Wednesday, September 18th, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
We recently released our August Private Placement Insights. Highlights from the report include:
- As of August 31st, AI Insight covers 164 private placements that are currently raising capital, with an aggregate target raise of $11.5 billion and an aggregate reported raise of $7.3 billion. This includes the 114 private placement funds added to our coverage in 2019.
- 1031 exchanges continue to expand. This is understandable given the long-term run in commercial real estate prices, as investors look to capture gains and defer taxes.
- There were 10 new 1031s added to our coverage in August, with an aggregate target raise of $339.4 million. This is higher than the prior month, and the category remains ahead YoY in terms of new fund formations and aggregate target raise.
Log in or subscribe to AI Insight to further research, sort, compare, and analyze all of the private and public funds in our coverage universe. See who’s new in the industry and what trends are impacting the alts space.
AI Insight’s Industry Reporting capabilities help you review alternative investment trends and historical market data for Private Placements, Non-Traded REITs, BDCs, Closed-End Funds, and Alternative Mutual Funds. Receive up to 24 extensive reports per year to help broaden your alternative investment reviews. Click here to request a sample report.
Watch this tour or request a live demo of AI Insight’s expansive Industry Reports customized to your business needs.
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Chart and data as of August 31, 2019, based on programs activated on the AI Insight platform as of this date.
Activated means the program and education module are live on the AI Insight platform. Subscribers can view and download data for the program and access the respective education module.
On a subscription basis, AI Insight provides informational resources and training to financial professionals regarding alternative investment products and offerings. AI Insight is not affiliated with any issuer of such investments or associated in any manner with any offer or sale of such investments. The information above does not constitute an offer to sell any securities or represent an express or implied opinion on or endorsement of any specific alternative investment opportunity, offering or issuer. This report may not be shared, reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, traded, resold or exploited for any purpose. Copyright © 2019 AI Insight. All Rights Reserved.
Monday, August 19th, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
Have you recently reviewed your policies and procedures around Alternative Mutual Funds? Use the resources below to help your advisors better understand your firm’s best practices. It’s always best to address areas for improvement prior to market corrections, which seem to highlight such deficiencies.
How would you answer the following questions?
- Does your firm approve all fund company mutual funds?
- Is your firm performing the additional due diligence needed based on continued regulatory guidance?
- Does your firm have an efficient solution to establish and enforce best practices?
Related Regulatory References
Watch the video and view this checklist to learn more.
Thursday, August 15th, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
We recently released our July Private Placement Insights. Highlights from the report include:
- AI Insight added 14 new private placements added to our coverage in July.
- This included one new Conservation Easement, the first one added this year.
- This niche strategy is down for the year, along with energy and preferred offerings strategies.
- Conservation Easements have been in somewhat of a hold period due to heightened IRS scrutiny of the appraisal methods used to calculate deductions, as well as the uncertainty over the allegations against one of the industry’s largest sponsors.
- ON DECK: As of August 8th, there is one more conservation easement program coming soon, offered by the same sponsor as the first.
Log in or subscribe to AI Insight to further research, sort, compare, and analyze all of the private and public funds in our coverage universe. See who’s new in the industry and what trends are impacting the alts space.
AI Insight’s Industry Reporting capabilities help you review alternative investment trends and historical market data for Private Placements, Non-Traded REITs, BDCs, Closed-End Funds, and Alternative Mutual Funds. Receive up to 24 extensive reports per year to help broaden your alternative investment reviews. Click here to request a sample report.
Watch this tour or request a live demo of AI Insight’s expansive Industry Reports customized to your business needs.
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Chart and data as of July 31, 2019, based on programs activated on the AI Insight platform as of this date.
Activated means the program and education module are live on the AI Insight platform. Subscribers can view and download data for the program and access the respective education module.
On a subscription basis, AI Insight provides informational resources and training to financial professionals regarding alternative investment products and offerings. AI Insight is not affiliated with any issuer of such investments or associated in any manner with any offer or sale of such investments. The information above does not constitute an offer to sell any securities or represent an express or implied opinion on or endorsement of any specific alternative investment opportunity, offering or issuer. This report may not be shared, reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, traded, resold or exploited for any purpose. Copyright © 2019 AI Insight. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, July 16th, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
We recently released our June Private Placement Insights. AI Insight currently covers 154 private funds that are raising capital, representing over $5 billion in capital raise/AUM. This includes 14 new private placements added to our coverage in June. Highlights from the report include:
- 2019 fund formation overall is on par with 2018. Target raise is lower = smaller average fund size.
- Real estate funds continue to dominate the private placement space.
