Category Archives: WealthForge

Clearing Up Misconceptions about Alts

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Clearing Up Misconceptions about Alts

August 12, 2022 | John Rickman | WealthForge

Have you ever wondered why alternative investments are called “alternative” investments? Industry insiders know that “alts” are essentially anything other than stocks, bonds, or cash. They can include real estate, hedge funds, private equity, and even fine art and antiques.

Unfortunately, broadly referring to these types of investments as “alternative” creates a visceral reaction among some wealth managers and their clients that allocating to alternatives exposes them to the same risks associated with cryptocurrency, Richard Hillson of Hillson Consulting says. “That’s like saying I had a bad experience with a stock once, and I’ll never pick a stock again,” he adds.

The alternative investment space is vast and varied, but includes tried-and-true asset classes such as real estate that have predictable returns and less market volatility.

Do your clients have questions about alts? Check out the full video, presented by Alta Trust and Altigo.

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The Expanding Universe of Business Development Companies and their Real-World Investment Impacts

AltsTech, AltsTech News, REIT Industry Update, WealthForge

The Expanding Universe of Business Development Companies and their Real-World Investment Impacts

July 20, 2022 | John Rickman | WealthForge

A recent blog post from WealthForge:

Tax-advantaged, non-traded business development companies (BDCs) are alternative investment funds designed to boost the economy while generating a steady stream of income for both retail and accredited investors in the fund.
 
BACKGROUND AND OUTLOOK

BDCs are closed-end investment funds that help finance small, developing, and financially troubled U.S. firms. BDCs pool money from multiple investors and invest that money in business debt and equity. They are also required to provide subject matter expertise to the companies they invest in.

BDCs must invest at least 70% of their total assets in so-called “eligible portfolio companies,” which are valued at less than $250 million and typically lack conventional means of raising money or inviting analyst interest to boost their profiles.

Created by Congress in 1980 as part of amendments to the Investment Company Act of 1940, BDCs can be publicly or privately traded. Those that file publicly may elect to come under the auspices of the Act, meaning, among other things, that they agree to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation. Election also means BDCs must develop compliance programs and file regular reports with the SEC.

In April 2020, the SEC adopted rule amendments aimed at making it easier for BDCs to respond to market opportunities by streamlining BDC registration processes. The reforms also included disclosure and structured data requirements designed to help investors better analyze fund data.

As of July 2022, there are currently 49 publicly traded BDCs with combined assets of more than $121 billion, according to CEFdata.com which monitors listed and non-listed BDCs. The universe of non-traded BDCs is smaller with $95.6 billion in assets across 58 funds. Assets or gross assets are total investments including leverage and doesn’t take any discount into account.

2021 was a big year for publicly registered, non-traded BDCs, which raised more than $15.7 billion that year, according to The Stanger Market Pulse. This year looks to be even bigger, with the same category of BDCs having already raised more than $13.8 billion through May, according to Stanger.

SIZING UP BDCS AND THEIR INVESTMENTS

The universe of BDCs may be swiftly expanding, but the funds themselves — and the businesses they invest in — are down to earth, and certainly not as lofty in investing in the Amazons of the world, CEFdata.com’s John Cole Scott tells Altigo:

“These aren’t large corporate deals, they’re small- to middle-market investments. The average BDC loan size is around $11 million, with the average BDC portfolio containing roughly 100 such investments,” says Scott. Interest rates for about a third of BDC loans come in under 6.5%, with the rest averaging around 7.31%, he notes.

“BDC companies are both geographically and industry sub-sector diverse and are often operating in your own back yard. They really are impacting communities everywhere, not just in New York or California,” Scott adds.

BDC RISKS AND BENEFITS

A continuous offering over time, BDCs have the potential to provide both retail and accredited investors with a steady stream of distributions stemming from interest income, dividends, and/or capital gains when the investments are sold.

Without factoring for inflation or commissions and fees, BDC yields can range anywhere from 5-10% depending on market conditions. However, BDC fee structures are often far more steep than other types of alternative investments.

