Curated Access to Institutional Managers
“Many of the industry's high quality managers rarely pay for distribution. Identifying and evaluating them is the work behind our alternative investment platform.”
Steven Brod, CEO & CIO
Hedge Funds
Multi-strategy and specialist hedge fund exposure seeking to provide downside mitigation, returns with lower correlation to traditional asset classes, and portfolio-level risk management. Crystal maintains a broad hedge fund roster for the financial advisory channel.
Key Strategies
Private Equity
Access to established buyout, growth, and hybrid managers focused on long-term value creation, sourced through relationships, not distribution agreements. Our PE allocations target managers with proven operational playbooks and disciplined entry pricing.
Key Strategies
Private Credit
Yield-oriented strategies across the credit spectrum, from senior direct lending to opportunistic and distressed situations. Crystal's private credit allocations are built for advisors seeking income derived from contractual loan payments.
Key Strategies
Venture Capital
Early and growth-stage exposure to high-conviction venture managers across technology, life sciences, and emerging sectors, giving advisors' clients access to innovation-driven returns typically reserved for institutional LPs.
Key Strategies
30+
Years sourcing and vetting institutional managers
50+
Curated fund exposures on our alternative investment platform
0
Placement fees or GP distribution payments
Build a Tailored Alternatives Proposal
Answer a few questions about your client. Based on your inputs, our team will build a custom proposal designed to fit alongside your client's existing portfolio.
How is the rest of the client's portfolio currently positioned?
Helps us identify what alts should complement.
Book a Consult to Receive Your Proposal
Based on your inputs, our team will build a custom proposal designed to fit alongside your client's existing portfolio. Share your details to schedule a 30-minute call.
30 Minute Proposal Consult
30 min · Zoom · Eastern Time (US)
Pick a time and a Crystal product specialist will walk you through your tailored alternatives proposal.
Manager Selection with Rigor
Most alternative investments platforms measure success by the size of their fund menu. We measure it by the quality of what's on it. Every manager on Crystal's platform has been vetted through a rigorous, multi-stage diligence process.
We don't accept distribution fees from fund managers. That means the only reason a fund appears on our platform is because we believe it belongs in client portfolios.
The result: a focused alternative investment platform where every fund exposure has satisfied our diligence standards, allowing advisors to evaluate opportunities within a curated universe.
01
Universe Screening
We continuously evaluate thousands of managers across strategies, filtering for track record, team stability, and structural alignment.
02
Deep Due Diligence
Quantitative analysis, operational review, reference checks, and on-site meetings with portfolio managers and key decision-makers.
03
Investment Committee Approval
Every fund is reviewed and approved by Crystal's investment committee before it reaches the platform.
04
Ongoing Monitoring
Continuous oversight of performance, risk, personnel changes, and fund terms, with the willingness to remove managers who no longer meet our standards.
The result: a focused alternative investment platform where every fund exposure has satisfied our diligence standards, allowing advisors to evaluate opportunities within a curated universe.
Common Questions About Private Fund Investing
Hedge funds act as portfolio stabilizers. Through strategies like global macro, market neutral, and event-driven, they aim to deliver returns that are less correlated to public equities and bonds, helping cushion drawdowns and smooth performance across market cycles.
Private equity managers create value through active ownership: operational improvements, strategic repositioning, and disciplined capital structures. Returns are typically realized over multi-year holding periods, giving PE the potential to outperform public equities in exchange for reduced liquidity.
Private credit is directly originated, floating-rate, and often senior secured, with contractual cash flows and covenant protections. Compared to public bonds, it can offer higher yields, lower duration risk, and stronger downside protection, though with limited liquidity.
Venture capital provides exposure to early and growth-stage companies driving innovation in technology, life sciences, and other emerging sectors. While return dispersion is wide, top-tier venture managers have historically delivered outsized long-term returns unavailable in public markets. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
There is no single answer. Allocations depend on a client's liquidity needs, time horizon, and risk tolerance. Institutional endowments often allocate 40 to 75 percent to alternatives; independent advisors typically start smaller and scale over time as clients build comfort and cash flow visibility.
Hedge funds are generally more liquid, with quarterly or monthly windows. Private equity, private credit, and venture capital are longer-duration, with capital typically committed for several years. Crystal's curated funds are structured to make institutional minimums accessible to qualified clients of independent advisors.
Why Alternatives Belong in Modern Portfolios
Understand the institutional thinking behind alternative allocations, and how they complement the traditional holdings your clients already own.