Thank you to all who attended the two-part CalALTs Virtual Table Talks Series on March 11 and 18. We hope you were able to gather new ideas, make new contacts, and enjoy your time with the CalALTs community. Please see below for a number of resources provided by our Partner companies that hosted tables. 

• Death of Cash Presentation | Manole Capital 

• Developments on Digital Assets and Blockchain | Dechert

• DOJ Cyber-Digital Task Force Issues Report on Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework | Dechert

• Real Estate Services  | Citco

• Financial Services  | EisnerAmper

• Sustainable impact hub – Our latest thinking | EY - US

• How to navigate the increasingly important and complex ESG agenda | EY - Global

• Does accelerating adaptation present obstacles - or increase opportunities? | EY

• How 2021 is unfolding for Private Equity | EY

• Trader vs Investor Funds | Withum
  

• Our Capital Table Podcast Series – Insights into the Private Equity and M&A world | Withum

CalALTs understands that our community needs support now, more than ever. With everything going on in the world, our partners have reached out to provide informative and helpful resources for our community, including topics such as:

• Cybersecurity
• Mitigating Employee Risk and Management
• SBA Loans during COVID-19
• Information regarding the CARES Act
• Informative Updates on Regulatory Development
• Information on Private Equity
• Asset Management Resources related to COVID-19
• An Outlook on the U.S Economy in light of COVID-19
• and more!
  

Please visit our Resources page or click the link below to see resources provided by a number of our annual partners.

CALALTS COVID-19 RESOURCE CENTER

If you have additional questions or resources that you would like to request or see added, please contact our office at info@calalts.org

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is Stacy Cumberbatch, Managing Director of Blended Impact. Read the full interview below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I was born in Trinidad & Tobago and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. Now I live in Riverside, CA and consider Southern California home.

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

I am the Founder and Managing Director of Blended Impact, a Southern California-based impact investment firm that focuses across asset classes including real estate, growth-oriented operating businesses, and software growth equity following a footprint in Opportunity Zones and similar communities. We are unique in our pipeline development, operating as a venture development firm and innovation lab focused on public-private partnerships to power the future of how we invest, earn, and live.

I founded this company after years in the banking and venture capital community in 2019, and we've partnered with the University of California Riverside Center for Social Innovation, FUSE Corps, and multiple other foundations, federal and state government agencies to advance investments in Opportunity Zones, urban cores, and targeted rural communities in California. This includes venture capital, opportunity zone capital, among other traditional sources to fill out the capital stack.

What are you passionate about? 

I'm most passionate about increasing access to capital for growing businesses, particularly in rural and minority communities where there would be an amplifying effect in terms of entrepreneurship and jobs created on the populations. Having spent the first decade of my life in real estate finance, I was very much used to clear product types and a relatively straightforward way to access the application process. But when I entered the world of venture capital, the process became much more nebulous and relationship based. My goal is to create avenues not only in my firm, but in the wider Venture Capital and Opportunity Zone communities, for access to capital to become much more accessible, which I believe can be done while still maintaining the desired return and risk profiles.

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

I love that I get to work in partnership with local government to create solutions in the private sector that can be amplified with smart policy recommendations and incentives. I utilize these partnerships to focus in a geographic location and invest across asset classes, which gives me the flexibility to be both opportunistic in investments while focusing on the needs of the community.

CalALTs Involvement and Leadership

When did you first join CalALTs? What do you value most about the organization?

I'm a newer member to CalALTs, I started joining webinars in 2020, and officially joined in 2021. If there's one good thing about the pandemic, its the accessibility of information with educational events having a digital first marketing strategy. I was thrilled when I learned about the org as I've gotten insights I haven't elsewhere and have made some great connections in a short span of time. CalALTs provides great timely and relevant content to keep us up to date with industry trends, legislative actions and more.

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call someone to find out what you don't know. Folks taking my requests for 30 minute intro calls was how I learned in the beginning and I put their suggestions to action. Also don't get hung up on the word mentor either and think of it as an official thing-- people I consider mentors now I have never officially asked them to do so, but they are folks who I've found ways to provide value to, trust their insights and that they have my best interest in mind. And most importantly, will pick up the phone when I call.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

When the world was open I spent a lot of time in the community involved with different organizations in Los Angeles focused on entrepreneurship and access to capital for minority communities. I was a mentor at a charter school in East LA on their entrepreneurship program and an advisor for startups via the SBDC among others. When I'm truly off, I love spa days, estate sales, and adventure travel.

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

The CalALTs Real Estate Special Interest Group (SIG) met on May 11th at 3:00 PM Pacific with California’s industry leading real estate investors to discuss and understand the traits, structures, and other criteria they seek in real estate fund managers. Our SIG Moderators Benjamin Beer of CohnReznick and Peter Bush of EY introduced our panelists Meghan Pinchuk, Chief Investment Officer of Morton Capital, Gregory Kushner, CPA, Senior Managing Director and Chairman of Lido Advisors, LLC and Allen Kim, CFA, Director – Manager Research & Investment Solutions of Kayne Anderson Rudnick to discuss. CalALTs members can log into their member accounts and watch the full discussion in our webinar archive here.

