CAIS, the financial-technology solutions provider, has launched the CAIS Exchange, the first online alternative investment marketplace designed for the wealth management industry.

The CAIS Exchange (CAIS-X) offers access to a broad menu of top-tier funds and products, independent due diligence reports provided by Mercer, portfolio construction and analytics tools and an electronic subscription and redemption process for streamlined trade execution.

CAIS-X is the first complete solution to offer access, oversight and execution in a single venue, empowering wealth management professionals with institutional quality products coupled with time-saving operational efficiency.

The funds and products that list on CAIS-X represent a broad range of alternative investment strategies and disciplines including hedge funds, private equity and physical precious metals. The growing menu is designed to provide a pre-qualified, competitive offering of primary investment opportunities that are actionable and useable across a large client base.  

CAIS-X remains unbiased as to product structure, focusing instead on a variety of adviser-friendly formats that address investment minimums, price transparency, taxation and investor qualification. In all circumstances, CAIS-X seeks to leverage the aggregate strength of the platform and reduce the product cost borne by the end client.

"CAIS has established a meaningful dialogue with the wealth management community, understands its needs, and will continually strive to address them with new products, tools and services," says Matthew Brown, co-founder and chief executive of CAIS. 

CAIS is a business-to-business service provider and CAIS-X member firms include registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, private banks and other qualified financial intermediaries. The streamlined CAIS-X membership process begins with an online application through www.caisgroup.com. Members receive no-fee access to an extensive range of product information on CAIS-X, including independent due diligence reports.

"Depending on the needs of a member firm, CAIS-X can serve as a complete solution or provide a customised product menu," says Rafay Farooqui, co-founder and president of CAIS. "CAIS-X can tactically support the efforts of a centralised investment team with one-off products or provide a holistic solution for a broad advisor base.”

CAIS-X allows advisers to execute primary transactions online while positions seamlessly integrate through the DTCC-AIP protocol with custodians including Fidelity, Pershing, TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab, among others.