Curian Capital Adds ETFs Alternatives Asset Class to Custom Style Portfolios

Curian, a registered investment adviser (RIA) that provides a fee-based separately managed account (SMA) platform to financial professionals, said the new optional investment selection gives Curian clients the opportunity to further diversify their investments and enjoy greater choice and flexibility in their investment allocations, according to a press release.

Curian noted that alternatives have the potential to generate positive returns even in adverse economic or market conditions and have long been an important part of portfolios of large institutional investors. Curian said it attempts to provide individual clients with the diversification benefits enjoyed by large investors.

Although almost half (45%) of U.S. investors have begun to understand and reap the benefits of alternative investing, the vast majority of these investments (68%), are directly related to property investments, according to a survey from Schroders (see “Individual Investors Remain Optimist about Equities“).

The release said Curian’s alternatives asset class consists of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), whose underlying investments include commodities, foreign currencies, and private equity. Curian selects the ETFs that make up its alternative asset allocation, but the firm does not directly manage the underlying strategies or specific securities comprising the investments. The new alternatives asset class is an optional investment selection that can be used in conjunction with all of the implementation strategies available on the Curian platform.

As with all Curian Custom Style Portfolios, clients who choose to include the alternatives asset class have unparalleled access to all holdings, transactions and performance data, as well as all costs or fees associated with their accounts, according to the release.