CAIS Live Conversations, Building With Alts

Private markets education and portfolio construction anchor this CAIS Summit 2026 panel with Rob Sharps of T. Rowe Price, John Waldron of Goldman Sachs, and Glenn August of OHA. Moderated by Maneet Ahuja, the conversation looks at why interest in private markets has grown among individual investors and how each speaker thinks about building portfolios. They share their views on concentration in public equity portfolios, evergreen structures, and the trade-offs that come with illiquidity. The panel also covers recent private credit headlines, dispersion across managers, and where retirement may fit in.

Chapters

Chapter 1: Why...

As AI reshapes client expectations for how advice is delivered, and advisor conversations around alts shift from what Matt Brown calls “why alts” to “how alts,” the CAIS founder and CEO shares his view on CAIS Summit 2026 main stage. In this fireside chat with host Alex Cavalieri, Matt reflects on the lessons from his years as an advisor and entrepreneur and the white space that led him to start CAIS in 2009. He also explains why he sees an advisor’s advice and judgment as their most valuable content, what the convergence of public and private markets may mean in practice...

Private wealth, private markets access, and portfolio construction anchor this conversation with Joan Solotar, Global Head of Blackstone Private Wealth. Joan joins Brad Walker to trace her path from equity research to leading one of the firm’s fastest-growing businesses, and how Blackstone scaled from a small firm to more than a trillion dollars in assets. She shares her thoughts on what she believes the industry is getting right on advisor education and her views on private investments. She also discusses real estate, private credit, the IPO outlook, and how she thinks about AI.  

Chapter 1: Joan Solotar's Pat...

Sports franchises increasingly sit at the intersection of media, intellectual property, live entertainment, and real estate. Recorded live on stage at CAIS Live | West, Neil Blundell, Chief Investment Officer of CAIS Advisors, joins host Alex Cavalieri to discuss the factors shaping sports, media, and entertainment investing. Neil explores how long-term media rights, streaming, real estate development, sponsorships, and global audiences are changing franchise economics. He also explores the role IP can play across the broader attention economy, from music catalogs to entertainment companies.

Chapters 

Model portfolios, private markets, and portfolio constructions are converging, and financial advisors may be rethinking how they build and scale portfolios. Sam Miller, who leads investments and research at Signature Estate & Investment Advisors (SEIA), joins host Alex Cavalieri to discuss his objectives-first approach to incorporating alternatives into model portfolios. He also shares the questions he believes advisors should ask before allocating to private markets and how his team uses AI to work faster while keeping decision-making in human hands. 

Chapter 1: Welcome and Sam's Path to Portfolio Construction [00:00]
Chapter 2: How Portfolio Construction Has Evolved [04:30]
Chapter 3: Models, M...

Doug Sieg cold-called Lord Abbett in the early 1990s looking for a job. More than 30 years later, he’s the CEO. In this episode, Doug joins CAIS Co-President Brad Walker for a wide-ranging conversation covering his path to Lord Abbett, what he found when he took over as managing partner in 2018, and how the firm has built out a private credit platform while staying true to its roots as a public fixed-income manager. They also discuss Doug’s outlook on today’s macro environment, and reflects on the leadership lessons that guided his path to CEO.

Chapters 

What does thirty years of investing through the dot-com bust, the great financial crisis, and COVID teach you? For Nuveen CIO Saira Malik, the answer comes down to three things: focus on the fundamentals, stay the course, and don't let the noise win. Saira joins Brad Walker on CAIS Live Conversations to share her read on today's macro landscape, the case for evolving the traditional 60/40, and how she talks clients through market downturns. She also opens up about her career path, one that started with rejection from every firm on Wall Street, and what that experience taught her about...

David DeVoe, Founder and CEO of DeVoe & Company, has spent more than 25 years advising independent RIAs through some of the most significant decisions of their professional lives. He joins CAIS CMO Alex Cavalieri at CAIS Live | Leaders in Wealth to share his view on what's driving M&A activity for the independent advisor, and where he believes it’s heading.  

David also discusses why organic growth has become an important metric in firm valuation, what a real growth culture looks like from the inside out, and why he believes succession planning is about to re-emerge as the dom...

Recorded live at CAIS Live, this episode features David Breach, President of Vista Equity Partners, in conversation with CAIS Co-President Brad Walker. David reflects on a nontraditional path, from food salesman at 19 to Michigan Law to his current role as part of a $100 billion private equity firm, and what he believes each chapter taught him. He shares Vista's founding operating thesis, some of the hardest lessons learned across 90 portfolio companies, and his perspective on where enterprise software stands today. From factory floors to DoorDash drivers, he uses vivid analogies throughout to cut through the noise around generative AI and...