- 43 new 1031 exchanges and 21 new non-1031 real estate funds have been added to our coverage in 2019.
- 8 qualified opportunity zone funds have been added in 2019 with more coming soon. However, raise is slow, with the funds reporting an aggregate raise of 11.9% of target.
- Other niche strategies (energy, conservation easements, preferred offerings) are down for the year.
Log in or subscribe to AI Insight to further research, sort, compare, and analyze all of the private and public funds in our coverage universe. See who’s new in the industry and what trends are impacting the alts space.
AI Insight’s Industry Reporting capabilities help you review alternative investment trends and historical market data for Private Placements, Non-Traded REITs, BDCs, Closed-End Funds, and Alternative Mutual Funds. Receive up to 24 extensive reports per year to help broaden your alternative investment reviews.
Watch this tour or request a live demo of AI Insight’s expansive Industry Reports customized to your business needs.
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Chart and data as of June 30, 2019, based on programs activated on the AI Insight platform as of this date.
Activated means the program and education module are live on the AI Insight platform. Subscribers can view and download data for the program and access the respective education module.
On a subscription basis, AI Insight provides informational resources and training to financial professionals regarding alternative investment products and offerings. AI Insight is not affiliated with any issuer of such investments or associated in any manner with any offer or sale of such investments. The information above does not constitute an offer to sell any securities or represent an express or implied opinion on or endorsement of any specific alternative investment opportunity, offering or issuer. This report may not be shared, reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, traded, resold or exploited for any purpose. Copyright © 2019 AI Insight. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, June 14th, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
AI Insight is a platinum sponsor of Real Assets Adviser. Read the articles contributed by our staff in this month’s issue:
- “2018 by the numbers: A performance review of non-traded REITs in the year past“, by Laura Sexton, who serves on the magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board.
- “Alt funds: Tepid numbers but low volatility“, by Lou Johnson, CFA, covers alternative mutual fund performance and reporting.
Real Assets Adviser is a monthly publication dedicated to providing actionable information on the real assets class to the broader private wealth community.
- Log in to your Real Assets Adviser account to view the June issue.
- Not a subscriber? Sign up for your free 1-, 2- or 3-year subscription to Real Assets Adviser.
Friday, June 7th, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
AI Insight recently added Industry Reporting capabilities to help you review alternative investment trends and historical market data for Private Placements, Non-Traded REITs, BDCs, and Closed-End Funds, and Alternative Mutual Funds. You can receive up to 24 extensive reports per year to help broaden your alternative investment reviews. Read an overview of AI Insight’s expansive coverage as of May 31, 2019:
- AI Insight currently covers 145 private funds that are raising capital, representing just over $5 billion in capital raise/AUM. This includes 20 new funds added to our coverage in May, which was a significant month in terms of new fund formation.
- Five new opportunity zone funds have been added to our coverage YTD, including two in May, for an aggregate target raise of $640.0 million. Target raise ranges from $30 million to $275 million.
- Geographic focus ranges from specifically Maryland to the broader United States. Two funds are blind pool funds focused on hospitality, one is a blind pool fund focused on multifamily, and two are focused on specific mixed-use development projects.
Log in or subscribe to AI Insight to further research, sort, compare, and analyze all of the private and public funds in our coverage universe. Plus, you can view more stats on other private placement categories and access Excel charts of this data.
Watch this tour or request a live demo of AI Insight’s expansive Industry Reports customized to your business needs.
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Data as of May 31, 2019, based on programs activated on the AI Insight platform as of this date.
Activated means the program and education module are live on the AI Insight platform. Subscribers can view and download data for the program and access the respective education module.
On a subscription basis, AI Insight provides informational resources and training to financial professionals regarding alternative investment products and offerings. AI Insight is not affiliated with any issuer of such investments or associated in any manner with any offer or sale of such investments. The information above does not constitute an offer to sell any securities or represent an express or implied opinion on or endorsement of any specific alternative investment opportunity, offering or issuer. This report may not be shared, reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, traded, resold or exploited for any purpose. Copyright © 2019 AI Insight. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, May 28th, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
Improve your research process using AI Insight’s Alternative Mutual Fund Research capabilities. Our alternatives-centric strategy provides comprehensive information covering investment methods to help you apply liquid alternatives in your practice. Watch a short tour
- Conduct Research: Use reports to research quantitative and qualitative data including fund
company, strategy and investment advisor overviews.
- Understand Fund Strategies: Research strategies including managed futures, long-short, market
neutral and alternative allocation.
- Track Performance: Stay current with performance using portfolio-oriented peer groups and
strategy-based benchmarks for comparison insight.