As with real estate investment trusts (REITs), if 90% or more of a BDC’s taxable income is annually distributed to investors, BDCs may enjoy pass-through tax treatment. This is only allowed if BDCs are registered and regulated as a registered investment company, and most are. BDCs are only taxed once at the stakeholder level, thus, as with REITs, investors must pay ordinary taxes on their investment earnings.

BDC’s low liquidity profile and sometimes lengthy investment commitments make them unsuitable for some investors, and because BDC target businesses are generally small businesses, these types of alternative investments are typically considered high-risk. Therefore, it’s good to collect as much information as you can on any individual fund before making any commitments.

STREAMLINING THE INVESTMENT PROCESS

As with other offering types, the investment process for BDCs is time consuming and paper laden. Subscription processing technology like Altigo can reduce investment time from weeks to minutes and virtually eliminate errors associated with paper subscription documents.

With over 200 alternative investment offerings currently available on Altigo, our platform supports a range of alternative investment products such as non-listed BDCs, non-listed REITs, qualified opportunity zone funds, non-listed preferreds, interval funds, direct private placements, DSTs, and private equity funds.

For more information about how Altigo can streamline the investment process for BDCs and other alternative investments, contact us for a brief demo.

Opportunity Zone Funds: Could Changes Be on the Horizon?

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Opportunity Zone Funds: Could Changes Be on the Horizon?

June 28, 2022 | John Rickman | WealthForge

A recent blog post from WealthForge:

A key incentive of the federal opportunity zone program may have expired, but qualified opportunity zone funds continue to offer considerable long-term tax advantages for investing in private capital. In addition, legislative changes to opportunity zones currently under consideration in Congress may end up restoring the program’s 10-15% basis point boosts that expired at the end of last year.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR OPPORTUNITY ZONE FUNDS?

Opportunity zone funds reinvest unrealized capital gains into long-term projects in low-income communities, typically real estate located in a qualified opportunity zone (QOZ). There are more than 8,700 census tracts in U.S. urban, suburban, and rural areas that America’s governors and mayors have designated as economically distressed QOZs.

Current law allows QOZ investors to defer paying taxes on their investments until 2026. If a QOZ investment is held for 10 years, any appreciation on the investment essentially becomes tax-free.

Certain expired provisions of the law allowed QOZ investors to enjoy a 10% reduction in initially deferred capital gains. However, proposed updates to opportunity zones would:

Extend the federal program and its related deferrals for another two years (2028 and 2023, respectively)
Allow qualified opportunity zone funds to invest in other qualified opportunity zone funds
Notably, the bicameral, bi-partisan proposal would also increase the program’s reporting requirements — to promote more equitable distribution of QOZ investments — and sunset tracts no longer determined to be in distress.

Even if proposed updates to the opportunity zone program fail to proceed, QOZ funds remain a beneficial tax-advantaged option for long-term investing in private capital, while creating jobs and improving economic outcomes for people living in economically distressed communities.

Want to learn more about opportunity zone funds and other alternative investments available on Altigo? Download our complimentary e-guide or contact us.

 

Opportunity Zone Experts, USG Realty Capital, Select WealthForge for Managing Broker-Dealer Services and Technology Solutions to Streamline Investment Process

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Opportunity Zone Experts, USG Realty Capital, Select WealthForge for Managing Broker-Dealer Services and Technology Solutions to Streamline Investment Process

May 6, 2022 | USG Realty Capital

USG Realty Capital, a leading investment sponsor specializing in opportunity zones, announced today that they have selected WealthForge, a registered broker-dealer and developer of Altigo, a subscription automation platform for investing in alternatives, as their managing broker-dealer and will utilize their technology solutions to streamline the investment process.

“WealthForge brings a level of expertise and turn-key solutions with their managing broker-dealer services and Altigo platform, which is unmatched in our industry,” said Greg Genovese, CEO and founder of USG Realty Capital. “As our platform continues to grow and add more products, bringing on WealthForge was the ideal next step in our evolution.”   

“We focus on increasing efficiencies and streamlining the investment process with our automated straight-through processing platform to increase adoption of alternatives,” said Michael Roman, managing director, managing broker-dealer services, of WealthForge. “We are excited to work with an industry leader like Greg Genovese and his stellar team at USG Realty Capital.”

