James Waldinger, CEO of Artivest.
"Investing in alternatives does not have to be as complicated and opaque as you might think," is James Waldinger's message to advisors.
The CEO of Artivest said in an interview that building his firm's digital alternative investment platform wasn't "rocket science" but it does remove "much of the headache" for advisors of investing in alternatives—including private equity, hedge fund, real assets and managed futures strategies.
The offering by Artivest, which merged with alts provider Altegris in June (Altegris—and now Altivest-CIO Matt Osborne has written for Investment Advisor magazine) is timely. A Cerulli survey released in September found that nearly 40% of advisors are using alternatives for clients, with 37% saying they're using liquid alternative mutual funds. While the use of alternatives is particularly strong within wirehouses (57%), hybrid RIAs (43%) and retail bank broker-dealers (64%), Cerulli reports that RIAs continue to be the leading distribution channel for alternative asset managers.
Artivest's "fully-encrypted online marketplace" is meant to make it easier for advisors and accredited and qualified high-net-worth individuals to invest in alternatives, but it also makes it easier for alt providers to find investors for their funds.
While Waldinger is quick to admit that alts are "not for everyone," he points out that for high-net-worth individuals, "25% of their portfolios" tend to be allocated to alternatives, compared to the 50% in alts held by endowments.
The platform is not only a marketplace but provides a range of offerings to educate advisors and individuals on everything from private equity capital calls to the role of venture capital in a portfolio.
