Technology-driven platforms and channels such as CAIS are becoming more established, widening access to assets such as private equity and credit, venture capital and infrastructure.

CAIS an alternative assets investment platform, is collaborating with Ares Wealth Management Solutions to take on board select Ares strategies and expand that firm’s reach to a wider audience of independent broker-dealers and registered investment advisors.

Under the agreement, CAIS will work with AWMS to create custom investment solutions. AWMS, in turn, expects to benefit from access to CAIS’s dashboard, which is expected to help measure product interest across more than 6,600 advisor firms and teams on the platform. 

“Ares and AWMS share our goal of expanding alternative investments access to IBDs and RIAs, especially as performances in the public markets face greater scrutiny,” Matt Brown, founder and chief executive of CAIS, said. “The modern three-dimensional portfolio is here to stay, and we believe firms like Ares and AWMS, with their scale and commitment to the wealth management community, will play a strong role in bridging the gap between alternative investment managers and financial advisors.”

The rise of firms such as CAIS and iCapital in the US, Moonfare in Europe and ADDX in Singapore testifies to how technology-driven platforms and channels are being created to widen access to assets such as private equity and credit, venture capital and infrastructure. For years, these areas have been the preserve of large institutions and ultra-high net worth clients. As more companies stay private rather than list on equity markets, it is increasingly anomalous for investors not to be able to tap into vehicles which generate larger returns because access to them is impeded.

Under the terms of the arrangement, AWMS – part of New York-listed Ares Management Corp – will benefit from CAIS’s tech-enabled financial advisors to master various alternative investments, understand the role they play in client portfolios, and grow a client base seeking alternatives' exposure.

“Through technology and education, CAIS has created an important point of access to the fragmented independent advisor community,” Raj Dhanda, partner, global head of wealth management at Ares Wealth Management Solutions, said. 

Earlier this year, Reverence Capital Partners made a $100 million capital investment into CAIS; this followed CAIS’s $225 million funding round in January, led by Apollo, Motive Partners, and Franklin Templeton. That round took CAIS’s enterprise valuation above $1 billion. 

Family Wealth Report interviewed CAIS's chief executive, Matt Brown, about its strategy and business model here.