See below for a few highlights from the conversation. 

BENJAMIN: "What are some of the things you focus on when reviewing the credentials and background of an asset manager that approaches your company for capital?"

MEGHAN: “Obviously their background is important. But I think there are a lot of managers out there who’ve maybe had experience at another firm or who have worked in the industry for a long time -- maybe they even syndicated a number of different loans when they didn’t necessarily have a fund structure yet…That’s not necessarily a deal breaker for us. I think it’s a lot more about the key individual(s) experience and whether or not they can articulate that, versus a [searchable] track record you can just look up…A lot of people are really excellent at making the real estate loans, they’ve got that background, they’ve got those credentials, but they don’t necessarily have the experience running a fund or dealing with a fund structure…That’s not something we’ve shied away from, sort of being involved with managers who are newer to running a fund but not newer to real estate lending specifically…We have a lot of experience investing in these funds and strong opinions on how things should be structured to be effective…we’re very open to collaborating or partnering if that’s the case."

BENJAMIN: "If there was one thing you were looking for in the operations of a fund manager, what would it be? What’s something that really sticks out?"

MEGHAN: “You can be great at managing your investments and your funds, but if you don’t set up the right institutional controls to make sure the client’s money is actually protected and there’s a lot of third-party oversight, it just doesn’t matter how good the investment manager is. The good news to that is there're a lot of third-party groups now that are fairly cost effective – third party administrators and really excellent auditor choices are out there and are very used to working with firms in this space. So, it’s not as hard as it sounds. It’s actually quite simple.”

GREG: “I completely agree with what Meghan was saying…From our perspective, there are really some wonderful investors and they’re maybe not so good at running a fund, and it's the same thing -- we really encourage them to go with a third-party administrator, have the right kind of accounting firm, etc. That really does make a big difference and, as I mentioned…we’ve seeded some of these groups with some of our capital -- we don't take an ownership position within the fund, but we just want to make sure they're doing all the right things, checking all the right boxes…you've got to just make sure, from an SEC audit perspective, that you're doing all the right things. You're doing the initial due diligence, and more importantly, the ongoing due diligence…things you should be looking out for.”

PETER: "From a fee and structuring perspective, is there anything specific that that you guys look out for when looking at a manager?"

ALLEN: "The fees are an interesting thing -- I think, you know, going back 20 years ago -- back to the private equity world and the hedge fund world…What’s really changed, besides the headline fees is what comes in the annual audit and the kind of extra fees that are in there. If you noticed, over time, besides the stated fees for management, there are “other fees” for real estate management…At the end of the day, I think the manager, regardless of whatever they stated on the stated management fees, has certain economics that they want to work with when they roll out a deal. We try to look at the managers financials and really see where all the all the expenses were spent, to do a complete operation list of the year before and try to get to a comfort level as to what the total expenses might be, including the stated fees as well as other expenses."

CalALTs would like to thank our moderators Benjamin Beer of CohnReznick and Peter Bush of EY as well as our panelists Meghan Pinchuk of Morton Capital, Gregory Kushner of Lido Advisors, LLC and Allen Kim of Kayne Anderson Rudnick for their time and expertise. To get involved in future Real Estate Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings, please contact the CalALTs Office at info@calalts.org.

Interested in learning more about CalALTs membership and benefits? Learn more here. 

This past year, CalALTs partnered with the Water Buffalo Club and Money Matters for Youth to host Financial Literacy & Leadership - A Virtual Camp for California Youth, on March 29 - April 2, 2021.

One of the goals of the CalALTs Board was to find ways to reach out to the youth in California, provide education that they wouldn't normally receive in a regular school curriculum, and hopefully inspire some to gain an interest in finance - driving more diversity into the future of the financial industry. As a result, the virtual camp was born.

Through our partnership with the Water Buffalo Club, we were connected with the Why Can't We Make a Difference Foundation (WCWMAD), which hosts several enrichment programs in underserved communities in the Los Angeles, CA area. With their assistance, the camp was joined by 25 elementary-aged students (10-12). Gail Perry-Mason, founder of the Money Matters for Youth program, created an engaging and fun curriculum with a focus on financial management, the workings of the stock market and investment, as well as leadership skills. During each day of the camp, students joined the instructors and volunteers on Zoom for 2-hours where they learned the basics of financial literacy, adopted a stock and watched it grow, and were tasked with leadership projects outside of the 2-hour camp, including developing a pitch for their own stock or business idea.

Feedback from the pilot program has been tremendously positive from the kids involved to the organizers to the financial coaches, including volunteers from CalALTs membership:

"Acting as a volunteer financial coach to promote financial literacy with middle school students was fantastic.  My sincere thanks to CalAlts, Gail Perry-Mason and Money Matters, Derek Richardson and the Water Buffalo Club for providing the students and the volunteers with a really rewarding growth opportunity."

