Moving the Needle in Alternatives: Why Industry Insiders Are Rewriting the Playbook for Women

By Kristen Oliveri

At a moment when trillions of dollars are shifting hands and a new generation of decision-makers are stepping forward, two women from opposite sides of the investment table are coming together with a shared goal: to change how women access and understand alternative investments.

Catherine Shallow, who built her career in the hedge fund world raising capital and investing across alternative strategies, and Michelle Clements, a family office leader and chairman of Synergy Trust Partners, didn’t set out to build something together. But through a series of connections, including a LinkedIn outreach that turned into a meaningful relationship, they found themselves aligned around a common gap in the market: education.

Catherine Shallow, who built her career in the hedge fund world raising capital and investing across alternative strategies, and Michelle Clements, a family office leader and chairman of Synergy Trust Partners, didn’t set out to build something together.

But through a series of connections, including a LinkedIn outreach that turned into a meaningful relationship, they found themselves aligned around a common gap in the market: education.

“Having come from the GP side, I’ve observed a real need for education on the family office side,” Shallow shared. “Sometimes it’s as simple as language and nomenclature, but there’s also a need for greater transparency.”

For Clements, that realization came from inside her own experience.

“We had opportunities to invest in alternatives,” she explained, “but I didn’t always feel like I knew enough about the specific investments, what questions I should be asking, or what red flags to look for.”

What became clear quickly was that she wasn’t alone. Even highly sophisticated family office professionals, particularly women, are often navigating a space that has historically been opaque and designed without them in mind.

“Investing has long been a boys’ club,” Clements said candidly. “But women are asking thoughtful questions. They want to understand. They want to get it right.”

That shared perspective became the foundation for a new kind of gathering, one designed not around pitching deals, but around building knowledge and trust. Together, Shallow and Clements created an invitation-only summit focused on alternatives education, bringing together family office allocators, GPs, and advisors in a setting intentionally structured to foster real dialogue. “What makes this different is that we’re educating. Our sponsors understand they are not there to sell, they’re there to contribute,” said Clements.

Shallow echoed that sentiment, emphasizing how much the traditional model needed rethinking. “Too often, the environment is built around light-touch relationships and quick pitches,” she said. “That’s not how trust is built. We wanted to create a space where conversations are deeper, more transparent and ultimately more useful.”

The timing couldn’t be more relevant. With an estimated $84 to $124 trillion set to transfer across generations in the coming decades, women are poised to control a significant portion of that wealth, nearly $100 trillion. At the same time, private markets are becoming more complex and more essential to portfolio construction. From private credit to co-investments and venture, the need for practical understanding, not just access, has never been greater.

This is where the duo sees real opportunity. Not just to educate, but to reshape how women engage with alternatives entirely. “There’s a huge amount of intelligence and capability,” Shallow said. “It’s about equipping people with the right questions, the right frameworks, and creating an environment where transparency and even vulnerability are part of the conversation.”

The structure of their gathering reflects that intention. With a carefully balanced mix of family offices, OCIOs, and a select group of GPs, participation is capped to ensure quality over quantity. The guiding principles are clear: no pitching, no performative networking, and a shared commitment to learning.

For Clements, the mission is personal. “My superpower is connecting people,” she said. And in many ways, that’s exactly what this initiative does, connecting knowledge with curiosity, experience with access, and ultimately, women with the tools they need to lead confidently in alternatives.