So after talking to several law firms and other GV applicants, I can provide what I’ve learned in case anyone in the future finds this thread:
Firstly, after researching this, I have personally decided to move forward with a lawyer instead of a financial advisor as I feel their incentives align in a way that feels comfortable for me. I will also go with an established investment fund that clearly meets the government’s new criteria (60% Portuguese, avoiding real estate).
So after the government changed the law in Oct 2023 to stop real estate investing as a mechanism for the Portuguese Golden Visa, some hospitality funds with guaranteed buybacks sprung up. Since these are so young, I couldn’t find any evidence that they would successfully pass the bar to qualify for the type of investment required by the government. The lawyers I spoke to thought that the spirit of these investments were in opposition to the Oct 2023 law and recommended that I avoid them. They said that at the point that an immigration office might deny an application because of an unsatisfactory investment, my money could already be locked up in an investment with a 5+ year hold.
Some types of funds might not necessarily have real collateral. So just be sure to read contracts well.
Also consider researching comps against the value of the type of property being pitched.
Best of luck!
PS - Apparently Portugal has very strict defamation laws. This made finding unbiased reviews of lawyers very challenging. And it makes talking about this sort of thing delicate.