~Chris Appler, Financial Consultant and CalALTs Member

“Helping to promote financial literacy among middle school students was a terrific experience. The energy and enthusiasm of Gail Perry-Mason, Derek Richardson and, of course, the students themselves was infectious. Along with CalAlts and the WBC, Gail and her volunteers created and delivered a wonderful experience for learning and understanding many financial concepts in a fun environment.”

~Will Cazalet, CAIA

With the success of this year's pilot camp, we hope to continue the program in the future, building on the foundations we laid this year.

We want to thank all of those involved who helped to make this program such a success!

Our Volunteer Financial Coaches:

• Chris Appler, Financial Consultant
• Will Cazalet, CAIA
• Staford François, CPA, MBA, Senior Manager, CohnReznick, LLP
• Sujit Govindraj, Senior Managing Director, First Republic Bank
• Nicholas Pardini, Founder, Davos Investment Group

Our Organization Partners:

• Derek Richardson and his team at the WCWMAD
• Gail Perry-Mason and her instructors from Money Matters for Youth, in addition to her unwavering support of underserved youth!
• The Water Buffalo Club - thank you for your continued partnership and sponsorship!

...and finally, we could not have developed this program without our sponsors and those who made a financial donation.

Interested in supporting this program in the future? Contact info@calalts.org.

Learn more about our organization partners below.

The Water Buffalo Club (WBC): The Water Buffalo Club “WBC” is a charitable organization dedicated to fostering the well-being of underserved and at-risk children in Los Angeles through its members’ commitment of their time and financial resources. The WBC directly impacts smaller charities by providing grants, hosting events and supporting youth programs. Support the WBC!

Money Matters for Youth: Money Matters For Youth Camp is a Detroit organization that holds a 5-day annual camp for youth “investors”, and has taken place for the last 21 years. The MM4Y Camp’s devotional mission is to teach approximately 200 students each year, ranging in ages 8 through 18, the basics of economics and financial literacy. Additionally, students will learn the importance of education, a healthy lifestyle, as a means to future success. We also emphasize the importance of giving back and that “there is no such thing as a poor giver.” The camp takes place in Detroit each year, and has also had programs in Denver, Colorado and Montego Bay, Jamaica. All activities encourage financial awareness and literacy, goal setting, collaboration, personal presentation, developing a spirit of gratitude, and building and maintaining positive relationships - encouraging diversity and inclusion while promoting hope for a brighter future for our youth “investors”. Learn More!

Why Can't We Make A Difference Foundation: The Mission of Why Can't We Make A Difference Foundation 501(c)3 (WCWMAD), is to increase elementary school students’ academic and emotional interest in school through academic and social enrichment programs in the underserved school communities of Los Angeles, California. Why Can't We Make A Difference Foundation now serves over 800 elementary students daily in two underserved elementary schools in South Los Angeles, California.  We provide enrichment programs designed to support students with academic enrichment and emotional interest in school.  Our enrichment programs consists of Art, Chess, Choir, Coding, Morning Mentoring and Performing Arts. Support the WCWMAD!

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is Eric Goldberg, Audit Partner of KPMG. Read the full interview below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I was born and raised in Valencia, Santa Clarita. I'm living here now with my wife and two daughters.

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

I am an audit partner and my diverse experience includes audits of business development companies, mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, commodity pools, domestic/offshore fund vehicles, master-feeder structures, multiple-class funds, funds of funds and their sponsors. I have in-depth knowledge of and experience in financial reporting and operational issues specific to the alternative investment industry. I also spent three years in KPMG’s Department of Professional Practice Group (DPP) in New York, where I was a member of various technical accounting topic teams focused on investment companies and financial services.

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

The most rewarding part about my career is helping develop the new generation of accountants and auditors. I'm passionate about providing exceptional client service to each and every one of my clients and delivering quality audits that provide comfort to my clients' investors.

CalALTs Involvement and Leadership

What do you value most about CalALTs? 
I value the networking opportunities in addition to the education and relevant content from the industry events.

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Get to know as many people as you can and never stop looking for new opportunities to learn and try new things.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

I spend most of my "off' time with my family. I take great pride in my daughters as they grow to be strong independent young women. We spend a lot of time outdoors and traveling the country in our RV.

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

Download Here

CalALTs is thrilled to release this year's White Paper, 2021 Insights in Alternative Funds written by members of CalALTs. In this year's addition, our members discuss:

• ESG in the Alternatives Industry—The Evolution of the ‘S’
• Private Equity Valuations During Volatile Times
• How the Pandemic Changed Private Equity
• How Diversity and Inclusion is Disrupting the Private Equity Industry on the Path to a More Equitable Society 

Thank you to the following CalALTs Members for their authorship and contributions: 

• Bronwyn Bailey, Managing Director - Business Banking, First Republic Bank
• Christina Berardino, Global Private Equity Sales, J.P. Morgan
• Govind Mohan, CFA Financial Services Assurance - PE and WAM, Ernst & Young LLP
• Wilma Ramony de Souza, Global Private Equity Sales, J.P. Morgan
• Montserrat Serra-Janer, Global Private Equity Sales, J.P. Morgan

This publication was edited and produced by the CalALTs Best Practices Committee whose members include: 

• Sasha Burstein, K&L Gates, LLP - Committee Chair 
• Joshua Barlow, Valhalla Fiduciary
• Michelle Bergren, Camden Asset Management
• Alexandra Marten, J.P. Morgan
• Frank Perez, Makena Capital Management
  

Interested in staying updated on all things CalALTs? Join our email list and keep informed about CalALTs events, SIGs, best practices and future offerings! For additional questions, please contact info@calalts.org.

