As a financial services entrepreneur, Mat Dellorso was bullish on alternative investments but knew what a bear they were to process. After cofounding the Richmond, VA-based managing broker-dealer WealthForge in 2009, he knew the alts-focused firm needed a solution to help it streamline the cumbersome, paper-intensive alts subscription process.
With help from a growing team, Dellorso founded Altigo, one of the first end-to-end solutions for alternative investments to hit the market. The platform quickly scaled up, helping advisors connect with fund managers and over 300 available funds.
Meanwhile, SEI, a global provider of financial technology, operations, and asset management services, saw the need for alts growth and scale within its business and acquired Altigo in December 2023.
In this Q&A, Mat Dellorso, Managing Director of SEI Access™, discusses how technology stands to exponentially expand the alts market and the role that SEI Access will play in that transformation.
You’re a big believer in technology’s ability to expand access to alts. How’s that going so far?
I find it fascinating that while alternative investment use is on the rise, many advisors continue to report administrative headaches and paperwork associated with alts as an obstacle.1 And allocations to alts in retail investor portfolios remain at a stubbornly low 6% rate.2 Meanwhile, Prequin projects that alts are going to grow from a roughly $15 trillion industry in 2022 to $24 trillion in 2028.3
SEI Access, built from Altigo’s technology, has steadily grown its client base of registered investment advisors, broker-dealers, alternative investment fund managers, and private banks — all of whom want to galvanize on those alts projections.
What do fund managers stand to gain from this technology?
Fund managers are also trying to access retail wealth channels and work with wealth advisors, many of whom are looking for ways to differentiate their business and do more with alts. SEI Access is that connecting technology that allows those market participants to do business together.
What is SEI Access?
SEI Access is an end-to-end alternatives platform designed to improve the product selection and investment experience for alts investors. Fund managers use it to access a wider distribution network and manage the subscription process more easily. The platform’s smart workflow combines electronic subscription documents, proprietary firm paperwork, custodian forms, and e-signature capabilities to help ensure fast and accurate transaction processing.
As of December 31, 2024, SEI Access supports more than 250 wealth management firms and 165 fund managers, providing access to approximately 300 alternative investment funds.
What’s next for SEI Access?
We just launched the Marketplace, an important next step toward creating a true end-to-end alternative investment experience. In addition to giving advisors a way to discover, learn about and invest in alternative investments, we will continue to build out additional educational resources about alts. This meets an important need among advisors to better understand alternative investments and make informed decisions on behalf of clients.
What would you tell a wealth advisor who is interested in alts but isn’t sure where to begin?
It’s important for advisors to be educated about alts and speak with their clients about benefits and potential risks. We provide educational content as part of our solution for advisors to help in that effort.
Learn more about SEI Access.
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