How to Get Started with Alternative Investments: A Reference for RIAs, Broker-Dealers, and Fintech

The momentum is undeniable. Alternative investments are becoming a standard portfolio component, especially among next-gen investors who are actively seeking diversification beyond traditional stocks and bonds. If your firm hasn’t considered offering alts yet, the time could be now. 

While the opportunity is real, so are the questions: Where do you start? What regulatory requirements must you meet? How do you integrate alternatives into your existing infrastructure without creating operational chaos? 

In February 2026, when this blog was written, Apex Alts officially launched with Pre-IPO Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) as its first available asset class, providing investment access to companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, Stripe, and SpaceX.¹ We’ll be adding more funds and fund issuers to our Alts Marketplace throughout 2026. Get started now for seamless access to new assets as soon as they’re available. 

This guide breaks down what Apex requires of correspondents who want to offer  alternative investments, whether you’re an RIA, broker-dealer, or fintech platform. 

Why the Demand for Alternative Investments Keeps Growing 

Before we dive into the how, let’s revisit the why. The momentum behind alternative investments is accelerating. Investor demand is being driven by two powerful forces: Access to high-growth private companies that were previously out of reach, and a fundamental shift in how portfolios are constructed. We’ve covered the broader market dynamics in our previous blog, “Why Alternative Investments Are Generating Interest Now,”  but let’s look at what’s driving the surge now.² 

Pre-IPO SPVs: Capturing Growth Before Companies Go Public 

One of the biggest drivers of demand? Access to Pre-IPO Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) that provide exposure to high-growth private companies before they go public. Companies are staying private longer than ever before; the average time from founding to IPO has increased from four years in the 1990s to over 11 years today. This means some of the most explosive growth happens while companies are still private, and retail investors have historically been locked out. 

That’s changing. Through Pre-IPO SPVs, accredited investors can now access companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe, and Perplexity. Companies that are reshaping entire industries and building toward eventual IPOs. 

The appeal is straightforward: Investors who get in before the IPO have the potential to capture the value creation that can happen in those final private years. This is the same access that venture capital firms and institutional investors have enjoyed for decades, now available through a simplified SPV structure with investment minimums as low as $5,000. 

This is exactly why Apex Alts launched with Pre-IPO SPVs as our first alternative asset class. The demand is real, and the infrastructure is now in place to make these investments more accessible, manageable, and transparent through unified brokerage accounts. 

The Market Data Backs This Up 

Retail investor participation is increasing. In 2025, U.S. retail volume for alternative investments reached $122 billion, beating the previous record set in 2022.³ A State Street survey of 500 senior executives at top buy-side firms found that 55% believe that within one to two years, half of all private market investing will come from retail investors.³ 

Private credit is experiencing unprecedented growth. Global private credit market assets under management grew to $3.5 trillion by the end of 2024, up 17% from the previous year.⁴ Cerulli Research expected their current estimate of advisor-intermediated illiquid alternative assets to grow from $1.4 trillion in 2024 to $2.4 trillion by 2029.⁵ Morgan Stanley recently estimated the private credit market at $3 trillion in 2025, projecting it to grow to $5 trillion by the end of 2029.⁶ 

Major wealth management firms are moving quickly. In 2025, Edward Jones began selling alternative investments to clients with $10 million or more in assets.⁷ Blackstone, Wellington Management, and Vanguard announced they’re working together to build a platform for retail investors to access private alternative assets, opening access to tens of thousands of financial advisors.⁷ 

Regulatory tailwinds are helping build momentum. A presidential executive order signed in August 2025 directs the Department of Labor and the SEC to reexamine guidance around offering alternative assets in 401(k) plans.⁸ This could open alts access to millions of retirement savers who previously didn’t have these opportunities. 

The total addressable market is enormous. Global alternative assets under management are forecast to reach $29.2 trillion by 2029, nearly doubling from approximately $16.8 trillion in 2023.⁹ 

The landscape is changing and the competition is fierce. Are you ready? 

What Makes Apex Alts Different 

Traditional alternative investment offerings are fragmented, manual, and operationally complex. Many custodians rely on specialty custodians, or a patchwork of loosely connected third-party providers to handle alternatives, creating integration challenges, reconciliation headaches, and operational friction.  

Apex Alts is different. We’re one of the few custodians that directly custodies and clears alternative assets in-house. This custodian-built infrastructure means alternatives live in the same unified brokerage account as traditional assets—no other custodial integration required. Your clients can manage their entire portfolio, including stocks, bonds, ETFs, and alternatives, in one place, with one custodian, through one integrated experience. 

This matters because Apex powers some of the most popular investing apps and platforms serving millions of investors. We’re democratizing access to alternatives at scale, enabling firms of all sizes to offer what was once available only through specialized wealth management platforms. 

Our alternative assets platform includes: 

• Direct custody and clearing. Apex custodies and clears alternatives in-house, eliminating the need for specialty custodians or multiple vendor integrations 

• A unified brokerage account that holds both traditional and alternative assets, eliminating the need for multiple custodians 

• An extensive Alts Marketplace with access to thousands of funds across multiple alternative asset types from leading fund issuers, including Pre-IPO SPVs, hedge funds, funds of funds, private equity, non-traded REITs, private company shares, private credit, limited partnership interests, and business development companies (BDCs), with more being added throughout 2026 

• Flexible integration options. Build custom investing experiences using our comprehensive API documentation or accelerate your launch with white-label UI components through Monark Markets. 