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is John Donovan, Partner of Baker Tilly. Read the full interview below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I am originally from Houston, Texas. I now reside in Westlake Village, California.

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

I am an audit partner and currently working to help Baker Tilly grow their presence in California. 

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

I enjoy the relationships developed over the years. I have been working in California for the last 26 and a half years and have developed numerous relationships with clients and other influencers, attorneys, bankers etc. These relationships are important because we all have business needs and can help each other out through referrals, etc.

CalALTs Involvement and Leadership

When did you join CalALTs? What do you value most about the organization? 

The networking. Pre-pandemic, I have enjoyed various events, whether it’s a holiday happy hour or an event at Del Mar race track. I have met a ton of people, had business referred my way and have referred business to others myself.

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Stay active in the networking events. I think it just comes down to attending events or volunteering to speak. That way, people come to know who you are and what you are good at.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

Golf and skiing! 

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is Ralph Santoro, Senior Vice President – Business Development at UMB Fund Services. Ralph is currently an active member of the CalALTs Private Equity Special Interest Group (SIG). Read the full interview below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I was born in Verdun, France, my father was in the U.S. Army and stationed there. After the Army, my dad returned to his home of Kansas City, Missouri where my parents raised me and my two brothers and is where I live today with my wonderful wife and two step-daughters.

What is your current role?

I am the Senior Vice President – Business Development at UMB Fund Services.

What is your focus relative to alternative investments?

As a leading private fund administrator our team’s focus runs the full range of services for private equity, PEFOFs, real estate, hedge funds, venture capital, FOFs, and family office.

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

People – in and around this industry and CalALTs I have met and become professional and personal friends with so many talented and caring people.

CalALTs Involvement and Leadership

When did you join CalALTs? What do you value most about the organization? 

I just CalALTs about 10 years ago. I participate in several CalALTs Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and am a member of the Private Equity Special Interest Group (SIG) planning committee. 

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Listen more than talk, relax, smile, and take a breath/time for yourself each day. I have had the honor of so many great professional mentors across my 32+ years at UMB. Seek a mentor out and as the years go by and wisdom gained you may find yourself the same for another.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

Fun experiences in travel, food, and drink – I do enjoy a nice sipping of tequila and/or mezcal!

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

REGISTER HERE

CalALTs is thrilled to announce our first confirmed list of virtual table talks for this year's Virtual Table Talks Series on March 11 & 18, 2021. See below for details. 

You're invited to join CalALTs and our association partners for our upcoming Virtual Table Talks Series. This two-day series will feature small-group discussions lead by thought-leaders from CalALTs partners. Similar to our past Table Talks events, attendees will have the chance to meet and hear from up to 3 Partners per day, during 20-minute discussions.

This is your chance to hear from experts and network, virtually!

Registration Fee:

Registration allows you to access to both days of the series, March 11 and March 18. Registered attendees will select their session topics closer to the date of the first series.

• CalALTs Members - FREE to attend. Log-in to register.
• Non-Members - $75 (includes free 1-year membership)
  

We're proud to announce our first confirmed list of topics from our supporting partners - stay tuned for more to come. 

Demystifying Hedge Fund Tax Allocations: Top 5 Things to Know

In this session, Andersen will discuss 1. Aggregation, Partial vs full netting 2. Stuffing, Gross vs net stuffing, stuffing on full withdrawals vs partial withdrawals, stuffing negative tax basis 3. Contributed securities to investment partnerships 4. §734 Mandatory basis adjustments and §754 elections and 5. Illiquid investments and side pockets.

Key Developments in Private Equity
The team from CLA will discuss trends they're seeing in private equity transactions, tax implications with the change in administration, developments private equity managers should be aware of, and finally they'll talk about what they're seeing on the horizon for the market.

Regulation and Revolution: Three Tax Topics Fund Managers Should Wrap their Arms Around in 2021
Don’t miss this discussion centered around three tax areas certain to impact your funds this year: business interest expense limitation, carried interest regulations and the future of the DeFi movement.

Launching a Fund in the Pandemic and Post Pandemic World 

Details to be announced. 

Including Bitcoin and Other Digital Assets in Your Fund

Details to be announced. 

2021 Investment Management Outlook: Transforming to Thrive

Details to be announced. 