- Grow Your Business: Use tools to expand your knowledge and track your due diligence efforts
to more confidently identify and apply alternative investment solutions.
Thursday, February 7th, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
More advisors are working with alternatives as they become more accessible to average investors through the recent evolution of Alternative Mutual Funds. Cerulli’s recent report, “U.S. Alternative Investments 2018: Accessing Evolving Alternative Platforms“, focuses on trends in the U.S. alternative asset market. It concludes that more than 37% of advisors are working with alternative mutual funds.
However, other data tells us that advisors may not have the resources they need to research and apply alternative mutual funds in their practices. According to Investment News, about 67% of advisors say lack of understanding is one of the main reasons why they don’t use alternatives more frequently in their asset allocation models.
Get started now with 3 easy steps to help advisors understand the complexities of alternative mutual funds and help them remain regulatory-compliant.
- First, take 3 minutes to read this Q&A and gain a basic understanding of how Alternative Mutual Funds differ from traditional funds, learn how to address regulatory requirements and view our extensive list of resources.
- Next, take the CE course, “Introduction to Alternative Mutual Funds“ to understand key aspects, benefits and risks of these complex products.
- Finally, request a demo customized to your business needs to take a closer look at how an alternative-centered focus on research on various strategies including managed futures, long-short, market neutral and alternative allocation can help create efficiencies in your business.
Friday, February 1st, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
FINRA recently issued its 2019 Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter along with its 2018 Examinations Finding Report. These reports highlight, among other things, the continued focus on client suitability and overconcentration in non-traded investments, and the need for reasonable due diligence for private placements that is well documented.
Specifically, the 2019 Priorities Letter states,
“As always, suitability will remain one of FINRA’s top priorities. This year, some of the specific areas on which we may focus include: (1) deficient quantitative suitability determinations or related supervisory controls; (2) overconcentration in illiquid securities, such as variable annuities, non-traded alternative investments and securities sold through private placements; and (3) recommendations to purchase share classes that are not in line with the customer’s investment time horizon or hold for a period that is inconsistent with the security’s performance characteristics…”
The 2018 Findings Report stated,
“FINRA has observed instances where some firms that have suitability obligations under FINRA Rule 2111 (Suitability) failed to conduct reasonable diligence on private placements and failed to meet their supervisory requirements under FINRA Rule 3110 (Supervision). FINRA Regulatory Notice 10-22 describes the circumstances under which firms have an obligation to conduct a “reasonable investigation” by evaluating “the issuer and its management; the business prospects of the issuer; the assets held by or to be acquired by the issuer; the claims being made; and the intended use of proceeds of the offering.”
Additionally, in the 2018 Findings Report, FINRA outlines the characteristics of firms that have performed reasonable due diligence, and reminds firms conducting due diligence of their obligation to document both the “process and results” of such reasonable due diligence analysis.
Key Takeaways
- Carefully review and understand the specific suitability requirements for each non-traded or private placement program utilized, and ensure that your firm has a documented process in place to monitor the compliance with suitability requirements.
- Perform a “reasonable investigation” of all complex products, focusing on the specific factors outlined by FINRA in the 2018 Findings Report. For further guidance on what constitutes a “reasonable investigation,” review FINRA Regulatory Notice 10-22.
- Document the due diligence process – remember, if it isn’t documented, it was never done.
- If utilizing third party due diligence vendors, ensure that your firm independently investigates any red flags identified, and document your firm’s investigation and findings.
Let AI Insight help you stay Compliant
- Unbiased education: Access product-specific training on the features, risks and suitability for hundreds of offerings.
- Conduct research: Create efficiencies in your due diligence review process using our robust database to source new products as well as analyze and compare hundreds of alternative investment programs, including non-traded programs, private placements, and alternative mutual funds.
- Compliance documentation: Demonstrate what you’re doing to support your firm’s regulatory requirements in a transparent way. AI Insight captures all of the activity your firm members complete within the platform including training modules, offering document reviews and research conducted.
Resources
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2019 and is filed under AI Insight News
- Seven conservation easement programs activated on the AI Insight platform in November for a total of $78.2 million in aggregate offering amount for the month.
- The category is positioned to meet or exceed its record in 2016, with four programs coming soon for a total of $35.5 million in aggregate offering amount.
Additional Resources
Coming soon:
- AI Insight is introducing Industry Reporting in the first quarter of 2019, which will include this data and many more insights into key non-traded markets. To inquire about accessing these expansive data reports, please contact us directly.
- AI Insight CE Course – Conservation Easements. View the course catalog
