Johnathan Rickman | Blue Vault
Maintaining access to a bevy of retail-friendly alternative investment options and Blue Vault membership helps strengthen Creative Capital Wealth Management Group’s (CCWMG) advisory strategy, or “playbook,” and has allowed the firm to grow and compete with the Vanguards and BlackRocks of the world, says CEO and Chief Wealth Strategist Fred Hubler. For the last year, Fred has been the voice of alternative investments as an online contributor to Forbes.
An inspiring tale of how one advisor broke free of the cubicle farm and went independent, CCWMG is built from the idea that wealth cannot be grown from mutual funds and other listed-market solutions alone. “There are only so many tickers out there, and everyone owns, within mutual funds, the same 1,200 things,” Hubler, the firm’s founder, said.
Thus, Hubler looked to accredited, alternative investments to both build and differentiate his practice, positioning himself within an industry niche that has since blossomed from a mere buzzword to a $22 trillion industry representing 15% of global assets under management.1 Hubler saw alts as a good solution for high-net-worth individuals seeking both wealth management planning and solutions for investing money tied up in real estate.
Hubler’s advice to advisors just dabbling in alternative investments: “Do it, don’t dabble. I’m doing it and I’m getting your clients,” he jokes.
Advice or Access
CCWMG, an alts-focused advisory firm founded in 2003 with headquarters in Chester Springs, PA — literally, Vanguard’s backyard — helps high-net-worth individuals access institutional strategies and platforms in 34 states. The firm offers both retainer-based planning and full-service asset management for individual investors and business owners.
CCWMG has been busy with about $30 million just this quarter in inflows from people selling their main investment in real estate and doing a 1031 into tax-advantaged alternative investment offerings like DST’s and opportunity zones. While not every one of its individual working professional or retiree clients can access accredited investments, Hubler says the firm takes pains to pad its playbook with alts strategies pre-packaged with lighter accreditation—a trend increasingly embraced by sponsors. “I want [non-accredited clients] to have the same type of investment as they could if they had an extra zero on their account balance.”
Hubler says he typically looks for “stress-tested sponsors” that have weathered multiple cycles but is also open to newer sponsors with new ideas. He says SEI is a go-to for managed-money strategies, ExchangeRight and Inland for DSTs, and Cantor Fitzgerald for Reg D offerings and
their infrastructure program. Those picks also reflect continuous relationship-building, Hubler adds.
Including Hubler, who also sits on Blue Vault’s Advisor Board, CCWMG has 10 full-time salaried advisors and CFPs on staff. Hubler oversees an in-house investment committee that regularly assesses the firm’s playbook, which he says might undergo occasional adjustments to reflect industry trends or new information that comes to light.
Blue Vault Validation
Hubler says his firm’s playbook might get updated after double-checking a sponsor’s sanctioned product information with objective performance data and analysis that Blue Vault provides for its members. “The sponsor is a sales person; they’re not going to tell you the warts. But when you look at Blue Vault, you can compare one to another. Blue Vault’s data is very useful.”
Learn more about Creative Capital Wealth Management Group and consider joining them in becoming a Blue Vault member today!
References
1 https://caia.org/content/january-2024-next-20-trillion-alternative-investments
