The strategic edge of alternative investments | Expert Access featuring Meric Koksal and Ohm Srinivasan

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[Meric Koksal, Managing Director & Head, Product CIBC Asset Management]

[Meric Koksal, an adult female wearing a business suit, speaking for an interview.]

>> Meric Koksal: Markets have changed. Markets have evolved over the years, and what used to work a decade ago is no longer working for investors. If you think about the traditional 60/40 model where you're investing 60% in equities, 40% in fixed income, that's no longer providing the risk return profile that our clients are looking for.

[A modern condominium building in downtown urban area]

[CIBC logo]

[CIBC Asset Management]

[Unlock the power of alternative investments Expert Access feat. Meric Koksal & Ohm Srinivasan]

If you're just dealing with equities and fixed income and focused on the public markets, you're really missing out on a lot of investment opportunities.

[Skyscrapers in a financial district. Timelapse of a busy shopping mall. An investor looking at data on a computer. An investor looking at data on a smartphone.]

90% of companies are held privately. So when you're just focusing on public markets, you're really missing out on 90% of the investment opportunity that's available today. We have way more concentration risk now.

[An American flag hanging in a downtown financial district. The New York City skyline. A busy shipping yard. A crowded downtown city street.]

United States is the largest market in the world and as all of us know, the top ten stocks make up a significant portion of that market now, so you're really not getting the diversification that you need.

[Top Ten Constituents by Index Weight. Companies include Microsoft, NVIDIA, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Tesla. *Based on GICS® sectors. Source: Standard & Poor’s. As of 05/20/2025.]

Really in the investment world, what you're looking for is higher returns with lower risk. And private markets can really introduce that into the investor’s portfolios.

[Vertical gardens atop a modern circular office building.]

[Investment solutions across a range of asset classes]

[Ohm Srinivasan, an adult male wearing a suit, speaking for an interview.]

[Ohm Srinivasan Head of Manager Research and Alternative Investments CIBC Asset Management]

>> Ohm Srinivasan: When we're thinking about alternative investments, it's about what fits within each individual client's portfolio.

[A young couple sitting at a living room table working on their finances. A couple walking down the street with their two young children. A couple smiling and embracing as they pose for a selfie. A young couple meeting with a real estate agent in an empty house. A group of seniors seated for a meal at a backyard dining table. A couple seated on a cottage deck.]

As you think about a client's needs, the stage of life that they're in, what they might need from a liquidity perspective, what they might want from a growth or income perspective, we really have to take all of those things into account when we recommend different alternative investments to them, whether it's private equity or venture capital or real estate or infrastructure or hedge funds or liquid alts, they all serve different purposes for different clients.

[Private equity Venture capital Real estate Infrastructure Hedge funds Liquid alts]

>> Meric Koksal: There will be questions around how much should I really put into private markets? Where should that allocation come from? We will be there to help our clients to really understand each of these pillars and how they can be incorporated into their asset allocation.

>> Ohm Srinivasan: There are some investments that are highly liquid. Liquid alts is a great example of that. There are some investments that are less liquid. When you think about assets such as real estate, you can't go sell a building at a moment's notice.

[An urban commercial district filled with Skyscrapers. Cityscape of a seaside downtown area. A downtown cityscape. A businesswoman analyzing data on a computer. A financial advisor talking with two clients. A financial advisor pointing at data on a computer.]

So when thinking through investing in alternative investments, we need to take into consideration the amount of liquidity that's available and that perhaps is needed for our clients.

[CIBC Asset Management specialized expertise 50+ years of investment management expertise 160+ investment professionals]

>> Ohm Srinivasan: You need to have dedicated resources and a dedicated team focused in this area. It requires a great deal of networking that's involved to go after and find these opportunities and we have a long-standing team with decades of experience that do exactly this.

[The CIBC Square office building. The CIBC logo mounted on a building exterior. Downtown cityscape featuring a large canal. Timelapse of a busy downtown street. A montage of several businesspeople posing for a photo. A team of businesspeople posing for a photo.]

They're out there scouring the globe looking for the best investments. They're looking for the best venture capitalists. They're looking for the best private credit loan that we can hand out, finding the best opportunities we can find on behalf of our clients.

[A modern office building.]

[Key takeaway for investors]

>> Meric Koksal: Everyone should start looking at private markets and start figuring out ways to incorporate them into their asset allocation alongside their traditional equities and fixed income allocations. And the beauty of it is we're there to help.

[To learn more, connect with your advisor or CIBC Asset Management representative]

[The views expressed in this material are the views of CIBC Asset Management Inc., as of 06/16/25 unless otherwise indicated, and are subject to change at any time. CIBC Asset Management Inc. does not undertake any obligation or responsibility to update such opinions.

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[® The CIBC logo and "CIBC Asset Management" are registered trademarks of CIBC, used under license.]