CAIS Live Conversations, Building With Alts

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 navigating product innovation and market structure, this conversation may offer practical insight into how structured ETFs could fit within modern portfolio construction. Chapters What Is REX Shares? Innovation in ETFs (00:02:52) ETF Market Growth & Advisor Flows (00:05:00) The Evolution of Structured Investments (00:06:02) The CAIS & REX Collaboration: ACTL Autocallable Income ETF (00:11:59) Portfolio Construction: Where ACTL May Fit (00:15:37) Covered Call ETFs, Alternative Income & Defined Outcome Strategies (00:17:18)Market Outlook: Volatility, Geopolitics & Positioning (00:21:35) The Future of Structured ETFs & Defined Income (00:26:35) Advisor Education & Structured Notes (00:29:52)  10. Career Advice: Relationships & Mean Reversion (00:34:10) 

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 purpose. For financial advisors navigating a fast-moving macro environment, this episode offers a, client-first perspective on portfolio construction and the discipline required to stay the course. 

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 financial services and private markets.Chapter 2: When Defense Stops Working [00:03:52] Why the financial crisis forced firms to rethink silence-first communications—and what changed after.Chapter 3: Why Wealth Is the Biggest Tailwind [00:08:53] How private market firms began realizing brand matters once wealth entered the picture.Chapter 4: Institutional vs. Wealth Marketing [00:13:45] Why reaching advisors requires a fundamentally different approach.Chapter 5: Nailing the Narrative [00:16:36] Jen explains why simple, differentiated messaging beats complexity in private markets.Chapter 6: AI and Reputation Management [00:20:32] How AI is reshaping perception, trust, and the future of reputation for firms and leaders.

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.  Jenny’s Story: Growing Up in the Franklin Templeton Business (00:00:23)Culture and Long-Term Innovation: “Client First” + The Three C’s (00:04:39)Macro Signals Franklin Is Watching: Rates, Productivity, and the Yield Curve (00:07:44)AI at Franklin: Investment, Distribution, and Operational Use Cases (00:10:20)Tokenization + Public/Private Convergence: What’s Next for Access and Infrastructure (00:14:47)

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. Agentic AI [00:01:22]Chapter 2 — Why Agentic AI Changes the Economics [00:03:53]Chapter 3 — Will AI Disrupt Software? [00:06:58]Chapter 4 — Three Futures for Software Companies [00:08:34]Chapter 5 — Speed as the New Moat [00:10:46]Chapter 6 — Reinventing the Go-to-Market Motion [00:13:19]Chapter 7 — Rethinking Software Development [00:20:17]Chapter 8 — Precision in Enterprise AI [00:21:35]Chapter 9 — A New Industrial Revolution [00:29:26]Chapter 10 — The Future of Work and Redeployment [00:37:51]

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 infrastructure for alternatives.Chapter 2 / 00:07:44 / The AI Dividend Why replatforming and data consolidation are the foundation for applying AI effectively.Chapter 3 / 00:09:59 / Introducing CAISey How CAISey serves as an intelligent alts solution for both new and experienced advisors.Chapter 4 / 00:12:36 / Data Integrity & Trust “You can only get it right if your data is in good shape.”Chapter 5 / 00:15:21 / Scaling With Intelligence How CAISey supports pre-trade, trade, and post-trade workflows as the platform scales.Chapter 6 / 00:18:56 / AI & Industry Collaboration Kan’s vision for an ecosystem where intelligent agents across firms work together.

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 access for advisors.  

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: Framing the Gap—Why Private Markets Lacked Benchmarks (00:04:18–00:09:08) Chapter 3: Building the Benchmark—Data Access, Rules-Based Methodology & Partnership (00:09:08–00:17:18) Chapter 4: Inside the BDC Index—Scope, Use Cases & Investor Experience (00:17:18–00:29:19) Chapter 5: What’s Next—Expanding the Index Suite & Impact for Advisors (00:29:19–00:36:06) 

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 Say “Alts” [11:58] Chapter 4. Designing the Purpose-Driven Wealth Experience [18:50] Chapter 5. What Leah Thinks Might Break the $84 Trillion Wealth Transfer [25:12] Chapter 6. Tech That Actually Helps Advisors [33:50] Chapter 7. When Public and Private Markets Converge [38:41] Chapter 8. Advice for the Next Generation [43:55]