Unlocking Alternative Investment Insights Through Superior Reporting

Alternative investments, or alts, are growing in popularity in a volatile stock market that displays higher interest rates and lower growth. Your clients may have a stake in real estate, hedge funds, or private equity, for example. Alternative investment strategies can represent a large portion of an investment portfolio, and according to PWC, global AUM in alternatives is predicted to reach $18.9tn by 2025.

But as a financial advisor looking to give your clients their true financial picture, reporting on asset classes that fall under the umbrella of alts (not often publicly traded) can be tricky. So how can you include non-listed assets in total wealth reporting?

Alts often fall outside of traditional investment structure, meaning historical market data isn’t easily accessible, and there’s often less regulatory control. Alts are also more likely than traditional stocks and bonds to have complex terms and structures, making them more difficult for even the most seasoned investors to grasp completely.

Spreadsheets are a fairly common method of tracking alts, but, along with a higher potential for human error and data loss or corruption, there’s the issue of the accuracy and accessibility of data over time. Before you can even think about accurately reporting on alts, you need a solution that lets you easily view and manage the data.

The more time and effort you have to put into accessing and analyzing data on alts, the less focus you’ll be able to give to optimizing your clients’ portfolios and enhancing the value you deliver.

Our goal is to support advisors in creating great outcomes for their clients. When it comes to helping them manage alternatives, this means reducing risk and supporting personalized, individual financial planning. We use solutions provider Orion in our tech stack, including its Private Asset Platform, an alternative investment reporting platform that allows advisors to maintain alts in a structured database.

Accuracy is key when reporting on alts, including private equity, hedge funds, and real estate, but also expanding to a wider array of alts. And when we add the fact that alts are often more complex than traditional investments, reporting loses accuracy and simplicity, making it harder to maintain as a regular part of overall wealth reporting.

The Private Asset Platform makes it easier to both track and report on alts, capturing the nuance of transaction and asset types. There are two ways of generating reports, either by selecting one of the report types available within the platform or by building your own report using Report Builder.

Not only does using a superior reporting tool streamline your process for tracking private assets along with public holdings, but it also frees up the time you need to focus on activities that are the most valuable to your advisory business.

Download Beyond Stocks and Bonds: A Guide to Alternative Investments to read more about diversifying your clients’ portfolios with alts, or get in touch with one of our team to find out how working with CG Advisor Network helps you deliver superior service to your clients, no matter how diverse their portfolios.

Asset and wealth management revolution: The power to shape the future. – PWC. (n.d.).

Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advice offered through Capital Asset Advisory Services, LLC. dba CG Advisory Services, a registered investment advisor. Capital Asset Advisory Services, LLC., CG Advisory Services, and CG Advisor Network are separate entities from LPL Financial.