Key Takeaways
- • Florida State University's College of Business launches an executive education series on alternative investments in West Palm Beach beginning fall 2025, with soft-launch seminars in October (private credit) and November (hedge funds), followed by official classes in January 2026.
- • Alternative investments have expanded from 6% of global investible markets two decades ago to an estimated 24% today, reflecting a structural shift in portfolio construction that is driving demand for specialized professional education.
- • The program targets wealth managers and financial professionals seeking to develop expertise in assessing risk, analyzing private market structures, and managing exposure to real estate, private equity, venture capital, private credit, and hedge funds within client portfolios.
- • Each seminar is capped at 50 participants with registration required; the curriculum includes both in-person instruction and online preparation materials, with online versions available beginning November 2025.
- • The initiative complements FSU's newly created MBA major in Alternative Investments and Finance, reflecting institutional commitment to serving the financial advice, accounting, and legal sectors amid accelerating demand for alternative asset management skills.
Summary
Florida State University's College of Business is moving to capitalize on the structural growth in alternative investments by launching a dedicated executive education program in West Palm Beach, Florida, this fall. The Alternative Investments Series represents a strategic geographic expansion into South Florida, a region known as "Wall Street South" due to its concentration of wealth management and financial services operations.
The program launches with a phased rollout beginning in October 2025, with soft-launch seminars on private credit followed by a November seminar on hedge funds. Online versions of these offerings will become available in November, with the first official cohorts commencing classes at the West Palm Beach facility in January 2026. Each seminar is limited to 50 participants to maintain instructional quality and engagement. According to Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business, the initiative aims to "equip professionals with the expertise they seek to better manage this rapidly growing sector of the finance industry while also planting our physical presence in South Florida."
The program addresses a critical skill gap in the wealth management and financial advisory sectors. Alternative investments—encompassing real estate, private equity, venture capital, private credit, and hedge funds—have grown from just 6% of global investible markets two decades ago to approximately 24% today, according to the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA). Kelsey Syvrud, assistant chair of the College of Business finance department and director of the Alternative Investments Series, emphasizes that wealth managers expanding client portfolios into alternatives must "learn new ways to assess risk, read alternative market trends and analyze private market product structures" to maintain competitive positioning.
The curriculum blends practical, practice-driven learning with independent, unbiased instruction. Participants gain access to online preparation materials and curated instructional content designed for working professionals. This executive education initiative complements FSU's expansion into degree-level alternative investments education, including a newly created MBA major in Alternative Investments and Finance that leverages the institution's nationally ranked programs in finance, real estate, and risk management.
The program launches with a phased rollout beginning in October 2025, with soft-launch seminars on private credit followed by a November seminar on hedge funds. Online versions of these offerings will become available in November, with the first official cohorts commencing classes at the West Palm Beach facility in January 2026. Each seminar is limited to 50 participants to maintain instructional quality and engagement. According to Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business, the initiative aims to "equip professionals with the expertise they seek to better manage this rapidly growing sector of the finance industry while also planting our physical presence in South Florida."
The program addresses a critical skill gap in the wealth management and financial advisory sectors. Alternative investments—encompassing real estate, private equity, venture capital, private credit, and hedge funds—have grown from just 6% of global investible markets two decades ago to approximately 24% today, according to the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA). Kelsey Syvrud, assistant chair of the College of Business finance department and director of the Alternative Investments Series, emphasizes that wealth managers expanding client portfolios into alternatives must "learn new ways to assess risk, read alternative market trends and analyze private market product structures" to maintain competitive positioning.
The curriculum blends practical, practice-driven learning with independent, unbiased instruction. Participants gain access to online preparation materials and curated instructional content designed for working professionals. This executive education initiative complements FSU's expansion into degree-level alternative investments education, including a newly created MBA major in Alternative Investments and Finance that leverages the institution's nationally ranked programs in finance, real estate, and risk management.
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