Alternative investments, private markets, and wealth management are converging, and financial advisors need infrastructure that can keep up. Matt Matrisian, President of Signature Estate & Investment Advisors (SEIA) joins host Alex Cavalieri on CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts to share his perspective on scaling a firm while maintaining a personal, advisor-first approach.  

Matt discusses SEIA’s team-based advisor model, the firm’s investment in a centralized data lake and AI-powered tools, and how he approaches M&A without disrupting culture. He also weighs in on the shift to private markets, why he believes advisor education may be the i...

Recorded at CAIS Live | Leaders in Wealth, CAIS Co-President Brad Walker sits down with Randy Schwimmer, Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Strategist at Churchill Asset Management, a Nuveen affiliate. Randy shares his view on why he believes the core middle market may be one of the most overlooked corners of the private market and why the current wave of headline risk, from tariffs to rate uncertainty, could reinforce that case. They also discuss Churchill’s origination model, the education gap between institutional and private wealth investors, what Randy believes is driving redemption pressure across the industry, and why he se...

Structured notes, portfolio customization, and rethinking what diversification really means—Jerry Verseput, founder of Veripax (now part of HUB International), brings an engineer’s perspective to wealth management. On this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts, Jerry sits down with CAIS CMO Alex Cavalieri to share how the Great Financial Crisis reshaped his approach to portfolio construction, his views on traditional asset class diversification as “different colors of M&Ms,” and how structured notes may help advisors target outcomes rather than chase benchmarks. They also discuss the realities of building and eventually selling an independent RIA, navigating liquidit...

Jon Diorio, Head of Alternatives for US Wealth, BlackRock, joins CAIS Co-President Brad Walker on CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts to discuss how he sees alternative investments reshaping wealth management for financial advisors. Jon shares how BlackRock is building its private markets platform across private equity, private credit, and infrastructure. He gets into why he thinks model portfolios may help advisors. They also explore the macro landscape, liquidity , and Jon’s views on why education remains key.

Chapters 

Structured ETFs are shaping how financial advisors access yield-oriented strategies. In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations, Brad Walker sits down with Scott Acheychek, COO of REX Shares, and Marc Premselaar, Head of CAIS Capital Markets, on site at CAIS Live | Capital Markets.  

They get into how structured ETFs are evolving, what makes them different from traditional vehicles, and how product design, distribution, and education may shape adoption for wealth investors. Scott shares the origin story behind REX’s innovation mindset, while Marc discusses how capital markets execution may impact advisor outcomes. 

For financial advisors navi...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts, CAIS Co-President Brad Walker sits down with Chad Hutchinson, Partner at Arctos Partners, and CAIS Advisors CIO Neil Blundell to explore sports, media, and entertainment as an emerging asset class. The group discusses how changes in league rules have broadened access to franchise ownership and why teams are increasingly viewed as intellectual property platforms. They also touch on the role of media rights, scarcity, and global fan engagement, along with insights into college sports, the evolving media landscape, and how fandom can influence long-term economic value. 

Cameron Dawson, Chief Investment Officer at NewEdge Wealth, joins host Alex Cavalieri on CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts to share how she and her team cut through market noise with a multidisciplinary approach to macro analysis. Dawson shares her views on the role of liquidity, positioning, and valuation as amplifiers in today’s market and why the US consumer remains her most closely watched indicator. She also shares NewEdge’s framework for incorporating private markets into portfolios, built on what the firm calls “functional asset allocation”: the idea that every asset in a portfolio should have a clearly defined...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts, recorded live at CAIS Summit 2025, Alex Cavalieri sits down with Jen Prosek, Founder and Managing Director of Prosek Partners, to explore how brand, reputation, and communication have become important drivers of growth in private markets. They chat through why private market firms can no longer operate quietly, how the wealth channel is changing expectations, and what advisors and asset managers should know about visibility and trust.  

Chapter 1: An Accidental Entrepreneur [00:01:49]
Jen shares how an unexpected career path led her into building a communications firm focused on f...

Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton, joins host Brad Walker on CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts to share her perspective on leading one of the world’s largest asset managers through transformation. Johnson reflects on Franklin Templeton’s client-first culture, its expansion into private markets, and how she sees innovation in AI, tokenization, and infrastructure reshaping the industry. She discusses the growing role of private wealth, the importance of advisor education. For financial advisors and asset managers, this episode offers insight into how Franklin Templeton is balancing tradition and change while staying focused on serving its clients.  

In this special edition of CAIS Live Conversations, live from CAIS Summit 2025, Robert F. Smith of Vista Equity Partners and Jason Graefe of Microsoft speak with CNBC’s Scott Wapner about the rise of agentic AI. They explain how the shift from generative to agentic systems may reshape enterprise software, data strategy, and economic value capture. The conversation explores implications for productivity, software development, and the future of work, along with how businesses can adapt through speed, workflow ownership, and reskilling. Advisors can gain insight into how AI may transform operating models across industries.  

Chapter 1 — Generative vs. Agent...

Kan Kotecha, Chief Technology Officer at CAIS, joins host Alex Cavalieri live from CAIS Summit 2025 to share how artificial intelligence and data are reshaping the advisor experience. Kan discusses the firm’s vision for “alts at scale,” how CAISey, CAIS’ new AI-powered solution, was designed to transform pre-trade, trade, and post-trade workflows, and why clean, consolidated data is foundational. Advisors will gain insight into how technology, autonomy, and AI are driving the next generation of platform innovation at CAIS and the industry at large.

Chapter 1 / 00:05:10 / Defining Advisor Autonomy
Kan explains how CAIS is building end-to-end digital infrastr...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts, Brad Walker sits down with Luke Taylor, Co-President of Stonepeak, to discuss how infrastructure investing is evolving from traditional assets to data centers, energy transition, and digital networks. Luke shares his journey from a sheep farm in New Zealand to leading one of the world’s largest infrastructure firms, and how that perspective shapes his approach to building enduring businesses. He and Brad explore the intersection of real assets and technology, the influence of AI on demand for data and power, and how innovation in semi-liquid structures is broadening ac...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building with Alts, Alex Cavalieri sits down with Steffen Scheuble, CEO of Solactive, and CAIS Advisors’ CIO Neil Blundell. They discuss Solactive’s launch of the first benchmark designed to track perpetual non-traded business development companies (BDCs), and what this milestone means for the private credit market.  They also share their views and explore why greater data access may be fueling index innovation and how transparent, rules-based performance tracking can help advisors more effectively measure and compare private credit allocations.

Chapter 1: Origins—Solactive’s Tech-Driven Indexing & Steffen’s Backstory (00:01:19–00:04:18)
Chapter 2: Fr...

Leah Wehinger, Head of Investment Advice & Solutions at Truist Wealth, joins CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts to unpack how her team is scaling advisor education and access to private markets. She and host Alex Cavalieri discuss her views on integrating investment strategy with planning, supporting wealth transfer with a multi-generational lens, and designing products with client objectives in mind. From simplifying alts education to unifying advice, Leah shares how Truist is looking to reshape the wealth experience. 

Chapter 1. One Firm, One Voice [05:14]
Chapter 2. Scaling Trust Without Losing the Human Touch [07:45]
Chapter 3. Why She Doesn’t S...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts, CAIS Co-President Brad Walker sits down with Amy Wu Silverman, Head of Derivatives Strategy at RBC Capital Markets, joined by Marc Premselaar, Head of Capital Markets at CAIS. Recorded live from CAIS Summit 2025, the conversation explores what Amy calls a “volatility regime,” the growing role of retail investors in options markets, and how defined-outcome and structured strategies are evolving to meet advisor needs. From AI to correlation risk, Amy and Marc weigh in on how education and innovation can help financial advisors translate complex market dynamics into actionable portfolio insi...

Recorded live from CAIS Summit 2025, this episode features Harvey Schwartz, CEO of Carlyle, in a candid discussion with Barron’s Editor-at-Large Andy Serwer on how private markets are reshaping access and opportunity for advisors and their clients. Schwartz describes why “alternatives” are increasingly just “capital,” and shares how wealth’s global trajectory are redefining distribution and product design. He also offers a data-driven read on the economy from Carlyle’s portfolio, reflections on risk learned across multiple market cycles, and why cultural fit matters in partnerships.

Chapter 1.  Private Credit and Transparency [00:05:11]
Chapter 2. Rise of Private Capital [00:07:55]
Chapter 3...