Through USG’s unique proprietary investor-directed platform, accredited investors have the capability to choose as much diversification or project concentration as they please, all under a single-fund platform. This platform provides quantitatively aligned asset management with the fund’s investors, delivers proper oversight of the fund’s developers through co-partnership, and honors the spirit and intent of the opportunity zone initiative by ongoing third-party social impact reporting throughout the life of the project.

In March of this year, USG Realty Capital held a groundbreaking ceremony for KindCare at Bristol, part of its investor-directed, multi-asset opportunity zone fund offering. The 117-unit assisted living and memory care senior housing development, located in Bristol, Connecticut is being developed by Senior Living Development, an experienced commercial real estate development company specializing in the senior living space. This qualified opportunity zone project is scheduled for completion in 2023.

Investors Choice OZ Fund launched in June 2021. Since that time, the qualified opportunity zone fund has grown to four current projects and continues to add qualified, viable ground-up multifamily, senior living, storage, and manufactured housing projects to add to its platform. The focus is on infill projects with barriers to entry and equity targets ranging from $5 million to $10 million per project, on average. The fund intends to raise $50 million in new investment equity and can expand the offering to $100 million if needed.

About USG Realty Capital

USG Realty Capital is co-headquartered in Santa Barbara, California and Silverdale, Washington. USG Realty Capital is an alternative investment company launched by industry veteran Greg Genovese, who has successfully launched several opportunity zone funds since 2018. To learn more, please visit www.investorschoiceoz.com.

Tax-Incentivized refers to any type of investment that is either exempt from taxation, tax-deferred, or that offers other types of tax benefits. USG Realty Capital is a sponsor of investment opportunities that can provide such benefits via our opportunity zone funds and 1031 exchange offerings, among others. Securities offered through WealthForge Securities, LLC, the managing broker-dealer for the Investors Choice OZ Fund, LLC offering and member FINRA/SIPC. USG Realty Capital and WealthForge are not affiliated. Private Placements are speculative.

 

 

Phoenix American and WealthForge Announce Partnership to Deliver Straight-Through Processing for Alternative Investments

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Phoenix American and WealthForge Announce Partnership to Deliver Straight-Through Processing for Alternative Investments

May 13, 2021 | Phoenix American

Phoenix American, a leading transfer agent and fund administration provider for alternative investments and WealthForge, a registered broker-dealer and developer of a subscription automation platform built to streamline investing in alternatives, have announced an integration partnership to provide a seamless, fully digital purchase process for client funds. The partnership will enable financial advisors to access and subscribe to alternative investment products digitally using WealthForge’s Altigo platform resulting in a complete and active investment record in the Phoenix American transfer agent system, STAR-XMS, with no manual intervention.

Streamlining the Investment Process for Alternative Investments

The partnership for straight-through processing is a key step in advancing the investor and advisor experience of the alternative investment industry. Digitizing and streamlining the investment process accomplishes three important goals: accelerating the purchase of alternative investment products, minimizing the entry and processing errors inherent in paper subscription documents, and enhancing the overall security of making an investment.

Innovation Helping to Scale the Industry

STAR-XMS’s integration with the Altigo platform, achieving end-to-end data connectivity with no paper documents, will represent a competitive advantage for client fund sponsors. Advisors will enjoy simple, transparent and efficient access to alternative investment products. Fully automated straight-through processing will help to scale the alternatives industry by eliminating the factors that discourage wealth managers and investors from considering alternative investments.

“Our goal is to make alternative investments as easy to own as a mutual fund,” said Bill Robbins, CEO at WealthForge. “Integrations with key participants in the investment process like Phoenix American are important steps toward creating a seamless experience and providing additional value to our users.”

Phoenix American, an innovator in the alternatives industry, welcomes the added efficiency of the WealthForge integration. The company’s STAR-XMS transfer agent and administration system centralizes and streamlines back-office functions and data collection to support sales efforts. The integration of STAR-XMS with the Altigo platform, eliminating the need for manual entry of subscription information, further enhances the Phoenix American back-office process.

