Alliance160

Alliance160 specializes in the alternative investment sector and offers integrated services for alternative asset managers accessing, or wanting to access capital in the retail capital markets, but are challenged by their lack of knowledge, access, and/or the complexity of the markets. Its services help alternative asset managers make informed decisions based on realistic time, cost, and other expectations when entering or expanding in the retail capital markets.

The combined industry experience and expertise of Alliance160’s five partners form a strong foundation for the breadth and depth of their consulting services. They believe one of their most important differentiators is their ability to see things from the financial advisors and investors perspective when tailoring investment products, sales and marketing materials, and distribution plans for their clients. Given the high barriers to entry into the retail capital markets, missing the mark with advisors and investors can be an expensive misstep in time, money, and reputation.

“We partner with our clients to develop advisor-centric investment products and messaging that cuts through the information overload and addresses things that matter from the advisor’s perspective,” says Martel Day, managing partner at Alliance160.

Alliance160’s comprehensive approach encompasses a welldefined process that enhances a client’s probability for success in the retail capital markets. Their services include strategic direction, product solutions, team building, marketing, and project management. The strategic direction they provide is based on their deep market awareness and allows clients to make fully informed decisions. Product solutions are driven by their longstanding relationships with the regulators, due diligence officers, and advisors. They draw on their extensive database of distribution professionals to source and hire, on behalf of their clients, candidates that are experienced, have existing relationships, and importantly, are a cultural match.

Their marketing services are built on the idea that less is more and are designed to communicate consistency across the client’s brand, investment products, and messaging. Finally, rounding out this well-knit process is the ability to manage what can be an extensive and complex project in an efficient and effective manner.

A typical engagement for an alternative asset manager wanting to enter the retail capital markets begins with a one-to-twoweek educational process covering the magnitude of the retail capital markets opportunity, and highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the retail capital markets distribution channels, various product structures, the competitive set, and distribution options. After completing this educational phase, clients have the option to engage Alliance160 to, over a six-to-eight-week period to time, develop a customized plan for entering the retail capital markets including specific recommendations for which channel(s) to enter, the appropriate product structure and terms, and a detailed distribution and marketing plan for implementing the recommendations. At that point, the client has the option to engage Alliance160 to oversee and implement the recommendations and plans, enter the retail capital market(s), and begin to access retail capital.

Alliance160’s impact can be seen in its recent work with an alternative asset manager that had been successful in the independent broker dealer channel for more than 20 years. Alliance160 worked with this client to re-define its value proposition in a way that clearly differentiated it from its competition, conformed the offering documents including the private placement memorandum so that they were aligned with the re-defined value proposition, designed and simplified the sales and marketing materials to make them more advisor centric, built out the sales team, and manages the sales team today as they close out their largest capital raise in their history.

There are other success stories like this that exemplify Alliance160’s expertise in the retail capital markets. The breadth and depth of their combined experience is widely recognized as unparalleled among consultants in the industry, and their commitment to making sure their clients can make fully informed decisions based on realistic expectations is unwavering.