Mercer Investments' Gregg Sommer & CAIS' Neil Blundell - following the fast river of alts

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

On today’s episode, we are joined by Mercer Investments’ US Financial Intermediaries Leader Gregg Sommer and CAIS’ MD and Head of Investments Neil Blundell.

Gregg and Neil bring deep experience and backgrounds in private markets to discuss how alternatives can be further adopted by the wealth channel.

Gregg is Mercer’s US Financial Intermediaries Leader, serving US wealth management and family office clients. He is a member of Mercer’s Wealth Leadership Team, Wealth Management Strategic Research and Investment Committees, and the Investment Policy Committee. He joined Mercer’s Investments business in 2009 and is based in Denver. Gregg began his career at U.S. Trust and over the last 35 years has held several executive positions in the investment industry. He has a comprehensive investment, business, and risk management background and has managed many successful investment teams focused on risk assessment, asset allocation, due diligence, portfolio management, organizational evaluation, and financial analysis across both private and public investment strategies. Gregg served as Chief Financial and Operating Officer of a firm that managed real estate and private equity and debt portfolios and has been a Principal and Portfolio Risk Officer for RCM, a Commodity Trading Advisor. Additionally, he was a founding Partner at Global Trading Partners, a trading firm focused on global market relationships.

Neil brings over 20 years of experience in private markets to CAIS. He recently worked at Invesco as the Global Head of Client Solutions and Alternatives for the Investment Solutions team. He was responsible for developing and managing over $90B in customized multi-asset investment strategies spanning both traditional and alternative solutions and was a member of the team’s executive committee, investment committee, and chair of the alternative investment committee. Prior to Invesco, Neil was at BlackRock for 10+ years, where he was most recently Managing Director and Alternatives Platform Head within the Institutional Client Business.

Gregg, Neil, and I had a fascinating discussion about how the wealth channel can approach alternatives and how they can think about both diligence and customization. We covered:

• The case for alternatives.
• How advisors currently approach alternatives and how they can think about it differently going forward.
• How to think about portfolio construction that includes alternatives.
• How alts can help advisors differentiate their practice and attract clients.
• Following the fast river in a career and why alternatives are “the fast river.”
• The meaning of “structure over strategy.”
• The rise in popularity of evergreen funds.

Thanks Gregg and Neil for coming on the show to share your views and experience in private markets. We hope you enjoy.

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency. 

To assist with th