Arete Wealth is big-time into alternative investments, with an investment mix roughly in the range of 70% traditional investments and 30% alternatives. The reasons are twofold, says Josh Rogers, founder and CEO of the Chicago-based firm.

“That’s what high-net-worth investors want,” he explains. “A big part of investing isn’t just about pure capital; it’s about social capital. A lot of that has to do with feelings of exclusivity that you’re in a certain club that others are not.”

Equally important, he adds, is that it comes down to performance. “People in truly non-correlated investments are less likely to get emotional during turmoil in the traditional markets, therefore they generally experience better results.”

In that vein, Arete two years ago created its Art & Wine Advisory program to help clients invest in these high-end collectibles and gain exposure to non-correlated assets in what feels like an increasingly correlated investment world. At the same time, it also helps Arete stand out from the wealth management crowd.

“I thought this was a good chance for us to differentiate ourselves by creating what we believe was the first formal offering in this space,” Rogers says, adding that it’s his impression that while various high-end trust companies and private client groups at major banks offer occasional seminars on buying and selling art and dealing with art in an estate plan, he isn’t aware of anyone else offering a formal investing program focused on art and wine.

“It’s akin to having subadvisory contracts with a third-party asset manager or SMA manager, but with art,” Rogers says. “This allows our advisors and/or their clients to identify what areas of art or wine they want to focus on, and they have a subadvisory relationship with an art or wine advisor.”

Arete has both a corporate registered investment advisor and a broker-dealer, and the company has 29 branch offices comprising 135 advisors. According to the firm’s ADV document, it generally requires a $50,000 initial minimum account balance. But Rogers says the firm tries to focus on accredited investors and above—in other words, the kind of people apt to dabble in the rarified realms of fine art and fine wine.

The Art & Wine Advisory service came about from Rogers’ own keen interest in art collecting (the firm’s West Loop headquarters is filled with edgy artwork and was chosen by Crain’s Chicago Business as the city’s coolest office in 2016). He also has a moderate interest in wine. He has his own connections in the Chicago-area art world, and through a contact of a contact he became friends with wine expert Steve Morgan. He, along with art experts Patti Gilford and Ryan Kortman, as well as Sandra Berlin, an insurance specialist focused on fine art, fine wine and jewelry collections with Willis Towers Watson, make up the Art & Wine Advisory team.

Here’s how the program works: If clients want to avail themselves of an art or wine advisor, their financial advisor will make an introduction and then the art or wine advisor works directly with the clients. In most cases, because there’s either a buy or sell transaction that will occur—or, in Sandra Berlin’s case, some sort of insurance product—there will be a commission involved on those transactions.

“Fifty percent of the commission goes to the art or wine advisor, and 25% goes to the financial advisor who referred the client, and 25% goes to the house,” Rogers explains.

About 20 clients have used the program so far. “But those 20 are very high-net-worth clients, and so far it’s been great for everyone. We’ve got great feedback from our clients who’ve used the service,” Rogers says. “Maybe Sandra’s business with the insurance is more of a one-time engagement, but art and wine are a passion, so once a client gets engaged in it, it’s an ongoing thing where they build a collection.”

Rogers described how one of his firm’s big clients got in touch with Steve Morgan, the wine advisor, when he downsized from a very large home to a penthouse apartment on Lake Shore Drive. He had a bunch of cases of very fine wine, including roughly 20 cases of Château Latour 1979, that he needed to sell.

“Steve and him worked behind the scene with a couple of potential buyers,” Rogers says. “He could have sold that wine on Sotheby’s, but he’d pay a 25% commission on that. Instead, he got a much better deal working with Steve.”

Before he started Arete 11 years ago, Rogers was the complex manager for Ameriprise Financial in the Chicago area. Earlier in his career, Rogers had left Georgetown Law to pursue innovation at an intellectual property studio run by Jay Walker, later the founder of Priceline.com. While there, Rogers co-invented a number of patents, including the “name your own price” e-commerce patents behind Priceline.com, as well as a number of patents in the quick-service restaurant industry. He cashed out of stock positions he’d gathered related to Priceline and launched his new firm with his own capital.

Rogers’ outside-of-the-box thinking also led to the Art & Wine Advisory, as well as other ways to place his clients in non-correlated assets. These range from venture capital and angel investments to private equity deals and university-style endowment investments. This summer, Arete plans to roll out a service to enable its clients to find, acquire, invest in, store and insure exotic luxury cars. This will be under the Lifestyle Services umbrella that includes art and wine.

While Arete is pleased with its rollout of the art and wine program, the firm recognizes it could benefit from an internal public relations boost.

According to Nate Moster, Arete’s chief marketing officer, “We kind of launched it and said, ‘It’s here. It’s great.’ But this whole mentality of ‘Let’s build it and they will come’ doesn’t necessarily work with high-net-worth investors because they don’t have a lot of time.” He adds that he plans to start a newsletter this year aimed at interested clients that will provide insights, industry articles and advice from the firm’s hired experts regarding art, wine and exotic luxury cars.