“Phoenix American supports technological advancements that reduce costs for sponsors, increase efficiency and improve investor and rep adoption of alternative investments,” said Andrew Constantin, Senior Vice President, Operations for Phoenix American. “WealthForge is a great partner for us in reducing operational frictions for alternative investments. The Altigo platform is a technological advancement that simplifies investing and pushes the industry forward.”

About Phoenix American:

Phoenix American provides full-service fund administration, fund accounting, transfer agent and investor services as well as sales and marketing reporting to fund sponsors in the alternative investment industry. The Phoenix American Aviation ABS group provides managing agent and accounting services for asset-backed securitizations specializing in the commercial aviation leasing industry. The company was founded in 1972, has six offices worldwide and is headquartered in San Rafael, CA.

Contact:
David Fisher
309854@email4pr.com 
(310) 621-7822

How Will the Newly Expanded Accredited Investor Definition Affect Wealth Managers?

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How Will the Newly Expanded Accredited Investor Definition Affect Wealth Managers?

September 8, 2020 | Mat Dellorso | WealthForge

On August 26th, 2020, the SEC amended the definition of accredited investor, an identifier of individuals and entities that are eligible to invest in certain restricted alternative investments such as private real estate funds and other investments under Regulation D. The previous rules, which defined accredited investors based on net worth and/or income, had not been updated since they were instated in 1983. Since then, numerous technological and regulatory changes have taken place, altering the investment landscape in the process and necessitating a fresh look at the rule.

The updated definition contains numerous expansions, such as the inclusion of entities like Native American tribes, limited liability companies, and family offices with at least $5 million in assets under management. But for the purposes of financial advisors and registered representatives wondering how the new rule will affect them and their current and potential investor clients, here are some key takeaways:

• Individuals who hold a Series 7, Series 65, or Series 82 license are now considered accredited, regardless of net worth.
• Individuals who are “knowledgeable employees” of a fund can be considered accredited investors for the purposes of investing in that fund.
• The requirements for married or “joint” investors has been expanded to include “spousal equivalents,” which applies to those who are in a co-habitating relationship outside of marriage.

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Altigo Streamlines Alts Investing

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Altigo Streamlines Alts Investing

September 21, 2020 | James Sprow | Blue Vault

Blue Vault recently spoke with Bill Robbins, CEO at WealthForge, about how their vision for the Altigo platform is to make investing in and owning alternative investments as easy as owning a mutual fund.

WealthForge was founded in 2009 and combines innovative tech-enabled processing with traditional services of a managing broker-dealer. For the last several years they have been developing Altigo (Alternative Investments in Good Order), a technology platform that provides straight-through processing for alternative investments. The platform changes the way alternative investments are transacted, from paper-based processing to electronic processing. They have an experienced team of 35 compliance and technology experts working to create a frictionless path to ownership for alternative investments.

WealthForge’s intends for Altigo to connect all of the players in the alternative investments ecosystem. By connecting sponsors and funds with the broker-dealer and registered investment advisor firms that distribute them, as well as service providers, such as transfer agents and custodians, the industry can achieve a level of efficiency and scalability that was previously impossible with paper. 

WealthForge started developing the Altigo program about three years ago.  The first production version of Altigo was launched in May of 2019.  They continue to provide enhancements regularly with new features and behind-the-scenes updates.

What progress has been made in linking all of the constituents in the alternative investment ecosystem? 

WealthForge has been successful in gaining adoption of Altigo among sponsor, broker-dealer, and RIA firms. Initially they had to overcome the chicken or egg paradox: whether product or distribution would be the primary driver of adoption. Altigo launched as a tool licensed by sponsors, who could provide the platform to their distribution partners free of charge. In 2020, WealthForge debuted additional BD and RIA versions of the platform which aggregated all of a firm’s alternative investment business into a single dashboard. Currently, Altigo supports offerings from over 25 well-known sponsors and is used by over 100 RIA and BD firms across the various versions of the platform.

WealthForge already works with transfer agents and custodians , and are in the process of developing partnerships and integrations with numerous other transfer agents, custodians, CRM platforms and other service providers.

How does Altigo eliminate the NIGO (“not in good order”) problem?