Regulatory Obligations of Cayman and BVI Private Equity Funds

Last year the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands closed ended fund regimes came into force.  This Table Talk will cover the regulatory requirements to establish a private equity fund or venture capital fund in the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands.  We will also discuss the ongoing obligations placed on closed ended funds formed in the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands.

Emergence of Cryptoassets as an Institutional Asset Class

Brief overview of the development of Bitcoin and other cryptoassets from niche cyberpunk money into an institutional asset class.  The discussion will center around the regulatory and infrastructure developments that have contributed to the explosive growth of this asset class.   In addition, we will provide an overview of the current legal and regulatory framework around cryptoassets, and the implications for fund managers who wish to invest in this space.

Regulatory Developments for Fund Managers
This discussion will focus on the recent regulatory developments in the US that affect the fund management industry, including the proposed rule for “finders,” the revised definition of “accredited investors” and the new investment adviser marketing rule.

The Changing Nature of Operational Due Diligence

Details to be announced. 

Interval & Tender-Offer Funds: Continued Growth During Uncertain Markets

Growth in unlisted closed-end funds, including interval and tender-offer funds, continues to accelerate. In this session, hear a market update plus insight into regulatory changes, investment categories and asset managers influencing the category. In many cases, managers forming these funds are adapting an existing strategy from a partnership to a fund structure seeking to offer uncorrelated returns through commercial credit, direct lending and other non-traditional investments. Our panel will explain key considerations for investment managers exploring fund formation and highlight nuances of interval funds vs. mutual funds vs. private funds.

Topics to be announced from: 

Check this page often for updates on 2021 topics, featured Partners, and detailed schedule!

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is Kim Waldman, Business Development Consultant at Withum. Kim is currently an active member of the CalALTs Hedge Fund Special Interest Group (SIG) and is involved in the upcoming event "The Future of Trading" on January 27 at 12:00 PM Pacific. Read the full interview below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I'm originally from Brooklyn, New York. Now, I live in Stratford, Connecticut.  I’m a country girl at heart. Nevertheless, you can take the girl out of the city but you can’t take the city out of the girl.

What is your current role?

I’m the Business Development consultant for Withum’s Financial Services team, assisting with creating and implementing communications and growth programs within the Firm. Withum is a nationally ranked Top 25 public advisory and accounting firm with services and vertical niche expertise spanning many specialties. Financial Services is our largest practice area, encompassing all investment funds - Hedge, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Real Estate and ’40 Act vehicles, plus SPACs, Broker-Dealers and Insurance. These include Crypto and Cannabis entities. Withum was recently ranked the #1 SPAC provider outside of the Big 4. It’s an exhilarating time for our team.

What is your focus relative to alternative investments?
With over 20 years of experience in the industry, I laugh a bit when I hear the term “business development.”   Some have this image of smarmy, old-time stereotypical salespeople trying to convince or put one over on unsuspecting buyers.  That’s not what I do at all!  Sure, I familiarize industry participants with Withum’s services and help them understand where our solutions may be applicable and how we’re different from our competitors. However, the core of what I do is consultative – I’m a listener.  What’s important and valuable to one manager may not even be a consideration for another.  I focus on all investment funds, but primarily on start-up and emerging fund managers.  My role is to help them understand the business considerations and challenges of managing and growing an investment fund relative to their strategy and infrastructure, differentiating between potential service partners across functions, and introducing them to solutions and relationships within Withum and outside of our firm. I function primarily as an advisor, educator, problem solver and introducer.  This enables me to add value to industry stakeholders while building Withum’s brand equity, driving growth in our client base, and positioning Withum’s team members as influential thought leaders.

What are you passionate about?

There’s so much I’m passionate about. Brand building and raising awareness and credibility for Withum, certainly, but also for the industry as a whole. Contrary to some of the negative press Wall Street gets, I know our industry is a compliant, necessary, driving force in the global economy.  Businesses, investors, and every average individual out there is positively impacted by what we do every day.  I’m committed to promoting education, diversity, and philanthropic endeavors in our industry.

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

The challenge. Every day is something new.  There’s always more to learn and share.  At our pace there isn’t time to be bored or feel redundant.

CalALTs Involvement and Leadership

When did you join CalALTs?

Wow, I’ve been a member for a long time and brought different firms into the CalALTs family.  I think it’s been about 9 years already. The organization was still the California Hedge Fund Association back then!  I currently attend as many sponsored or hosted events as possible and am part of both the Hedge Fund and Private Equity Special Interest Groups.

What do you value most about the organization? 

Education, education, education. The group is dedicated to educating and providing resources for their membership within California, but also nationally. It’s more than just webinars, white papers, events and networking – members go out of their way to contribute to other members and support the industry in whatever ways they can. Truly an extraordinary vision and group of people.

