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Company: Mariner
How Mariner Expands Private Market and Structured Note Access and Advisor Education With CAIS
Read how Mariner uses the CAIS platform, technology, and educational resources to support the firm in expanding advisor engagement and streamlining access to private investments and structured notes.
The Challenge
Scaling Private Markets for a National Advisor Network
As Mariner grew, so did its need for a more robust approach to private markets. Michael Glennon, Managing Director, Investment Strategy & Private Investments, was hired “to … launch a platform of private investments at Mariner,” noting that advisors needed both a cohesive product menu and support navigating alternatives.
But the team faced two major hurdles. First, advisors across 43 states required consistent education and clear points of contact to build confidence in private markets. Second, operational friction—from manual subscription workflows to dispersed documentation—risked slowing adoption. Glennon underscores the challenge: the goal was “to remove as much of the manual processes [and] make it as easy for advisors as possible to transact.
The Solution
Technology, Education, and Access to Alternative Investments
From the outset, Mariner evaluated whether to look externally for a platform that supports access, education, and operational workflow for private markets. “The first question when I joined Mariner was ‘do we want to partner with an external party, and who should that be to help facilitate access within private investments and remove as much friction as possible from that … process?” Glennon explains. Mariner decided to leverage CAIS to solve these challenges for several reasons.
Force Multipliers for Advisor Education
Glennon describes CAIS as “force multipliers out in the market,” citing both people and platform resources designed to elevate advisor knowledge. He highlights CAIS IQ’s “huge amount of content … to help build out private investments knowledge on [advisors’] own.”
Reducing Manual Efforts Through Technology
A major area of impact has been workflow digitization. From integrated investor profiles to electronic signatures and custodian connectivity, Glennon emphasizes CAIS’ ability to streamline the lifecycle, “really helping [Mariner’s] CSAs, advisors, and [their] whole operations team … make the transactional and reporting process as [streamlined] as possible.”
Expanding Manager Access and Idea
Access to a broader and more varied fund menu was also key. Glennon notes that the “ecosystem of managers … has been a huge source of new ideas, of new potential offerings” to support Mariner’s platform.
Structured Investments as a Parallel Growth Engine
Structured investments represent another area where CAIS supports providing access. Glennon explains that the CAIS Capital Markets team provides education for a complex product area, which has “really helped spur adoption” across the firm.
What’s Next
Enhancing Solutions and Streamlining Workflows Across Alts
Looking ahead, Glennon sees private markets continuing to evolve, and he expects Mariner’s collaboration with CAIS to evolve with it. He describes the space as “constantly in motion” with “new innovation, … new fund structures, new fund ideas.”
Mariner aims to build more solutions-based approaches, including model portfolios for alternatives and enhanced reporting experiences. Glennon emphasizes the broader mission: “Our ethos is to positively impact the lives of many, and [in my view,] private investments … can be a part of that.”
As advisor demand grows, CAIS’ technology, education, and access to alternative investments may help Mariner meet clients where they are, across investor levels and across the country.
Goals
Build a comprehensive private markets offering that supports advisor engagement
Enhance advisor education and confidence in private investments and structured notes
Reduce manual efforts through technology-enabled transaction and reporting processes
Please note the following testimonial disclosures, as required by applicable regulations. Individuals featured work for organizations that are CAIS platform users and have received no compensation for this testimonial. Please note that no testimonial is necessarily representative of the experience of other users of CAIS, or guarantees any future investment performance or success. The views and opinions expressed by the subjects herein, as of the date published, solely reflect the views and opinions of the speaker (and not necessarily the views of CAIS or the broader financial industry) and are subject to change without notice. This testimonial is provided solely for discussion purposes for investment professional use and does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell fund interests, securities, and/or any other financial instruments or products, or constitute a solicitation on behalf of CAIS or any investment managers, their affiliates, products or strategies. Any such offer or solicitation may only be made pursuant to the delivery of formal offering documents.
Mariner is the marketing name for the financial services businesses of Mariner Wealth Advisors, LLC and its subsidiaries. Investment advisory services are provided through the brands Mariner Wealth, Mariner Independent, Mariner Institutional, Mariner Ultra, and Mariner Workplace, each of which is a business name of the registered investment advisory entities of Mariner. For additional information about each of the registered investment advisory entities of Mariner, including fees and services, please contact Mariner or refer to each entity’s Form ADV Part 2A, which is available on the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov). Registration of an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
CAIS has been great at both working with our advisors and being a force multiplier out in the market from a transactional experience
Michael Glennon, Managing Director, Investment Strategy & Private Investments, Mariner
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