The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relative to wealth advisors and their clients.

CAIS
CAIS, a US-headquartered alternative investment platform for independent financial advisors, said yesterday that it will introduce the independent wealth channel to Mariner Wealth Advisors’ separately managed accounts' capabilities for structured notes. 

Under the latest agreement, Mariner – a firm with more than $114 billion in assets under advisement – will offer a suite of defined income and growth-oriented structured note SMA strategies, accessible to independent wealth management firms. 

This move comes one year after Mariner Wealth Advisors chose CAIS as its exclusive platform for streamlining the alternative investment lifecycle for private equity, private real estate, private credit, venture capital, and hedge funds. 

“With the launch of structured note SMAs, financial advisors can access an even broader set of alternative offerings that seek to meet investors’ specific needs, all while avoiding the transactional burdens historically associated with allocating to these products,” Marty Bicknell, president and CEO of Mariner Wealth Advisors, said. 

“Structured notes have always been a core product offering in our alternative investment menus, providing advisors with another useful tool as they seek out higher yields, portfolio diversification, and downside protection,” Marc Premselaar, senior managing director of Capital Markets at CAIS, said.

This news service has interviewed CAIS about how it fits into the broader wealth management landscape. The business was founded in 2019 and since then it has enabled more than $25 billion in transaction volume as a marketplace where financial advisors and asset managers engage and transact directly. It has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco and London.