Page 16 - Investment Advisor - December 2023

INDuSTry INSIGHTS

By Timothy D. Welsh

CAIs, nitrogen events Highlight Growth Plans

Key themes included a new alternatives platform, AI and client testimonials.

he action today in wealth man- summit, with a number of panels, dis-
agement is in the alternative cussions and breakouts on helping advi-
Tinvesting space. Case in point: sors rediscover their marketing muscles
The CAIS Alternative Investment and find new ways to leverage the digital
Summit recently held at the Beverly marketing tools and techniques inte-
Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. grated into the Nitrogen platform.
Tripling in size from the 2022 edition, Mary Kate Gulick, executive vice
the 2023 summit featured over 1,000 president of marketing at FiComm
independent advisors and asset manag- Partners, explained how advisors can
ers. They gathered in mid-October to take advantage of the SEC’s new market-
learn about the latest investing strate- ing rule to allow for client testimonials.
gies and techniques to find new ways to “The irony here is that at this point,
deliver performance to client portfolios. strategy could significantly increase the everyone has to adhere to the rule anyway,
That’s particularly relevant now that universe of alternatives available to advi- yet only 11% are actually using testimoni-
equity and bond markets are becoming sors via CAIS, the firm says. als,” she said. “Advisory firms are doing
increasingly correlated during inflation- The CAIS Summit also featured key- all of the work to comply, so it is a huge
ary periods, making the need for diversi- notes from financier Michael Milken, for- missed opportunity to not be using them.”
fied portfolios more important than ever. mer Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former AOL Gulick provided some simple yet high-
“We believe the future portfolios CEO Steve Case and actor Rob Lowe. ly actionable ideas to gather testimonials
will move away from the traditional Earlier in October, Nitrogen (the for- without it seeming like it was asking for
60% stocks and 40% bonds to a more mer Riskalyze) hosted a large industry a favor from clients. “Rather, make it part
modern approach of 50% stocks, 30% event in Miami — the Fearless Investing of the client experience,” she explained.
bonds and 20% alts,” Matt Brown, CAIS Summit. Fresh off a rebrand to better “Your clients selected you for a reason,
founder and CEO, said in his opening reflect the identity, capabilities and tech- so during signing ceremonies or annu-
remarks. CAIS has been a leader in nology to become a “growth platform,” al reviews, simply ask them why they
alternatives — recently raising $100 mil- Nitrogen also brought a large crowd picked you. Often what they say instantly
lion from Reverence Capital Partners, together to learn the latest technology becomes a very powerful testimonial you
valuing the firm at over $1 billion. trends, developments and new enhance- can use, without the experience feeling
Brown detailed that his predicted ments to the popular Nitrogen platform. like it was a courtesy you are asking for.”
increase in advisor demand for alter- Kicking off the event was Nitrogen The Fearless Investing Summit also
natives is being driven by better risk- CEO Aaron Klein, who shared an update featured Joe Lonsdale, founder of tech
adjusted returns and the ability to gather on the new investments that Nitrogen giants Palantir and Addepar. Backed
more assets from existing clients, as well was making along with his view that arti- by a recent $145 million capital raise,
as attracting high-net-worth investors ficial intelligence in wealth management Lonsdale’s next tech venture is Opto,
looking for more than just a vanilla port- was at an “exciting inflection point.” which takes a new approach to inte-
folio to meet more complex needs. “Generative AI is starting to power a grating alternative investments — a
As part of a renewed focus to level the massive revolution,” he said, “that will theme linking the CAIS and Nitrogen
playing field against the wirehouse firms, allow advisors to work a fifth of the October events.
CAIS announced the launch of CAIS time, go five times deeper with their
Solutions, a new software-as-a-service clients, become five times as profitable, Timothy D. Welsh, CFP, is president, CEO and
technology platform that aims to central- or dramatically lower their minimums founder of Nexus Strategy, LLC, a consulting
ize and streamline alternative investment to exponentially multiply the number firm to the wealth management industry and
funds, no matter where advisors or home- of people who can access their advice.” can be reached at [email protected] or Adobe Stock
office representatives source them. This Growth was a key theme across the on Twitter @NexusStrategy.

14 Investment AdvIsor December 2023 | ThinkAdvisor.com