Alto Securities is a company that has developed a holistic alternatives investment platform empowering individual investors to diversify their portfolios by investing in alternative assets that have long been enjoyed by professional investors. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Alto Securities President and CEO Scott Harrigan to learn more about the company.
Scott Harrigan’s Background
What is Scott Harrigan’s background? Harrigan said:
“In a sentence, I am a specialist in the global financial services industry. Right now, I serve as the CEO of Alto Securities, the wholly-owned broker-dealer of Alto, and as President of Alto.”
“Before joining Alto, I was the CEO of Securitize Markets, the leader in RWA tokenization. My primary focus was providing investors access to alternative investments and providing issuers with an all-in-one digital solution to raise capital and offer shareholder liquidity. While there, I launched a leading capital raising platform and Alternative Trading System (ATS) in the digital asset security industry and helped the company hit $950 million in assets on the chain and 500,000 user accounts.”
“My first foray into the private markets came at Carta, where I was CEO of Carta Securities and head of the enterprise client segment. I’ve also held executive roles at Merrill Lynch and Computershare.”
What are your primary responsibilities at Alto?
“It depends on the day! At Alto, my responsibilities vary, but the two roles I enjoy the most are coach and cheerleader. Some days, I focus on motivating the team and celebrating wins. On others, I dive into coaching—guiding the team through challenges, offering strategic advice, and helping individuals grow in their roles. So much of my role is simply putting the right people in the position to succeed.”
“My CCO will tell you I’m a tinker, and I’m almost 100% sure he means it positively! On the good days, and especially on tough days, my role is being accountable, the steady hand, making sure we navigate challenges and keep moving forward.”
Core Products
What are Alto’s core products and features? Harrigan explained:
“Alto empowers everyday people to invest in alternative assets using their retirement dollars. We do this in a couple of ways. Alto offers Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs so investors can have the right vehicle for their money based on their unique goals and time horizons. When it comes to investing, people can put their retirement funds toward anything from biotech to bitcoin, wine to whiskey, and farmland to fine art.”
“Alto Marketplace is a cornerstone of our platform, where our veteran brokerage team curates unique and hard-to-access private alternative investment opportunities for eligible investors. Originally introduced to early users in 2023 for testing and feedback, Alto Marketplace has simplified and streamlined the investing experience, removing countless hours of hard work and research that investors would normally have to do on their own. One of the key advantages of Alto Marketplace is that people can deploy self-directed IRA capital into private funds at lower than typical minimums, unlocking tax-advantaged investing in high-potential assets.”
“We currently offer five private investment opportunities on Marketplace, such as Alto Capital Hamilton Lane (HL) PAF SPV, Gaingels Healthcare I SPV, 2500 W. Heiman, Nashville SPV, Cohesys SPV, and Vital Farmland Fund III. Learn more on our website.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Harrigan and the team faced in building the company? Harrigan acknowledged:
“Investors are better informed than ever, and yet education remains one of the biggest challenges. There’s too many people who don’t know the difference between a traditional and a Roth IRA, let alone know what makes, say, private credit investment-worthy. And that’s the thing. If you’re unfamiliar with an investment opportunity, you won’t make the leap and put your hard-earned money into it.”
“Plus, self-directed IRAs aren’t sexy. At least not as sexy as investing in Tesla, Apple, or some other unicorn startup. Improving financial literacy and giving people the tools and insights they need to make informed decisions is at the forefront of our minds, and will be for years to come.”
Evolution Of Alto’s Technology
How has Alto’s technology evolved since launching? Harrigan noted:
“As global technology becomes more complicated, Alto has gotten simpler. We’ve focused our efforts on building a user-friendly online platform that even your grandma could navigate with ease. That’s not all. We’ve also enabled integrations with investment partners like Coinbase and AngelList so people have more investing options on their favorite platforms. Behind the scenes, we’ve bolstered our security and improved mobile accessibility to ensure a seamless experience for every user.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Harrigan cited:
“Alto has achieved many milestones in the last few years. Here are some of the biggest ones.
— We partnered with Coinbase in 2023 to allow Coinbase One to open an Alto CryptoIRA account.
— We launched a new platform called the Private Raise Portal where issuers can raise self–directed IRA capital for free.
— We launched the Alto Marketplace, which features curated private alternative investment opportunities for accredited investors.”
“One of the Alto Marketplace offerings I’m most proud of is the HL PAF SPV. Everyday investors can now get exposure to private equity through this exclusive Private Assets Fund. That’s something that would have been unheard of just a few years ago.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Harrigan affirmed:
“Alto is the only digitally native self-directed IRA provider with multiple alternative investment options.”
“I know that’s a mouthful, so let me unpack that. First, ‘digitally native.’ A lot of legacy IRA providers are old school. They’ve been around for decades. Doing things the same way year after year has worked well for them. That’s fine but it means there’s no urgency to grow and evolve. Digital marketing, websites, and UX seem like an afterthought for many of them. That experience is fine for some people. But we’re living in a hyper-connected, digital-first world that is only becoming more online with the evolution of AI and the metaverse. Alto wants to position itself at the front of emerging trends, creating a beautiful and enjoyable digital experience that doesn’t skimp on genuine connection with customers.”
“Second, ‘self-directed IRA provider.’ That one is self-explanatory, though it’s worth noting that Alto offers several types of IRAs.”
“Finally, ‘multiple alternative investment options.’ You can invest in crypto, real estate, private equity, private credit, wine, whiskey, you name it. And if none of those options suit you, we have our Private Raise Portal where you can bring your own deal to our platform. The limits are only in your imagination in how and where you invest your retirement dollars.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Harrigan concluded:
“For a long time, alternative assets have been for the few, not the many.”
“Even in recent years, if you wanted to invest in private credit, you had to be an institutional investor. Or if you wanted to invest in wine, you had to know someone who knew someone who could get you access to a clandestine auction.”
“Alto is changing that.”
“Our goal is to remove the hoops and hurdles that have long prevented everyday investors from accessing alternative investments. That means expanding the number and type of investment opportunities offered, publishing more education resources, and creating a user-friendly digital experience that makes investing smooth and secure.”
“I can’t overstate how important alternative investments are for a well-diversified portfolio. And yet, while there’s $14 trillion in retirement vehicles, less than 5% of that is allocated to alternatives. Many people are probably intimidated or unfamiliar with the concept of investing in alternatives, even though many could stand to gain by diversifying. I want Alto to make alternative investing commonplace, where the idea of investing in private credit or wine is just as normal to people as investing in stocks and bonds.”