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

First, educate yourself. Read everything about the industry you can get your hands on, even if it’s not specifically related to your role.  You can’t be a trusted advisor within an industry as sophisticated as ours unless you really understand the business.  Second, never refuse to speak to anyone. Your contact network is invaluable.  Third, find a mentor that will help coach you, and never turn down that opportunity to have lunch or coffee with someone that can help you in your career.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

Animals, children and music – I spend a lot of my non-working hours with horses, dogs and cats. It’s a menagerie around here.  I’m a huge fan of live music and play four instruments.  I also do volunteer work in the pediatric ward of a cancer hospital and at a local community center.  I sat on the NY Committee of Hearts for Help For Children (Hedge Funds Care) for many years along with other contributions to community.  We’ve all  got to give back.

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is Bronwyn Bailey, Managing Director, Business Banking at First Republic Bank. Bronwyn is currently an active member of the CalALTs Private Equity Special Interest Group (SIG) and is involved in the planning of this group's 2021 meetings. You can read our interview with Bronwyn below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I grew up in El Paso, TX and lived on both coasts and three European countries. I currently reside in San Francisco, California. 

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

I am the Managing Director, Business Banking at First Republic Bank. My client focus is private equity and venture capital funds, providing their banking and lending needs, and developing private equity thought leadership for First Republic.

What are you passionate about?

Providing exceptional service to all clients, large and small. 

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

What I find most rewarding about my career is the opportunity to work with smart, entrepreneurial people – both colleagues and clients – and apply my experience on the investment side to help clients’ business.

CalALTs Involvement and Leadership

When did you join CalALTs? What do you value most about the organization? 

I joined CalALTs in 2019 and am now part of the planning team for the Private Equity Special Interest Group. What do you value most about CalALTs? Building relationships with like-minded professionals and service providers in the private fund ecosystem.

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Say yes to every opportunity to learn something new. Always be learning.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

Getting outside as much as possible, whether it’s walking the dogs in the neighborhood, jogging around Golden Gate park, or hiking the Marin Headlands.

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is Mark Xu, Manager of Deloitte. Mark is an active leader of the CalALTs Next Generation Leaders Group. You can read our interview with Mark below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I am originally from Palo Alto, California. I currently reside in Los Angeles with my wife and one-year old son.

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

I am a manager with Deloitte & Touche serving clients in the financial services industry. Currently, I am focused on providing audit and advisory services to numerous private equities, hedge funds, and other investment management companies.

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about helping my clients improve their performance and operating efficiency surrounding financial reporting and bringing value to their organizations through improving the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

The ability to help others, through speaking to an audience everyday that can make a positive change in their company, and the collaborative environment of the industry.

CalALTs Involvement and Leadership

When did you join CalALTs? What do you value most about the organization? 

I first joined CalALTs in the summer of 2018 when I attended my first event in San Diego while on an out of town trip. What I find most valuable about the organization is the network of professionals across the alternatives industry all coming together for one passion we all have in common.

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Take the risk and believe in yourself, you never know the outcome of your efforts unless you try and you’ll always find ways to cross the bridge when you get there.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

My wife and son are a big joy in my life. There’s never a dull moment around the house and there’s always something to laugh about, although it may not be funny in the moment!

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

"Thank you for hosting this meeting! Appreciate all senior colleagues taking the time to share insights with junior members of CalAlts."

~ Attendee*

*Quote take directly from the post meeting survey. 

On Thursday, December 10th at 12:30 PM Pacific, the CalALTs Next Generation Leaders Group hosted a virtual panel with three seasoned professionals in the industry of alternative investments,  Matt Hoffman, Senior Audit Manager of Deloitte, Ted Parker, Senior Vice President of Millennium Trust Company and Robert Klein, Vice President - Relationship Management of BNY Mellon | Pershing.

After making introductions around the room, the discussion, moderated by our group leaders Mark Xu, Manager, and Robert Wood, Senior Manager of Deloitte , provided the opportunity for our panelists to  share their insights, experiences and advice for younger professionals looking to advance their career in the ALTs Space. See a few highlights to this discussion below: 

"What would you say to those looking to take the next step to advance their career in alternative investments?"

ROBERT KLEIN: "The network and education is the most important thing. Educate yourself on your potential career options and note where the industry is going - You know yourself the best and what you're interested in.  Every silo of this industry is different, so find the place you like to be and work on your network - whether that be your classmates, your colleagues, your coworkers, etc. From my perspective, that is key to advancing and finding success in the industry. "

MATT HOFFMAN: "The ALTs space is so diverse and robust. If you have a certain passion, educate yourself on what those [investment] strategies are and make sure you're educating yourself to understand how things work. I also recommend attending a conference that gets put on specifically for the ALTs community. Those conferences have tons of asset managers and thought leaders that come from across the nation to speak. These are great opportunities to educate yourself on the industry and grow your network."

TED PARKER: "At Millennium, we strongly believe in education. You've got to look at what kinds of investments interest you and see how you want to accomplish your objectives. The best way to get a job you want is to call a friend in the area and stay connected to your network to see what opportunities are out there."

Again, we would like to thank our panelists, moderators and to all who attended this meeting. If you are interested in joining the CalALTs Next Generation Leaders Group, let us know and complete our brief interest form to stay up to date on our future meetings. 