Not in good order errors, or NIGOs, are a significant problem for alternative investments. Industry-wide the NIGO rate among alts is somewhere between 40 and 60% on average.  When paperwork that has been submitted  incorrectly has to go all the way back to the client, it creates frustration for the client and it is a waste of time and money for the wealth manager, who potentially has to spend hours redoing the paperwork and mailing it again, adding days or weeks to the process. One sponsor WealthForge works with estimated they had a 90% NIGO rate using paper-processes.  With Altigo they are now seeing NIGO rates in the low single digits, 3 to 5%. 

What kind of training is involved in getting a broker or advisor up to speed on Altigo? 

Altigo has been designed to be as intuitive as possible. It is cloud-based, so it can be used anywhere, even outside the office. Once a user has been provided with login credentials, they can begin transacting. One advisor client refers to Altigo as the “Easy Button” for alternative investments. There is no need for dedicated IT resources, internal training, or complex change management, as the platform was built to fit seamlessly into current back-office processes. WealthForge offers new users a 15-to-20-minute demo if they need help getting started, as well as ongoing customer support.

What is the pricing model for Altigo? Who bears the cost?

Sponsors can license Altigo to make their offerings available on the platform. They are also able to provide an instance of Altigo with only their offerings at no cost to their distribution partners. Broker-dealers who wish to manage all of their alternative investments across multiple sponsors from a single dashboard can license a premium version of Altigo. This version of Altigo also supports document mapping of firm required forms and other features not available to free users. RIA’s can access Altigo Marketplace, which is free for the advisor. Sponsors who opt-in pay a marketplace fee for net-new distribution that comes through the platform.  

How do you ensure that reps are only able to sell products their firm has authorized them to?

One of the major benefits of Altigo over paper-based processing, from a compliance perspective, is the ability to use role-based access. When you have a manual, paper-based system it is really difficult to provide operational control to assure suitability and supervision. In Altigo, firms can designate which offerings are available to which reps, ensuring not only that the rep can’t sell the offering, but also that they don’t even see it in their dashboard. Additionally, WealthForge has entered into a partnership with AI Insight that integrates with Altigo to provide real-time permissions to reps and advisors who have completed the education and testing requirements via a real-time API integration between the platforms. 

Does Altigo send out statements to investors? Is an investor going to get multiple statements depending on the types of investments they hold?

Altigo does not send out statements to investors.  To get to a consolidated statement, as an industry we are going to need to engage the fundamental infrastructure of the DTCC to automate the process of reporting between funds, transfer agents and custodians.  WealthForge’s vision for Altigo is to create an easy on-ramp into DTCC’s AIP platform which is a key step forward in the pursuit of our vision to make owning alts as easy as a mutual fund.  

Does Altigo deal with redemptions or tender offers? 

Altigo currently does not support redemptions or tender offers. But just like the initial subscription, those paper-based transactions are highly inefficient and WealthForge is working to transition them to digital processes through Altigo at some point in the future.

How has COVID-19 affected WealthForge operations, and the acceptance of their technology? 

Operationally, WealthForge hasn’t missed a beat, with the advantage of being a technology company.  Industry adoption of technology like Altigo has changed dramatically. Wealth managers cannot reasonably ask a client to drive to the office to review and sign a 100-page subscription package. Some firms they have signed up used to consider this type of technology a luxury, but now it is a necessity. Clients no longer have to touch a single piece of paper. The industry was already headed in the direction of more automated processing, but the pandemic has accelerated the pace, and is forcing firms to make changes that will have lasting effects into the future.

To learn more about Altigo, visit wealthforge.com/altigo.

Advisors are Failing Their Best Investors When it Comes to Alternative Investments

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Advisors are Failing Their Best Investors When it Comes to Alternative Investments

August 20, 2020 | Ryan Gunn | WealthForge

High net worth investors come with different investing preferences and a broader set of investment options than the average client. For example, high net worth investors are accredited, and therefore have access to alternative investments such as private placements, 1031 exchange DSTs, Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds, and more. Many advisory firms are ill-equipped to handle significant alternative investment business while providing the modern investment experience that clients have come to expect in their financial lives.

