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Willow Wealth review: Is it worth it in 2026?

By Nicolas Straut
Published 5 min read

Key takeaways

  • Willow Wealth is Yieldstreet under a new name, and its private placements in credit, real estate, private equity, venture, legal finance, and art are suitable only for accredited investors.1
  • Willow's managed portfolios open at $25,000, its broker-dealer can charge up to about 4% of what you commit to an offering, and fund fees come on top.
  • Willow suits an accredited investor who wants private-market deals and can lock money up for years, while Wealthfront suits someone who wants a cheap ETF portfolio they can sell any day.
In this article

Private-market platforms sell stakes in private loans, buildings, and funds to individual investors. This review covers Willow Wealth, the platform formerly called Yieldstreet: what it sells, who can invest, what it charges, and what happened to investors in its past offerings. You'll know by the end whether its record and its terms fit the money you'd put in.

What is Willow Wealth?

Willow Wealth is an online marketplace for private investments, renamed from Yieldstreet in late 2025. Its site lists private credit, private equity, real estate, venture capital, legal finance, art, and short-term notes, sold as individual deals, pooled funds, and managed portfolios. It also offers retirement accounts.

Only the name changed, so every Yieldstreet offering and every finding below belongs to the same firm.

Who can invest with Willow Wealth?

Willow Wealth's private placements are for accredited investors. You're one if your net worth is over $1,000,000 not counting your home, or your income was over $200,000 ($300,000 with a spouse or partner) in each of the last 2 years, or you hold a Series 7, Series 65, or Series 82 license.

Accreditation tests wealth, not whether a deal suits you. Our Arta Finance review covers another app that sells private funds to the same investors, and its accredited-investor section walks through each test.

What happened to Yieldstreet investors?

Yieldstreet investors have lost at least $208 million across several offerings, according to CNBC reporting summarized by InvestmentNews in December 2025.2 The losses came mainly from marine loans and real estate, and the firm was renamed Willow Wealth in the same period.

Losses on real estate and marine loans

Defaulted real estate projects in Houston and Nashville added about $41 million in new losses in late 2025, after $89 million in marine loan wipeouts disclosed that September. CNBC also reported that a chart showing annualized real estate returns of negative 2% for 2015 to 2025 had been taken off the company's website, along with a decade of historical performance data.

The 2023 SEC order

The SEC charged YieldStreet Inc. and its adviser subsidiary on September 12, 2023 for misleading investors in a $14.5 million offering that financed a loan to transport and scrap a retired ship.3 Before the offering, YieldStreet had information that ships securing other loans to the same borrowers had been scrapped without repayment or couldn't be found, and investors weren't told. The firm agreed to pay more than $1.9 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest, without admitting or denying the findings.

How much does Willow Wealth cost?

Willow Wealth charges in layers: an advisory fee on managed portfolios, a placement fee on offerings, and the fees inside each fund. Its Form CRS, dated May 8, 2026, sets out each layer.4

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
FeeWho charges itWhat the Form CRS says
Managed portfolio feeWillow Asset ManagementA yearly fee on assets under management, billed monthly in arrears, with a $25,000 minimum to open
Placement feeWillow Wealth Markets, the broker-dealerNot expected to exceed about 4% of each investor's capital commitment
Fund feesEach fund's managerIndirect fees and costs on top, so you can pay several layers on one investment

The Form CRS names the conflicts these fees create: Willow earns more when it puts your money in funds it manages, and an asset-based fee rewards it when you add money. It also answers yes to a disciplinary history for the adviser, which links back to its Form ADV. The summary gives no single percentage for the managed portfolio fee, so read the offering documents before you commit.

Willow Wealth's Carlyle, Goldman Sachs, and StepStone funds

Willow Wealth added evergreen funds from Carlyle, Goldman Sachs, and StepStone in December 2025, which accredited users can buy from $10,000.5 The three funds held about $11.7 billion combined.

Each fund holds many investments rather than a single loan or building, but each carries its own fees and withdrawal rules, so read its prospectus before you buy.

