NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CAIS, the leading alternative investment platform, today announced a $100 million investment from Reverence Capital Partners. The raise is a continuation of the Company’s $225 million round in January, led by Apollo, Motive Partners, and Franklin Templeton which resulted in CAIS’ enterprise valuation exceeding $1 billion. Milton Berlinski, Managing Partner at Reverence Capital Partners, also joins CAIS’ Board of Directors, effective immediately.
“Reverence Capital Partners has a long and successful track record as an investor in the independent wealth management community and understands the unique needs of both financial advisors and alternative asset managers,” said Matt Brown, Founder and CEO of CAIS. “We are excited to have Reverence join our distinguished list of investors and look forward to tapping into the extensive knowledge and network that Milton and his team will bring to CAIS moving forward.”
The new investment accelerates CAIS’s mission to modernize how independent financial advisors learn about and gain access to alternative investments. Similar to the capital originally raised in January, the new proceeds will fuel further advancements in CAIS’ technology, enhance the customer experience through personalized experiences, as well as digitize product operations for fund managers and financial advisors alike.
“Through our experience working with asset management, wealth management, and fintech businesses, we have seen firsthand the challenges associated with independent investing in alternative asset classes,” said Berlinski. “CAIS is an industry leader providing the resources and infrastructure needed to enhance access, education, execution, and reporting to these complex solutions. We are excited to build on our partnership with this management team as CAIS continues to scale.”
Alternative assets are expected to make up to 24% of the global investable market by 2025, according to the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, up from 12% in 2018. In the last year alone, transaction volume on the CAIS platform has increased by 69%, with the number of platform users increasing by 29% in the same period.
The news also follows CAIS’ launch of the CAIS Advisory Council (“CAC”), a standing committee comprised of seasoned and next-generation RIAs, independent broker dealers, RIA aggregators, and custodians who will help identify technical opportunities to expand the platform and provide ad-hoc guidance around issues impacting the alternative investment ecosystem.
About CAIS
CAIS is a leading alternative investment platform for financial advisors who seek improved access to, and education about, alternative investment funds and products. CAIS provides financial advisors with a broad selection of alternative investment strategies, including hedge funds, private equity, private credit, real estate, digital assets, and structured notes, allowing them to capitalize on opportunities and/or withstand ever-changing markets. CAIS also provides an industry-leading learning system, CAIS IQ, to help advisors learn faster, remember longer, and improve client outcomes.
All funds listed on CAIS undergo Mercer’s independent due diligence and ongoing monitoring. Mercer diligence reports and fund ratings are available to advisors on the CAIS password-protected platform. CAIS streamlines the end-to-end transaction process through digital subscriptions and integrated reporting with Fidelity, Schwab, and Pershing, which make investing in alternatives simple.
Founded in 2009, CAIS, a fintech leader, is empowering over 4,800+ unique advisor firms/teams who oversee more than $2+ trillion in network assets. Since its inception, CAIS has facilitated over $15+ billion in transaction volume as the first truly open marketplace where financial advisors and asset managers engage and transact directly on a massive scale. CAIS has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and San Francisco. For more information about CAIS, please visit www.caisgroup.com.
Securities offered through CAIS Capital LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.
About Reverence Capital Partners
Reverence Capital Partners is a private investment firm focused on thematic investing in leading global, middle-market Financial Services businesses through control and influence oriented investments in 5 sectors: (1) Depositories and Finance Companies, (2) Asset and Wealth Management, (3) Insurance, (4) Capital Markets, and (5) Financial Technology/Payments. The firm was founded in 2013 by Milton Berlinski, Peter Aberg, and Alex Chulack, who collectively bring over 90 years of advisory and investing experience across a wide range of financial services sectors. For more information, please visit www.reverencecapital.com.
