Live from Nuveen's nPowered Conference: Nuveen's Keith Jones - structuring products for success

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Alt Goes Mainstream was live from $1.2T AUM asset manager Nuveen’s nPowered conference, a two-day event bringing together Nuveen thought leaders and industry experts to explore challenges and opportunities in private markets.

We interviewed some of Nuveen’s senior leadership on site to hear their views and perspectives on private markets, working with the wealth channel, and product innovation.

We sat down with Keith Jones, the Global Head of Alternative Investments Product for Nuveen, and a member of the Extended Leadership Team. He’s responsible for the development and ongoing management of alternative investment products distributed through Nuveen’s institutional, wealth management, and retirement channels globally.

Keith and I had a fascinating conversation about product innovation in the wealth channel, how to educate and market products specifically designed for the wealth channel, and why it’s not a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency.

To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products.

Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at gharris@ultimusfundsolutions.com.

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes
00:00 Introduction to Ultimus Fund Solutions

01:55 Welcome to Alt Goes Mainstream

01:58 Live from Nuveen's nPowered Conference

02:19 Conversation with Keith Jones

03:25 Keith Jones' Background

04:04 Nuveen and TIAA Collaboration

04:47 Keith's Role at Nuveen

05:01 Product Innovation in Wealth Channel

05:15 Structuring Products for Wealth Channel

05:37 Client-Centric Approach at Nuveen

06:59 Challenges in Structuring Products

07:39 Credibility and Brand Importance

09:36 Client Experience and Reporting

09:46 Brand and Credibility in Product Creation

10:40 Nuveen's Real Estate Focus

11:38 Feedback from Distribution Teams

12:33 Product Governance at Nuveen

13:19 Institutional vs. Wealth Channel

16:35 Evergreen Structures

18:08 Operational Considerations

18:51 FinTech Solutions in Structuring

31:48 Future of Product Innovation

32:20 Real Assets and Farmland

33:25 Fee Compression in Alternatives

36:13 Balancing Competing Forces

36:51 Importance of Diversification

38:34 Industry Collaboration for Change

39:12 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

39:58 Closing Remarks