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is Harshan Jeyakumar, Manager of 118 West Capital. Harshan is also an active leader of the CalALTs Hedge Fund Interest Group. You can read our interview with Harshan below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

My family is from Sri Lanka. I was born there, lived in a few states on the U.S. east coast as a kid, and grew up in the High Desert of Southern California.

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

I wear two hats - I'm a manager of 118 West Capital Management, LLC, where I run a long-short concentrated strategy focused on the global Cleantech sector. I am also an independent consultant advising investors, lenders, developers, and asset owners in the renewable energy space.

What are you passionate about?

Career-wise, right now I am very excited about creating a business around this fund and RIA. This is my first foray into entrepreneurship.

I think you have to enjoy the ‘keeping score’ aspect of this business. Your performance is out there for everyone to see, good or bad. Naturally, you feel great when you have a stretch of meaningful alpha, and on the flip side it can be depressing when you’re going through a period of underperformance. With my strategy based on a long-term perspective, I try to keep both emotions in check and enjoy the ride.

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

I stumbled into renewable energy and Cleantech many years ago. At that time I only thought about the career opportunity, but I’ve come to realize that being involved in an industry that is making a positive contribution is rewarding in and of itself.

CalALTs Involvement and Leadership

When did you join CalALTs? What do you value most about the organization? 

I joined at the beginning of 2020 and am on the leadership committee of the Hedge Fund Interest Group. The opportunity to network is most important to me - learning from people who have been doing this longer than I have. Also, the topics for webinars and panel discussions are usually on-point and interesting to me.

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Ask yourself honestly if you really enjoy the profession. Are you interested (fascinated, even) by the finance / academic underpinnings? Do you enjoy the challenge of the day-to-day tasks? Do you like meeting people in the business and talking about your work? Do you like to read the rags to keep up on the industry? If you do, you will naturally keep doing these things, work hard, advance and enjoy the ride up.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

Keeping up with my kids aged 8 and 6; sports, outdoor activities and reading. (history mostly!)

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

REGISTER HERE 

Join CalALTs for our upcoming Virtual Holiday Happy Hour on Friday, December 18 from 2:30 - 3:15 PM Pacific. We'll be joined by Nat Harry, an award-winning mixologist who will show us how to craft some delicious cocktails, after which, we'll invite you to take your cocktail to the SIG discussion group of your choice to discuss 2020, how it's impacted your business, and what your outlook looks like for 2021.

Download the Shopping List Here

Lion’s Tail 
You’re new favorite take on the whiskey sour! Debuted in the 1930's, the Lion’s Tail is a classic mixture of bourbon and citrus, albeit with lime rather than lemon, with a surprise addition of pimento dram, an allspice based liquor.

What you’ll need to make the Lion’s Tail:

• Bourbon
• Allspice or Pimento Dram
• Simple or Gomme Syrup
• Lime Juice
• Angostura or Other Aromatic Bitter

Cranberry Sauced 
An original, seasonal cocktail, the Cranberry Sauced is Nat’s holiday version of a classic Gin & Juice, featuring the tart flavor of cranberries.

What you’ll need for the Cranberry Sauced:

• London Dry Gin
• Unsweetened Cranberry Juice
• Simple Syrup
• Lime Juice
• Rosemary (for garnish)
• Seltzer or Soda Water 

Meet Nat Harry, Award Winning Mixologist

Nat Harry is a cocktail and spirits professional with 15 years of experience in the beverage industry, including specialty coffee. They spent the last four years curating the spirits portfolio at Cask stores, including selecting many of the shop’s single barrels and agave club offerings. 

A career bartender, fell in love with artisan spirits while running a farm to table bar program at Berkeley’s Revival Bar & Kitchen, and has received accolades including the East Bay Express award for Best Bartender in the East Bay. Nat received Seven Fifty Daily’s San Francisco Rising Star award in 2019 and was a judge at this year’s SF World Spirits Competition.

OCC and SEC Staff Issue Statements on Stablecoin Reserves
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published an interpretive letter on September 21, 2020 (Letter), confirming that national banks and federal savings associations (together, banks) may hold “stablecoin” reserves as a service to bank customers.1 This guidance follows an earlier interpretive letter published by the OCC in July confirming the authority of banks to provide cryptocurrency custody services.2 A stablecoin is a particular type of cryptocurrency that is backed by another asset (e.g., a fiat currency or a commodity) in order to reduce volatility in the price of the stablecoin....Read More.

The Updated Accredited Investor and Qualified Institutional Buyer Definitions
The Securities and Exchange Commission on August 26, 2020 adopted amendments to the definition of “accredited investor” to: add new categories of investors (both for individuals and entities); codify long-standing SEC staff interpretations; and make conforming changes to the definition of “qualified institutional buyer” under Rule 144A.1 This OnPoint provides further detail and analysis following the Dechert Newsflash published in August...Read More

OCC Allows National Banks to Custody Cryptocurrency
The Securities and Exchange Commission on August 26, 2020 adopted amendments to the definition of “accredited investor” to: add new categories of investors (both for individuals and entities); codify long-standing SEC staff interpretations; and make conforming changes to the definition of “qualified institutional buyer” under Rule 144A.1 This OnPoint provides further detail and analysis following the Dechert Newsflash published in August...Read More.