• Integrated, streamlined workflows that automate subscription documents, investor accreditation attestations, and digital e-signature processing 

• Real-time data and reporting built on our cloud-native AscendOS™ platform, giving advisors and investors transparency into positions, performance, and tax reporting 

This infrastructure enables firms of all sizes to offer and manage alternatives at scale. 

 

Step 1: Understand Your Regulatory Requirements 

Before you can offer alternative investments, you need to understand the specific regulatory requirements that apply to your firm, which can vary depending on your business model. 

Registered Investment Advisors, broker-dealers, and fintech platforms each operate under different regulatory frameworks with distinct obligations around licensing, registration, investor verification, compliance oversight, and reporting. The specific requirements depend on factors like your firm’s structure, the types of securities you offer, whether you provide investment advice or execute transactions, and the jurisdictions where you operate. 

We recommend working with experienced legal and compliance counsel to understand which rules apply to your firm and how to implement the necessary policies, procedures, and controls before launching alternative investment offerings. Regulatory requirements are complex and evolving, and professional guidance helps you build a compliant foundation from day one. 

 

 

Step 2: Integrate with AscendOS™ 

Before you can offer alternatives through Apex Alts, you need to integrate with our AscendOS™ platform. This is the foundation that powers everything from account opening to custody and reporting. 

If you’re already an Apex client using AscendOS™ for traditional assets, adding alternatives is a natural extension of your existing integration. If you’re new to Apex, you’ll need to complete the AscendOS™ integration first, which gives you access to our full suite of clearing, custody, and trading capabilities. Learn more about AscendOS™ by reading “Message to CEOs: Use Apex AscendOS™ to attract younger investors.”¹⁰   

Step 3: Choose Your Alternative Investments Platform Integration Approach for Apex Alts 

The journey to offering alternatives begins with a choice. It’s less about a rigid, one-size-fits-all integration and more about mixing and matching to fit your needs. 

Option 1: Build your own experience 

Use our flexible APIs to create a fully custom user experience from the ground up. This gives you the most control over the look, feel, and workflow. 

Option 2: Embed pre-built experiences 

Accelerate your launch by using our front-end SDKs and white-label UIs or through Monark Market’s pre-built UI. This allows you to embed a ready-made, brandable alts experience directly into your existing application with less development effort. 

Most firms find success with a hybrid approach, using our pre-built components for core functionality while customizing key touchpoints to match their brand. 

Step 4: Integrate the Core Technical Components 

If you choose to build your own experience, the technical integration focuses on connecting to our suite of real-time APIs. Here’s what that looks like: 

Connect and authenticate: The first step is to establish a secure connection to our systems. You’ll use our APIs to handle authentication and user permissions, ensuring the right people have the right access. 

Manage accounts and investors: Next, you’ll integrate with our account management APIs. This allows you to open new accounts, manage client profiles, and run investor accreditation attestations in real time. 

Enable fund discovery and subscription: You’ll connect to the Apex Alts Marketplace to pull in the array of available funds. From there, you use our APIs to manage the digital subscription process, automating everything from document delivery to e-signature processing. 

Handle post-trade activity: Once an investment is made, you’ll use our APIs for clearing, custody, and reporting. This includes receiving real-time updates on positions, corporate actions, investor communications, and tax reporting data. 

How Many APIs Are There? 

It’s not a single “Alts API,” but rather a comprehensive suite of services that comprise Apex AscendOS™. Because Apex Alts is deeply integrated into our custodial platform, you are plugging into a robust set of capabilities that work together. 

These services cover functional areas such as: 

• Account onboarding and management 

• Funding and cash management 

• Order management 

• Trade execution 

• Real-time ledger and positions 

• Investor documents 

Step 5: Explore for Yourself in the Developer Portal 

The best part? You can start building before you even sign a contract. 

Our Developer Portal gives your team sandbox access to explore our APIs, SDKs, and quick-start guides. You can get a feel for how the technology works and begin prototyping your experience right away. It’s the most practical way to see how you can use our infrastructure to bring your vision to market. 

The Developer Portal provides: 

• Sandbox environment for testing and development 

• Comprehensive API documentation with code samples 

• Our AI assistant Ask Ascend to answer coding and documentation questions 

• Agentic Development Kit (ADK) to integrate via natural language prompts and AI agent in your IDE 

• Quick-start guides to accelerate integration 

• Support resources to help your team succeed 

What’s Next? Get Access to the Developer Portal 

Ready to explore what’s possible? Start testing and building right away. Our Developer Portal is your gateway to understanding how Apex Alts can fit into your tech stack and serve your clients. 

Request Access to the Developer Portal 

The interest in alternative investments isn’t slowing down. Your clients are already asking about these opportunities. How quickly can you get to market with a solution that’s scalable, and integrated into your existing operations? 

Apex Alts combined with the AscendOS™ platform provides the infrastructure you need to meet this demand. From Pre-IPO SPVs available now to the expanding array of asset classes coming throughout 2026, we’re building a platform that makes alternatives accessible, manageable, and profitable for firms of all sizes. 

Start your journey today. 

Request Access