to retail investors for several years, and view this as a high-growth category. But are PE, VC and hedge fund investments the right vehicles for “middle-class millionaires”?