In this special CAIS Live Conversations episode, host Alex Cavalieri sits down with Matt Brown, Founder and CEO of CAIS, for a fireside chat recorded live at the 2025 CAIS Summit. Matt shares how CAIS grew from an idea in 2009 to the leading alternative investment management platform. He reflects on the Summit’s origins, the firm’s culture of trust and innovation, and the trends shaping wealth management—from the rise of alts to the convergence of public and private markets. Advisors will hear firsthand how access, partnership, and purpose continue to drive CAIS’ mission forward.

Chapter 1: Building the Summ...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts—Brad Walker talks with Ken Kencel, Founder, President, and CEO of Churchill Asset Management, about the growth in private credit. They explore how Churchill scaled through PE partnerships, what advisors need to know about deal sourcing and underwriting, plus the shift to evergreen funds and secondaries. Ken shares why client education is just as important as performance when it comes to expanding alts access in wealth management. 

Chapter 1: Drexel Days & Industry Origins (00:02:19)
Chapter 2: The TIAA/Nuveen Edge (00:13:11)
Chapter 3: LP Strategy: 325+ PE Funds (00:20:19)
Chapter 4: Market Con...

Doug Krupa, Head of Global Wealth Solutions at KKR, joins Brad Walker for a deep conversation on how private equity is evolving and becoming more accessible. Doug shares how his early advisor experience shaped his perspective on investor access, KKR’s philosophy around product innovation, and how evergreen strategies are changing wealth management. This episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the world’s top private market firms is helping make alts available to more investors.

Chapter 1: Origins & Early Lessons on Access (00:01:19–00:07:13)
Chapter 2: Inside KKR—Evergreen, Culture & “One Firm” (00:07:13–00:14:11)
Chapter 3: Market Landscape & Manager Selection 101...

Chelsea Ganey, Chief Strategy Officer at Moran Wealth Management, joins Alex Cavalieri to talk about her firm’s evolution after breaking away from Wells Fargo and its growing integration of alternatives. She shares insights on client education, secondaries, advisor operations, and the power of personalization in scaling a practice. Listeners can learn how tech and alts are reshaping high-touch client relationships. 

Chapter 1: Origins—Chelsea’s Path & Moran’s Breakaway (00:01:19–00:04:12)
Chapter 2: Bringing Alts to Clients—Education, Structures & the 101 (00:04:12–00:08:38)
Chapter 3: Implementation Reality—Ops, Process & Volatility Conversations (00:08:38–00:13:28)
Chapter 4: Personalization at Scale—Tech, Touchpoints & Segmentation (00:13:28–00:21:36)
Chapter 5: Independence & What’s Next—Breakaway L...

Pam Perskie, CEO and Founder of Seven Mile Advisory, joins host Alex Cavalieri for a compelling conversation on the evolution of wealth, trust, and the modern advisor-client relationship. With over 20 years of experience in the multifamily office space, Pam shares how she built a firm centered on serving families with unique complexities—where personalization, not just portfolio performance, is the true north. 

In this episode, Pam breaks down how Seven Mile Advisory is rethinking what it means to be a family office—leveraging technology, integrating with best-in-class platforms like CAIS, and helping clients gain access to institutional-quality alter...

Is the economy heading for a recession or just a slowdown? In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts, Brad Walker sits down with Apollo Chief Economist Torsten Slok. Torsten breaks down why he sees a “Nike swoosh” recovery ahead—not  recession—and the three economic headwinds that could create opportunities in private markets. From his unconventional research process tracking everything from TSA checkpoint data to Broadway show attendance, to why he believes owning the S&P 500 may no longer mean diversification, Torsten shares macro insights driving decisions at one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers. P...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building with Alts, Brad Walker sits down with Glenn August, Founder and CEO of Oak Hill Advisors. They discuss four decades of credit cycles, how product innovation is meeting wealth demand, and why partnership and selectivity remain critical as private markets mature.

Chapter 1: Origins in Credit & Early Career (1:24 – 11:45)

Chapter 2: Private Credit’s Evolution (11:46 – 17:46)

Chapter 3: Product Innovation & Convergence (17:47 – 28:19)

Chapter 4: Resilience in Uncertain Times (28:20 – 42:57)

Chapter 5: Leadership, Legacy & Lessons (42:58 – 53:02)

Edward Jones is reimagining the future of wealth management, starting with personalization, access, and trusted relationships. In this episode, David Chubak, Head of Wealth Management at Edward Jones, and Matt Brown, Founder and CEO of CAIS, join host Alex Cavalieri to discuss their groundbreaking partnership, the Generations program, and why alternative investments are becoming central to the advisor-client experience. From product innovation to advisor intelligence, this is a roadmap for a new era of  wealth management. 

