Johnathan Rickman | Blue Vault
Blue Vault’s Alts & Answers Luncheon Series is awakening wealth advisors to the benefits and widening availability of alternative investments. As part of our expanded approach to advisor engagement, we’re generating cross-country conversations about alts and sowing seeds of knowledge as we travel from one city to the next.
More than just another networking event, this engaging in-person initiative brings advisors and sponsors together in the same room, advancing awareness of industry trends and unique opportunities in private markets for credit, real estate, and equity.
Alts & Answers also responds to the seismic shift occurring in the broader investment landscape. It’s a shift so big you can almost feel it, as rising access to alts forces a fault line between the 60/40 Pangea of yesteryear and the bold new world of private asset allocation.
Case in point: Alternative investments are now projected to grow into a $32 trillion global industry by 20301, building on persistent upward growth that shows no signs of slowing. Meanwhile, President Trump in August signed an executive order expanding access to alts in 401(k) and other defined-contribution retirement plans to help promote “the potential growth and diversification opportunities associated with alternative asset investments.”2
With that in mind, we’re doubling down on our mission to empower financial advisors, support asset managers, and protect investors by improving the transparency of industry data. How are we doing? Here’s a recap of our Alts & Answers event in Atlanta in October:
Alts & Answers Atlanta
Advisors from across metro Atlanta showed up excited to learn about alts! We soon learned that everyone had different levels of alts knowledge, with many entirely new to alts. So, it was fitting that, as at all Alts & Answers luncheons, Blue Vault CEO Stacy Chitty kicked things off with an alts market update. Some of the key topics he covered included:
• The disparity between rising alts adoption and the low percentage of alts allocations
• How different alts structures and strategies offer different benefits and risks
• The importance of independently sourced alts performance data and due diligence
• What Blue Vault data show about the recent performance of alternative investments
That was followed by three brief, information-packed sponsor presentations:
“Unlocking Tax-Efficient Wealth Solutions in Real Estate,” presented by Geoff Flahardy, President of 1031 Solutions at ExchangeRight, explored tax strategies within real estate through the lens of his firm’s track record and offerings. With many advisors wary of markets for private real estate, the presentation offered a much-needed note of optimism.
“Real Life. Real Assets. Real Income: A Case for Self-Storage,” presented by Veritas Group CEO Sean Casterline, explored his firm’s offerings, regional strategy, and approach to partnerships. The presentation offered a deep dive into self-storage as an asset class.
“Opportunities in CLO Investing,” presented by Kevin Davis, Managing Director, Head of Sales and Distribution at XA Investments, covered the basics of investing in collateralized loan obligations. Davis explained why these debt investments are attractive right now and how they’ve performed historically.
Each presentation was followed by a short Q&A session. The brief back and forth foreshadowed a post-event buzz of active engagement between advisors and sponsor representatives. Lasting only about 90 minutes from lunch service to the final presentation, the event left advisors considerably more alts-smart than they were at breakfast!
Join Us at Alts & Answers
We’ve been on a roll ever since our first stop in Chicago in July! Alts & Answers meets advisors where they are, sharing industry intel and insights and helping financial services professionals forge new connections.
Check out our schedule of luncheons to see if we’re headed to your city next! Are you an asset manager, broker-dealer, or other entity? Contact us today to discuss participation.
References
1 Preqin, Private Markets in 2030, October 16, 2025.
2 The White House, Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors, August 7, 2025.
