A major shift in online investing is helping provide increased access to alternative assets for Rocket Dollar retirement investors.
Back in 2014, investing in alternatives through online channels was a relatively new concept, says Jerrod Reddick, an investment specialist with online investment platform DarcMatter. Founded in 2014, DarcMatter offers direct access to alternative assets such as pre-vetted hedge and venture capital funds and private equity placements.
Rocket Dollar recently partnered with DarcMatter to capitalize on the growing trend of self-directed online investing in these alternative asset classes.
A Period of Rapid Growth in Online Investment Platforms
Back when DarcMatter was founded, investors and financial institutions alike were a bit leery of online investing through privately-run platforms. Times have changed, though, and in just a few short years online investing through platforms such as DarcMatter have become standard practice for fund managers and self-directed investors seeking increased portfolio diversification.
“It’s been a major shift,” Reddick says. “The past few years have been a period of rapid growth, and it’s an exciting time to be in the alternative investment space.”
DarcMatter is an online fund marketplace offering accredited investors opportunities for diversification through investments into hedge funds, private equity and venture capital funds. DarcMatter also is broadening its product offerings with more direct deals, such as investment into real estate infrastructure. About half of current investment opportunities are in private hedge funds with varying degrees of investment minimums and strategies. DarcMatter also has a subset of investment opportunities in order to appeal to many different investors and investment strategies.
The majority of its U.S. clients are high-net-worth investors and Registered Investment Advisor networks.
“Our goal is to help accredited investors find opportunities to diversify their portfolios,” Reddick says.
DarcMatter’s co-founders, Sang Lee and Natasha Bansgopaul, met in college at Binghamton University before entering corporate leadership roles with BNP Paribas and PepsiCo, respectively. They founded DarcMatter to better match investors with opportunities across the alternative space, as well as to increase transparency and automate antiquated online investing processes. The company's latest initiative includes blockchain technology development and consulting, through DM's blockchain division, Konstellation, also centered around new-age fintech solutions for the traditional financial services market.
Rocket Dollar Investors Gain Portfolio Diversity Through Alternative Investments
During the past decade, the S&P 500 has rocketed skyward, and asset allocation into banal financial products has been rewarding for some investors. But now that we’ve returned to an atmosphere of market volatility, we believe, savvy investors are seeking diversification by moving away from traditional investments and gaining exposure to a wide range of alternative assets.
We believe it’s easy for Rocket Dollar retirement investors to pursue opportunities through DarcMatter that match their investment strategies. After creating a user profile and logging in at DarcMatter.com, investors can have direct access to over 100+ deals that they can fund right from their Rocket Dollar Self-Directed Individual Retirement Accounts.
Investors must meet accredited investment standards because most deals on the DarcMatter platform are private placements, Reddick notes.
“Partnerships such as this – especially for two FinTech startups like Rocket Dollar and DarcMatter – make a lot of sense because they provide increased access,” he says. “Retirees and retirement investors may want to consider having some of their portfolios invested in alternative assets. I believe we are back to an era of market volatility. The typical golden rule of a 60-40 split for stocks and bonds might not be a suitable asset allocation moving forward.”
“I believe, it may be important for people who are saving for their future to have exposure to assets that may protect them in downturns that also are uncorrelated to public markets,” Reddick adds. “It is really exciting to be at the forefront of helping retirement investors better construct and diversify their portfolios.”