Envestnet’s Crandall On Alt Manager Selection

Cynthia Crandall, Vice President and Senior Investment Analyst at Envestnet met with Julie Cooling, Founder and CEO, RIA Channel at the 4^th Annual Liquid Alternatives Strategy Summit in New York City to discuss Envestnet’s Select Platform. The manager selection process behind the platform, is a combination of quantitative and qualitative elements, explained Crandall.  Envestnet starts with a group of managers within each asset class, and from there narrows down the list with a series of vetting and analysis.  Once approved, the manager will not only get increased exposure, but also gets Envestnet’s stamp of approval. Previously, alternative managers were lumped into traditional equity and fixed-income group, but moving forward Envestnet aims to build out their offerings in the alternative space. In reference to today’s long bull market run, “Alternative Investments haven’t received the interest that they deserve,” said Crandall. Even though there are a few alternative sub-sectors that are gaining momentum, such as merger activity and futures, Crandall maintained that investors should be looking at alternatives holistically and as a part of a core allocation.