Preparing For The SEC Liquid Alts Sweep

Alternative mutual funds, or liquid alts, are still a new phenomenon, with few extending back to before the financial crisis, but total assets under management are estimated to have already past the $200 billion mark. Whether it’s an alternative fund manager wrapping his strategy in 1940 Act regulations to tap the retail market or mutual fund managers branching out to win back the clients they are losing to ETFs, someone is learning on the fly and the Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a coordinated review of 25 institutions that run liquid alt funds to make sure that risk is being adequately assessed and communicated to investors.