Alternative investments are surging in popularity, but how do distributors, asset managers, and advisors adapt? While the appetite for alternatives continues to rise, education remains one of the biggest hurdles to widespread adoption. Managing alternatives requires more than just a basic understanding. It demands deep, specialized expertise. Despite significant investments in training and educational initiatives, the need for deeper expertise remains critical.
In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Neil Bathon, Managing Partner at FUSE Research Network, about the latest trends in alternative investments. Neil shares insights from FUSE’s recent study on alternative distribution, diving into key findings on education gaps, sales strategies, and the importance of partnerships in alts adoption.
In this episode:
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(00:00) – Intro
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(01:47) – About FUSE Research Network
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(04:54) – FUSE’s alts distribution research findings
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(06:09) – The importance of education in alts adoption
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(07:38) – Neil’s advice for firms entering the alts market
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(09:04) – Why partnerships are critical
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(11:33) – How alts can be incorporated into asset allocation
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(12:58) – Managing client expectations
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(16:48) – Neil’s recommendations for investing in alts
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(19:18) – How alternative assets benefit distributors, advisors, and asset managers
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(20:00) – Neil’s key takeaways
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(21:13) – Neil’s interests outside of work
Quotes
“Distributors are making clear that despite many educational initiatives for years, some of these traditional firms have big institutes or universities specifically to help bring advisors along, but there’s still an enormous need for additional education.” ~ Neil Bathon
“Some of these alternatives can get very complicated. You need to make a significant investment in educating your sales team and your marketing team. You really have to back them up with specialists who can go this third, fourth, or fifth level deep.” ~ Neil Bathon
“Partnership of some form is the way to go for most firms if they’re not already firmly in the alternative business.” ~ Neil Bathon
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