Willow Wealth pros and cons

Willow Wealth's pros are access to private deals and institutional funds in one account, with a $10,000 minimum on the institutional funds. Its cons are its record, its layered fees, and money you can't get back early.

Willow Wealth pros

Seven asset classes in one account

Credit, real estate, private equity, venture, legal finance, art, and short-term notes sit on one platform.

Institutional funds at a lower minimum

The Carlyle, Goldman Sachs, and StepStone funds open at $10,000 for accredited users.

Willow Wealth cons

A record of losses and an SEC order

Investors have lost at least $208 million on past offerings, and the firm settled SEC charges in 2023.

Several layers of fees

A placement fee, an advisory fee, and fund fees can all apply to one investment.

Money locked up for years

Private deals pay back on their own schedule, with no market to sell into if you need the cash.

The verdict: is Willow Wealth worth it in 2026?

Willow Wealth is worth a look only for an accredited investor who already has a full, cheap stock and bond portfolio and wants a small slice in private credit or real estate. For that investor, the institutional funds are a more defensible place to start than single deals, because each one holds many investments instead of a single loan or building.

Skip it if you aren't accredited, if you might need the money within the term of a deal, or if the record above rules it out for you. Willow has taken its past performance off public view, so ask for that history in writing before you invest.

Free tool

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Willow Wealth vs the alternatives

Willow Wealth vs the alternatives comes down to whether you need private markets at all. Consider Arta Finance if you want private funds next to an AI-managed portfolio from one SEC-registered adviser, and our Arta Finance review lists its fee on each product.

Consider Wealthfront if what you want is a diversified portfolio you can sell any day. Wealthfront charges 0.25% a year from a $500 minimum, as our Wealthfront review explains, and the best robo-advisors list compares it with the others.

To track a private fund next to your other accounts, the Kubera review covers a net worth app that records capital calls and distributions. Before you move savings out of stocks, run your plan through the Tweed Monte Carlo Retirement Calculator to see whether you need the extra return at all.

Frequently asked questions about Willow Wealth

Is Willow Wealth the same company as Yieldstreet?

Yes, Willow Wealth is the same company as Yieldstreet under a new name, adopted in late 2025. Only the name changed, so the SEC order, the reported losses, and every offering sold under the Yieldstreet name are part of Willow Wealth's own record. Search for both names when you research a past deal.

Is Willow Wealth legit?

Willow Wealth is a legitimate, regulated firm: its adviser files a Form CRS and Form ADV with the SEC, and its broker-dealer affiliate places offerings with investors. Legitimate isn't the same as safe, though. The firm reports a disciplinary history, and investors in several of its offerings have lost money.

Can non-accredited investors use Willow Wealth?

Mostly no. Willow Wealth's site says its private placements are suitable only for accredited investors, and the Carlyle, Goldman Sachs, and StepStone funds are open only to accredited users. If you don't meet the SEC's income or net worth test, check each offering's eligibility line before you open an account.

Can you get your money out of Willow Wealth early?

Usually not. Most Willow Wealth offerings are private investments that pay back on their own schedule, such as when a loan is repaid or a property sells, and there's no public market where you can sell your stake. Treat any money you put in as locked up for the full term of that offering.

Does Willow Wealth offer IRAs?

Yes, Willow Wealth lists retirement accounts among its products, so you can hold some private investments in an IRA. The investments stay just as hard to sell inside an IRA, and the IRA's tax shelter doesn't reduce the risk of a default. Compare it with an IRA at a low-cost broker before you move retirement money.

Sources

  1. https://willowwealth.com/
  2. https://www.investmentnews.com/alternatives/yieldstreet-now-willow-wealth-racks-up-more-losses-for-investors-report/263421
  3. https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023-175
  4. https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/crs/crs_282487.pdf
  5. https://news.bgov.com/private-equity/goldman-carlyle-to-offer-10-000-private-fund-access-on-willow
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