The vast majority of alternative investments are still being made through pen-and-paper processes with long, complex subscription documents and lengthy cycle-times involving several mailings and signings. For the investor, that means in-person meetings, flipping through dozens of pages to find the appropriate initial and signature locations, mailing documents, and worst of all, waiting.

Alternative investments can take upwards of 3 weeks on average to process, and that’s if they are submitted correctly the first time, which about half of them aren’t. When there is an error, the whole process often has to start again. Some investments, like 1031 exchanges, fill up quickly, and, in the time it takes an investment to complete, investors can lose out on available equity.

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There is a Gap Between Investor Interest in and RIA Allocations to Real Estate Investments

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There is a Gap Between Investor Interest in and RIA Allocations to Real Estate Investments

August 25, 2020 | Ryan Gunn | WealthForge

When investors think of investments outside of stocks and bonds, often the first thing that comes to mind is real estate. Real estate is the largest segment of alternative investments, making up nearly a third of the market. But research suggests that, despite high interest, registered investment advisors’ clients are under-allocated to real estate—especially private real estate investments.

In a 2018 survey by MLG Capital, 93% of RIAs reported that clients ask them about real estate at least quarterly. However, in that same survey, only 27% of advisors said that they proactively allocate discretionary client funds to private real estate. Investors that are invested in real estate are mostly allocated to publicly traded REITs—a $2 trillion market—which are highly correlated to the stock market, negating one of the sought after benefits of real estate investing.

“Our research uncovered a major overarching theme. Investors ask their RIAs about private real estate constantly. RIAs believe their clients should be invested in private real estate and they believe it has a low correlation to the public market. However, few are investing in it at present, primarily because they don’t know where to find information and/or have not seen the data”, said MLG Capital CEO & Principal Timothy J. Wallen.

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WealthForge and Chalice Partner To Modernize Alternative Investing for RIAs

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WealthForge and Chalice Partner To Modernize Alternative Investing for RIAs

June 26, 2020

SAN DIEGO, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Chalice Network, an online member-based digital marketplace for independent, small and mid-sized businesses that provides exclusive access to business, technology and client-service solutions, is excited to announce their new partnership with WealthForge.

Focused on what matters, Chalice Network is a community dedicated to solving the unique challenges faced by independent financial advisors and business owners. With over 100 years of combined experience, Chalice leadership is dedicated to bringing real and immediate value to all members of the Chalice Network through the digital Marketplace. Keith Gregg, Founder and CEO of Chalice Network is thrilled to partner with WealthForge and says, “I have known Mat Dellorso and Bill Robbins at WealthForge from my old hometown of Richmond, VA for quite sometime now and they are thoughtful, smart, creative, and conscious of what makes for a streamlined and advisor friendly alternative investment platform. We are very excited to be working with Mat and his team to deliver what we believe is the most advisor friendly ALTS platform in the marketplace.”

WealthForge provides technology solutions developed by regulatory experts to streamline investments into alternative securities. The RIA Marketplace is an expansion of their electronic trade processing platform, Altigo, which hosts over 50 active offerings from 22 well-known sponsors, with more being added every month. RIA’s are able to access these opportunities through the digital Marketplace at no cost.

“A significant number of high net worth investors are unable to experience the benefits of alternative investments because advisors continue to hit barriers when it comes to discovery and allocation,” says Mat Dellorso, co-founder of WealthForge. “Our goal is to break down those barriers and create a frictionless path to ownership for alternative investments, expanding access and transparency in the process.”

Altigo provides an array of features to Chalice members at no additional cost such as:

• a showcase of alternative investments
• intuitive information collection workflow
• electronic signature options
• transaction activity dashboard

Alternative investments continue to be difficult to source and cumbersome to invest in, with a lengthy, paper-laden subscription process that results in NIGO errors, security risks, and costly operational inefficiencies. With Chalice and Altigo, there is finally an easy way for advisors to provide their clients with the benefits of alternative investments.

