CAIS Expands Advisory Council, Strengthening Collaboration with Independent Wealth Leaders

CAIS, the leading alternative investment platform for independent financial advisors, today announced seven new additions to the CAIS Advisory Council ("CAC" or "the Council"), expanding the perspectives represented on the Council as alternative investments play a growing role in how advisors build portfolios and serve their clients.

The new members bring significant experience in investments, technology, operations and product, representing leading independent wealth firms and join the existing roster of CAC members. The newest members include:

• Araceli Corsini, Head of Alternatives, Wealth Management, MassMutual
• Chloe Reed, Principal, Investment Solutions, Alternative Investments, NewEdge Wealth
• Tuppy Russo, Head of Client Technology and Operations for AllianceBernstein
• Mark Rynasiewicz, Partner and Head of Product, &Partners
• Steve Snyder, Senior Product Leader, Alternatives and SMAs, Edward Jones
• Ben Sullivan, Chief Investment Officer, AE Wealth Management
• Chris Wilde, Managing Director, Portfolio Implementation & Investment Operations, Focus Partners Wealth

Established four years ago, the CAC serves as a forum for leaders across the independent wealth community to engage directly with CAIS leadership on the evolving needs of financial advisors and trends shaping the industry. Their feedback helps inform CAIS' roadmap and broader priorities, including its approach to education, integrations and technology designed to make alternatives easier for advisors to access and incorporate into existing workflows.

"We built the CAIS Advisory Council to provide us with the perspectives of the independent wealth community so that we could shape the future of CAIS and our advisor offerings to meet their needs," said Brad Walker, Co-President of CAIS. "Our CAC brings firsthand insight into how advisors are thinking about alternatives, what challenges we can help solve and what innovative platform offerings would add the most value. Adding this incredible group of leaders strengthens that dialogue as we continue delivering for the advisors and firms we serve."

That dialogue has already shaped CAIS' focus on pairing access with education and reducing the operational complexity of incorporating alternatives into client portfolios, so advisors can spend less time on process and more time with clients. That input includes deeper integration with advisor workflows and technology, as well as tools designed to simplify the alternative investment experience.

"Being part of the CAIS Advisory Council means having a real voice in how the platform evolves for advisors across the industry," said Chris Wilde, Managing Director, Portfolio Implementation & Investment Operations, Focus Partners Wealth. "That means working alongside CAIS to solve the real problems advisors face today and helping shape a platform that can keep up with where this industry is headed."

The expansion of the Council comes amid continued growth across CAIS, as the company completed its capital raise at a valuation of more than $2 billion, with platform transaction volume increasing 53% year-over-year and total platform assets growing 55% in the first half of 2026. CAIS has also broadened the range of solutions available to advisors, adding strategies from nearly 40 new and existing alternative asset managers over the past six months and expanding its platform offerings across CAIS Capital Markets, including structured investments, portfolio hedging solutions, outcome-oriented ETFs and managed strategies.

The CAC will convene at the fifth annual CAIS Summit, held October 12-15, 2026, at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The event brings together more than 1,200 financial advisors, asset managers and industry leaders from across the wealth management ecosystem and will feature programming spanning alternative investments, capital markets, geopolitics, artificial intelligence, sports, media and entertainment and aerospace and defense.

The full list of CAIS Advisory Council members can be found here: https://www.caisgroup.com/our-company/leadership/advisory-council.