Form CRS
As of: April 7th, 2022
Item 1. Introduction
CAIS Capital LLC (“we” or “us”) is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a Broker-Dealer and is a member of FINRA and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. We offer services in connection with securities offerings available to eligible investors through our affiliate’s member-only online portal (the “Portal”). Our services are principally targeted solely toward institutional investors (as defined under FINRA Rule 4512(c)) but certain parties that are eligible to participate as members of the Portal may be “retail” parties under SEC Regulation Best Interest. Please note that brokerage and investment advisory services and fees differ, and it is important for you to understand those differences. The SEC offers free and simple tools to research firms and financial professionals at investor.gov/CRS which also provides information tailored to educate retail investors about financial professionals.
Item 2. Relationships and services
What investment services and advice can you provide me?
Our firm acts as a marketer and/or placement agent for a selection of investment offerings in securities products, particularly private and registered investment funds. Product offerings through CAIS are limited solely to the curated menu of products that we market, on a compensated basis, for third parties and our affiliates. Most of the products that are available on the Portal have minimum investment requirements of $100,000. We do not open or hold accounts for you, but rather products in which you invest are held through your custodian or another financial intermediary that is servicing you. All of our activities are conducted on a non-discretionary basis, which means that you, as a Portal user, make the ultimate decision regarding the purchase or sale of any investment. We do not monitor any of your specific investments as a Portal user.
For information about Portal membership and the curated menu of products available through the Portal, please contact us. For information about specific products available through the Portal, including eligibility requirements, minimum investments, fees, conflicts of interests and risks associated with investment, please see the offering documentation for each product, which is available to Portal members through the Portal.
Conversation Starters. Ask your financial professional:
Given my financial situation and sophistication, should I transact with a firm offering investments funds? Why or why not?
How will you determine which investment offerings to recommend to me?
What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education and other qualifications? What do these qualifications mean?
Item 3. Fees, costs, conflicts and standard of conflict
What fees will I pay in connection with your services and products?
We do not assess brokerage trading fees on our clients, but we do sometimes receive placement agency, introducer or marketing fees on products that are placed through our firm. In addition, our affiliated entities may receive fees in connection with various roles that they fulfill in connection with products placed through us, including as administrator of the Portal and sponsor of certain products available on the Portal. Given these varying roles, some fees assessed in connection with products offered through the Portal may pose conflicts of interest – please see additional discussion of those conflicts below. All fees relating to products offered through the Portal are assessed at the time of your transaction in the product and, in some cases, throughout the period in which you hold such investment. Our fees, and those of any of our affiliated parties involved with a product, vary from product to product, but are all specifically disclosed in the offering documentation for each such product, which is available to members of the Portal through https://members.caisgroup.com/login.
Please note that if you invest in a product through us, you will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time. Please make sure you understand what fees and costs you are paying.
For more detailed information about our fees and costs, please review the specific disclosures relating to the product you are reviewing in the offering documentation for that product, which is available to members of the Portal through https://members.caisgroup.com/login.
Conversation Starters. Ask your financial professional:
Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments. If I give you $100,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?
What are your legal obligations to me when providing recommendations?
How else does your firm make money and what conflicts of interest do you have?
How might your conflicts of interest affect me, and how will you address them?
When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way that our firm and our affiliates make money creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the recommendations we provide. Here are some examples to help you understand what this means.
Depending on which product you may wish to invest in on the Portal, our firm may receive placement agency fees with respect to transactions that you undertake, while our affiliates may separately receive third-party payments for the marketing, sale and administration of certain aspects relating to the Portal or the product, or in connection with specific share classes of a product. These fees will impact the value of your investment over time and certain products, or share classes of a product, may involve higher fees, either to us or our affiliates or both, than other products. Some products on the Portal may also be proprietary products that are established by our affiliates, which may garner additional revenue or compensation in connection with their role toward the product.
For more detailed information about conflicts that may affect you, please review the disclosures relating to general and specific conflicts that are presented to you for each product that is placed through our firm in the offering documentation for those products available to you through https://members.caisgroup.com/login. You must confirm to us that you have reviewed these materials prior to any transaction.
Conversation Starters. Ask your financial professional:
How might your conflicts of interest affect me, and how will you address them?
How are your financial professionals compensated?
Our professionals are compensated through an annual salary and bonus structure – they are not compensated on a commission basis. We believe that our compensation method reduces any conflicting incentives for professionals to try to earn higher commissions by recommending certain products over others.
Item 4. Disciplinary history
Do you or your financial professionals have legal or disciplinary history?
No for our firm. Yes for our financial professionals. Visit lnvestor.gov/CRS for a free and simple search tool to research our firm and all of our financial professionals.
Conversation Starters. Ask your financial professional:
As a financial professional, do you have any disciplinary history? For what type of conduct?
Item 5. Additional information
You can find additional information about our services and request a copy of the relationship summary by visiting www.caisgroup.com, emailing [email protected] or calling us at (212) 300-9350.
Conversation starters. Ask your financial professional:
Who is my primary contact person? Is he or she a representative of an investment adviser or a broker-dealer? Who can I speak with if I have concerns about how this person is treating me
Your primary contact person will be the registered representative with whom you initiate your relationship with CAIS Capital. Should you have any concerns about your interactions with CAIS Capital, please reach out to [email protected].