Chapter 1: The Edward Jones Generations Vision (00:00 – 05:15)
Chapter 2: Advisor Empowerment & Industry Access Trends (05:16 – 13:45)
Chapter 3: Convergence of Public & Private Markets (13:46 – 22:50)
Chapter...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building with Alts, Alex Cavalieri sits down with Brandon Grimm, CIO and Partner at Gilbert & Cook, Inc. Brandon shares his journey from actuarial science to wealth management, the evolution of his firm, and how he’s reshaping  his focus on private markets. From debunking liquidity myths to aligning portfolios with client values, Brandon dives into what it really means to help clients live a life of abundance. Plus, get a glimpse into how one Ironman finisher balances investing discipline with personal passion. 

Chapter 1 (00:00 – 05:49) — From Actuarial Science to Wealth Management: Brandon’s Journey<...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building with Alts, host Alex Cavalieri sits down with Shannon Saccocia, Chief Investment Officer - Wealth at Neuberger Berman, to discuss how portfolio construction, private markets, and generational wealth trends are shaping the wealth management landscape. Shannon shares her views on public vs. private market allocations, how Next Gen investors think about wealth, and the evolving role of advisors in alternative investments. She also highlights the importance of technology, education, and structured approaches to integrating alternatives into client portfolios. 

Chapter 1 (00:00 – 02:51) — From Medicine to Markets: Shannon’s Career Journey
Chapter 2 (02:52 – 08:14) — Public & Pr...

How are advisors navigating market volatility, macro shifts, and inflation uncertainty? In this episode, KKR’s Paula Campbell Roberts and CAIS’ Neil Blundell join host Alex Cavalieri to explore how private markets, especially infrastructure and private credit, can contribute to portfolio resilience. From risk factor integration to evergreen structures and strategic asset allocation, hear how firms are helping advisors move from theory to implementation in today’s evolving landscape. 

Chapter 1 (00:00 – 05:30) — Setting the Macro Stage
Chapter 2 (05:31 – 13:45) — Beyond 60/40: Building Resilient Portfolios
Chapter 3 (13:46 – 22:30) — Archetypes & Outcomes: Rethinking Portfolio Design
Chapter 4 (22:31 – 34:00) — Products, Structures & Manager Selection
Chapter 5 (34:01 – 43:45) — Looking Ahead: Trends, Tools, and Advisor

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building with Alts, host Alex Cavalieri sits down with Michael Nathanson, CEO of Focus Financial Partners, for a wide-ranging discussion on leadership, enterprise evolution, and the future of Investment advisory firms. 

Michael shares insights into his leadership at Focus, highlighting his dedication to distributed leadership, the firm’s rebranding journey, and how they are redefining what it means to be both independent and interdependent. The conversation also explores the importance of empowering advisors, building enduring businesses, expanding services such as alternative investments, and the trends that may shape the fut...

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations, Brad Walker sits down with Ted Koenig, Chairman and CEO of Monroe Capital, to discuss his path from law and hoops to founding one of the most respected names in private credit. They explore the evolution of the lower middle market, the growth of Monroe Capital, and how private credit fits into today’s investment landscape. Ted also shares his views on private credit’s role in wealth portfolios, convergence with public markets, and how Monroe is innovating product structures to meet the needs of institutional and private wealth clients alike. 

Cha...

In this episode of CAIS Conversations: Building With Alts, David Copeland, Principal and Co-Founder of Strategic Wealth Partners, takes us on a journey from starting his career at a major wirehouse to independence. With over 30 years of experience, David tells the story of how alternatives became a cornerstone of his client-first approach, offering solutions that seek to reduce portfolio volatility and enhance performance. He also reflects on the challenges and rewards of breaking away, the evolution of wealth management, and why he believes alternatives are more critical than ever in today’s market.  

In this episode of CAIS Live Conversations: Building with Alts, Brad Walker, Co-President of CAIS, sits down with Kipp deVeer, Co-President of Ares Management. From the early days of middle-market lending to overseeing a multi-strategy platform with nearly $550B in AUM*, Kipp shares insights into the evolution of private credit, building scalable structures like BDCs, aligning culture in a global organization, and how Ares maintains a competitive edge in a fast-growing market. The conversation also explores how private wealth is converging with institutional trends, an outlook on today’s credit environment, and the value of staying focused in uncertain ti...