Key Takeaways
- • CAIS introduced the CAIS Models Marketplace on March 24, 2025, a centralized hub giving wealth management firms access to multi-asset, multi-manager alternative investment model portfolios.
- • The marketplace offers three model configurations: Wealth Firm Model Portfolios, Asset Manager Model Portfolios, and CAIS Advisors Models, the last launching in Q2 2025.
- • Asset Manager Model Portfolios will initially come from Ares Management, BlackRock, Blue Owl, Carlyle, Franklin Templeton, and KKR, with plans to add more managers over time.
- • A 2025 CAIS and Mercer survey of 550 advisors found 77% would use or consider model portfolios to streamline allocations, and 47% cited them as a top portfolio construction resource.
- • The marketplace is integrated with CAIS Compass, which lets advisors review target asset class weights to analyze risk and return before investing.
Summary
CAIS, which describes itself as the leading alternative investment platform for independent financial advisors, introduced the CAIS Models Marketplace on March 24, 2025. The company said the centralized hub is designed to streamline access to alternative investment model portfolios, allowing wealth management firms to host and access multi-asset and multi-manager models and enabling advisors to allocate more efficiently to private markets and hedge funds. Neil Blundell, Chief Investment Officer at CAIS Advisors and Head of Investments at CAIS, said designing, implementing, and managing portfolios with alternatives has historically been time-intensive and complex.
The marketplace will offer three configurations. Wealth Firm Model Portfolios are developed by wealth management firms and tailored to end-client needs and goals. Asset Manager Model Portfolios are developed by alternative asset managers as an additional way to access their funds; CAIS will initially onboard single-manager, multi-asset models from Ares Management, BlackRock, Blue Owl, Carlyle, Franklin Templeton, and KKR. CAIS Advisors Models are multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios developed by CAIS Advisors LLC, which are scheduled to launch in Q2 2025 and use CAIS's proprietary model technology. Advisors can allocate to the models through CAIS's trade technology.
The Models Marketplace is integrated with CAIS Compass, a portfolio construction tool that shows how alternative investments would affect portfolio characteristics. Users can review target asset class weights to assess risk and return before making an investment decision, and Compass includes an optional AI-driven summary.
Cited survey data from the 2025 CAIS and Mercer Survey, based on responses from 550 financial advisors collected in September and October 2024, found that 77% of advisors would use or consider model portfolios to streamline allocations, and 47% named model portfolios a top resource for portfolio construction. The marketplace was unveiled at the invitation-only CAIS Live | Leaders in Wealth event in Sea Island, Georgia, and will be featured in the CAIS Lab at the 2025 CAIS Alternative Investment Summit, October 13-16 in Beverly Hills. According to the company, CAIS serves over 2,000 wealth management firms supporting more than 50,000 advisors who oversee approximately $6 trillion in end-client assets. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in New York City.
The marketplace will offer three configurations. Wealth Firm Model Portfolios are developed by wealth management firms and tailored to end-client needs and goals. Asset Manager Model Portfolios are developed by alternative asset managers as an additional way to access their funds; CAIS will initially onboard single-manager, multi-asset models from Ares Management, BlackRock, Blue Owl, Carlyle, Franklin Templeton, and KKR. CAIS Advisors Models are multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios developed by CAIS Advisors LLC, which are scheduled to launch in Q2 2025 and use CAIS's proprietary model technology. Advisors can allocate to the models through CAIS's trade technology.
The Models Marketplace is integrated with CAIS Compass, a portfolio construction tool that shows how alternative investments would affect portfolio characteristics. Users can review target asset class weights to assess risk and return before making an investment decision, and Compass includes an optional AI-driven summary.
Cited survey data from the 2025 CAIS and Mercer Survey, based on responses from 550 financial advisors collected in September and October 2024, found that 77% of advisors would use or consider model portfolios to streamline allocations, and 47% named model portfolios a top resource for portfolio construction. The marketplace was unveiled at the invitation-only CAIS Live | Leaders in Wealth event in Sea Island, Georgia, and will be featured in the CAIS Lab at the 2025 CAIS Alternative Investment Summit, October 13-16 in Beverly Hills. According to the company, CAIS serves over 2,000 wealth management firms supporting more than 50,000 advisors who oversee approximately $6 trillion in end-client assets. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in New York City.
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