After raising $225 million in capital, alternative investment platform CAIS announced a new partnership with Focus Financial Partners to bring a customized version of its alternative platform to Focus’ 84 partner firms.
CAIS founder and CEO Matt Brown said this is his firm’s first enterprise-level adaptation of this scale, and he expects CAIS to continue to provide customized versions of the platform for other enterprises going forward.
Rajani Kodialam, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Focus.
Brown said a subset of Focus partners have been using CAIS for more than a decade, and these firms currently have about $30 billion in net worth.
But Hose was looking for more streamlined and customized access to partner options.
“It is the entire lifecycle of finding and delivering options as part of an integrated system that creates advisory efficiency while increasing the customer value proposition,” said Kodialam.
CAIS has optimized its platform below the focus partner level – the user experience is different for each firm.
“If you work for Colony Group and you log into the CAIS platform or if you work for Strategic Wealth, those two journeys will vary depending on the needs of the firm,” Brown said.
In addition, each firm will be able to link its own sourced and identified funds to the CAIS platform, and those funds will be available in a centralized location and have all the benefits of technology, including automation, digitization and integrated reporting.
Some focus firms, such as SCS Financial, are asset managers in their own right, and will now make their funds available to their partner firms. The focus on alternative investments may also have its own experts, and CAIS will provide them with a platform to educate others within the company and build a community.
Focus firms will also have access to CAIS IQ, the firm’s learning system, with content tailored to each participant.
CAIS is now able to meet integration needs for each participant based on their vendor options for reporting or custody.
“One firm may use Tamarack, one firm may use Adapper, one firm may use Orion. Depending on where they are, we will integrate with all three of those firms,” Brown said. We wanted to be able to create a platform that was flexible, customizable and personalized to the consultant that meets the unique needs of each firm.”
With offices now in Europe, Australia, Canada and the Asia Pacific region, Focus has expanded internationally in recent years. Brown said he expects CAIS to expand internationally as well, and bring a customized version of the platform to those markets. For example, CAIS already has an office in Sydney, Australia.
CAIS recently announced that it had raised $225 million in new capital, raising the firm’s valuation to over $1 billion. According to CAIS Chief Technology Officer Shane Williams, it will use the latest funding to improve its client experience and eliminate administrative tasks for advisors. It will also add to its technology team, which currently has 70 employees. In the past year, CAIS has increased its total workforce from 75 to 156 employees, with plans to have over 300 employees by the end of 2022.
CAIS works with over 4,400 advisory firms/teams that have transacted over $15 billion since its inception.