About Chalice Network™ 

Chalice is a Digital Marketplace PaaS (Platform as a Service) with a community of 53,000+ SMBs consisting of Financial Advisors, RIAs, IBDs, CPAs, Insurance Agents, Attorneys, and Allied Financial Services Professionals.
Chalice was purposely built to give SMBs economies of scale, operational efficiency and enhanced enterprise value through the largest digital community and SSO technology platform they own and operate.

About WealthForge

With nearly a decade of experience processing alternative investments, WealthForge has cemented itself as an industry innovator. Altigo is an electronic trade processing platform from WealthForge designed to improve the alternative investment experience for broker-dealers, registered investment advisors, investment sponsors, and their investors.

 

 

COVID-19 Impact Mitigation for 3 Popular Real Estate Investment Types

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COVID-19 Impact Mitigation for 3 Popular Real Estate Investment Types

April 15, 2020 | Kyle Engelken | WealthForge

During the tumultuous economic period caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there are a myriad of indicators of public market performance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average1 had its largest single day drop in history, and the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to 0%. But it can be harder to determine the effects on markets that are not reflected in the stock market.

While commercial real estate has historically been a slower reacting market, if COVID-19 continues to have an impact on the broader economy, it will eventually show in real estate markets. Formerly reliable tenants may suddenly not be able to afford rent. Quarantines and social distancing will create slower revenue and growth in commercial real estate and may cause defaults on commercial loans. New construction projects may be delayed due to supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. Some places, such as major cities in California, have put moratoriums on commercial evictions, which may prevent property managers from being able to collect money or re-lease space, and may create an inability for owners to pay their mortgages or provide dividends to their investors.

According to Cohen & Steers, a real assets investment management firm, hotels, hospitality, senior housing, retail, and offices will be most affected. Meanwhile, single and multi-family housing, cell towers and data centers, industrial, self-storage, and medical will likely be less affected.

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Alts Electronic Business: A Discussion About Today’s Solutions

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Alts Electronic Business: A Discussion About Today’s Solutions

May 8, 2020 | Ryan Gunn | WealthForge

On Tuesday, May 5th, WealthForge CEO, Bill Robbins, spoke on a panel at Blue Vault’s Bowman Alts Week virtual conference entitled “Alts Electronic Business: A Discussion about Today’s Solutions.” He was joined by Sonny Cabral of DTCC, Michael Page of Riskalyze, Gordon Sommer of iCapital, and moderator Richard Thoeny of Docupace.

Blue Vault attendees can view a webcast of the panel here.

The panel began, topically, with how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the alternative investment industry and created an environment where digital processing is a necessity. While the change from paper processing to automation is, as Bill remarked, inevitable, the pandemic has accelerated the pace of that change. In a digital age, investor clients expect their financial resources to be available regardless of what is happening in the world around us. Trust is built on client service and responsiveness. Paper processes do not transition well to the world of remote work, so the industry has been forced to address roadblocks that have existed for years.

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COVID-19 is Creating a Rush on 1031 Exchange Equity

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COVID-19 is Creating a Rush on 1031 Exchange Equity

May 8, 2020 | Bill Robbins | WealthForge

The coronavirus pandemic has had rippling effects on the economy over the past several months, including sending stocks into a bear market and causing the Federal Reserve to drop interest rates to 0%. One part of the economy that tends to be slower to react is commercial real estate. However, 1031 Exchange sponsors are starting to feel the effects and so are their investors. The economic turmoil is expected to create a rush of market participants trying to place investments into a closing window of available product.

PRODUCT SHORTAGES

1031 exchange sponsors operate by acquiring real estate properties in a variety of market segments, including multi-family, student housing, office buildings, medical facilities, self-storage, and more, with a combination of equity and debt financing. Some of these sectors have been hit harder than others. Retail and hospitality have fallen off as people are staying home. Student housing has faced uncertainty as colleges and universities have closed for the spring semester and are now planning for the Fall. Other segments such as medical facilities have continued to perform well throughout the pandemic.

As a result of the uncertainty in the market, the qualifying process for securing loans has recently become more strenuous as banks are tightening their purse strings. CMBS financing has come screeching to a halt, with new availability not expected to open up until the third quarter of 2020. Without debt financing, sponsors’ ability to acquire new properties is severely diminished. As a result, new acquisitions are slowing, and the ones that are coming about are smaller and composed of mostly equity financing.

