CAIS and BNY Mellon's Pershing team up to extend alts access

Alternative investment platform CAIS is fortifying its relationship with BNY Mellon's Pershing to give financial advisors greater access to alternative investments while keeping costs down.

Last week the firms introduced the CAIS Alts Experience through BNY Mellon's Pershing. The offering provides advisors who use Pershing's alternative investment solutions through the NetX360®+ custodial platform access to more than 300 alternative investment products via CAIS. 

These products now come with no custody or transaction fees for new and existing funds held by Pershing clients.

Officials said the new offering speaks to CAIS and Pershing's shared mission to help independent advisors operate more competitively and facilitate access to leading alternative investment strategies that can help strengthen and diversify their clients' portfolios.

"Our expanded collaboration with BNY Mellon's Pershing creates a more seamless and cost-effective alternative investment experience for participating clients that BNY Mellon's Pershing and CAIS serve," CAIS Chief Operating Officer Brendan Cuddihy said in a statement. "This is the latest development in our relationship, underscoring our joint commitment to supporting the independent advisor."

The CAIS Alts Experience through BNY Mellon's Pershing builds on a partnership between the two sides first forged in 2020. The relationship was expanded in 2022 when CAIS and Pershing unveiled new features, such as automated transactions and the ability to more efficiently browse, research and allocate to alternative investments.

"As investor and advisor demand for alternatives continues to grow, we are focused on providing the best experience we can for our clients," Sareena Dalla Brookshire, chief product officer at BNY Mellon's Pershing, said in a statement. "This offering from CAIS is designed to help advisors transact at scale in a more cost-effective way, with the potential to positively impact outcomes for their clients."

This announcement follows the launch of CAIS Solutions, a new SaaS platform that aims to centralize and streamline alternative investment funds no matter where they are sourced. CAIS Solutions was unveiled at the second annual CAIS Alternative Investment Summit, which was attended by more than 500 independent financial advisors in mid-October.