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Remote Work and Alternative Investments…

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Remote Work and Alternative Investments: How Altigo Enables Financial Professionals to Service Their HNW Clients

March 24, 2020 | Ryan Gunn | WealthForge

In reaction to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, much of America is changing the way they work. Many financial services professionals are turning to remote work. Portfolio management, financial planning, and CRM software may already be part of your practice, and if you weren’t already, you are probably becoming well acquainted with video conferencing.

However, financial professionals that work with high net worth investors that invest in alternative investments may find the transition to work-from-home more difficult than they expected. Many alternative investments still largely rely on paper documents that must be mailed or faxed between investors and advisors. Unless you have been giving out your home address or have a fax machine in your house, subscribing clients to alternative investments is going to be a hassle without making a trip to the office or having an ill-advised in-person meeting.

Luckily, recent changes to regulation and technology now allow some alternative investments to be accessed and subscribed to digitally. Altigo, WealthForge’s straight through processing platform, is designed to streamline the alternative investment process, replacing paper subscription documents with an online information collection workflow, and eliminating mailing through the use of electronic signature. These changes create an opportunity for brokers and advisors to provide their high net worth clients with alternative investments without leaving the comfort and safety of their home.

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An Influential Fintech Line-Up to Advance New “AltsTech Forum”

AIX, AltsTech, AltsTech News, BNY Mellon | Pershing, Centersky, Docupace, Envision Financial Systems, iCapital Network, SS&C, WealthForge

An Influential Fintech Line-Up to Advance New “AltsTech Forum”

December 4, 2019 | Blue Vault staff writer

Technology is quickly changing the landscape for wealth advisors who use alternative investments. To truly understand what best-in-class technology has to offer the alternatives investing space, Blue Vault is extremely pleased to add an AltsTech Forum to next year’s sixth annual Blue Vault Bowman Alts Summit.

With an all-star line-up of technology providers already committed to attend* and more on the way, agendas are currently being developed that will break down and prioritize the discussion to the real heart of the issue, which is to create building blocks to advance solutions for wealth advisors needing help with more efficient ways to process alts investments.

Blue Vault is very pleased to have Angie Fisher of CIM Group lead a team of technology specialists to create the value-packed AltsTech Forum agenda.  Securities attorney Kirk Montgomery, KAM, and technology experts Amber Wallner of Black Creek Group and Jeff LaFayette of Bluerock are collaborating with Fisher to tap into the fundamental issues needing to be addressed.

What can you expect? The industry’s most advanced technology professionals have committed to attend and participate by giving presentations and demonstrations about how their tech platforms are delivering real results, making efficiency a top priority.  There will be panel discussions to address the various issues, as well as challenges, currently needing solutions.  The providers will also be exhibiting to further showcase their solutions and answer questions for attendees.    
 
The AltsTech Forum will be running simultaneously but separately with the traditional product presentation sessions.  Creating dialogue with industry peers and advancing the discussion to find solutions is the purpose of the Forum. 
 
“We think this dual track creates a much richer environment for the attendees,” said Stacy Chitty, Blue Vault managing partner. “While product presentations are being delivered in one room, tech solutions will be advanced in the other.  We’re excited about the participation commitments we’ve received so far.  While technology has lagged in the alts space in the past, technology cannot be ignored or lag anymore.”
 
Stay-tuned as we continue to roll out the details of the AltsTech Forum. Follow the latest event happenings via the hashtag #AltsSummit2020.

*As of December 4, the following professional services providers have committed to attend and exhibit at the Summit: AIX, Artivest, Boing Dynamics, BNY Mellon/Pershing, Centersky, Docupace, Envision Financial Systems, iCapital, Riskalyze, SS&C /ALPS, and WealthForge.

In case you missed it, Blue Vault recently hosted a webinar titled, “How is Technology advancing Alternative Investments?” Moderated by Angie Fisher of CIM Group, panelists included Mike Huisman of Envision Financial Systems, Inc., Michael Page of Riskalyze, and Kevin Zwick of WealthForge. To visit that one-hour webinar, click here.