Developments on Digital Assets and Blockchain
Blockchain technology continues to mature and gain acceptance for a wide range of potentially disruptive financial and commercial uses. In the wake of COVID-19, we have seen an increased focus on the research and development of blockchain technology, as well as an increased deployment of the technology for both financial and non-financial use cases.....Read More.

Federal Agencies Adopt Amendments to Volcker Rule
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (together, Agencies) on June 25, 2020 adopted a final rule (Final Rule)[1] amending certain provisions of the regulations implementing the so-called “Volcker Rule.”[2] The Final Rule’s amendments, which relate to the provisions of the regulations implementing the Volcker Rule (Volcker Rule Regulations) dealing with “covered funds,” are substantially the same as those the Agencies proposed for comment earlier in 2020, although the Agencies made certain changes to the proposal in response to comments, as discussed below....Read More.

OCIE Publishes Risk Alert Regarding Recent Focus Areas in Private Fund Adviser Examinations
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (staff) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on June 23, 2020 (Risk Alert).1 The Risk Alert focuses on advisers that manage private equity funds or hedge funds (private funds), and highlights deficiencies observed by the staff that “may have caused investors in private funds ... to pay more in fees and expenses than they should have or resulted in investors not being informed of relevant conflicts of interest concerning the ... adviser and the fund.”2 Despite the SEC’s focus under Chairman Clayton on retail investors, the Risk Alert exemplifies OCIE’s continued efforts to regulate advisers to private funds, and is intended to assist private fund advisers in improving their compliance programs, as well as investors in their diligence of such advisers....Read More.

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is Benjamin Beer, Senior Manager of CohnReznick. Benjamin is an active leader of the CalALTs Real Estate Interest Group. You can read our interview with Ben below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I grew up in Northridge in the San Fernando Valley.  Currently, I reside in Hollywood.

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

My current role is as a Senior Manager at CohnReznick is to provide assurance and accounting services to real estate and private equity fund managers.

What are you passionate about?

Getting people excited about financial reporting.  Working together to create viable solutions and improving processes!

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

In various roles, I've worked with incredible fund managers who have unique stories and visions that directly impact the growth and development of our communities and it's wonderful and rewarding experience to be part of. I've been very fortunate to some incredibly smart and successful people who took a personal interest in my professional development, in which I am very grateful for.  It's very rewarding to reciprocate my learning experiences to others, especially those who are part of my CohnReznick team.

CalALTs Involvement 

When did you join CalALTs? What do you value most about the organization? 

I was introduced to CalALTs by Marc Wolf who is apart of CohnReznick as well as a CalALTs Board Member. I've heard about the organization before from other colleagues but didn't really get involved until I met and spoke with current CalALTs President Dana Light who got me really interested in the upcoming opportunities with the real estate group.

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Work for and learn from the best in the industry.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

I love working out at the gym, practicing yoga, and participating in fantasy football.  Unfortunately, the gym is on hold, but I learned to ski and I can't wait to get back on the mountain this snow season!

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

What will this election mean for the economy and for the industry of alternative investments? On October 27th, 2020, CalALTs held the first of our 2-part Election 2020 Webinar Series. You can view the recording to Part 1 - What to Expect Leading Up to November 3rd, below. 

In Part 2, "The Election is Over - Now What?" we were once again joined by our esteemed panel of industry professionals as they discussed the impact and implications of the (ongoing) 2020 election results. You can view the recording to Part 2 - The Election is Over, Now What? below.

Barry Knapp, Managing Director, Ironsides Macroeconomics
Barry Knapp is the Managing Director of Ironsides Macroeconomics, an independent provider of macroeconomic and public policy strategy for institutional and sophisticated individual investors, banks and corporations, with no affiliation with a broker dealer. Barry was most recently a Senior Managing Director and Head of Macro & Public Policy Strategy at Guggenheim Securities.  Previous roles included Managing Director and Head of Thematic Strategies for BlackRock Fundamental Fixed Income, Managing Director and Chief US Equity Strategist at Barclays Capital and Managing Director in principal trading and equity derivatives at Lehman Brothers. Barry has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Rhode Island, a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Fordham University and currently holds series 7, 86 and 87 licenses.

Bryan Goligoski, Founder and CIO, Stillwater Capital, LLC
With over twenty years of professional experience in a full range of market environments, Bryan Goligoski provides a unique investment perspective. He has worked in senior positions as portfolio manager for multiple strategies, securities analyst, and alternative investment specialist. He has worked at Strome Partners, Nuveen Investments, Mercer Advisors, Hatteras Funds and TCW. His deep knowledge of the various sectors of the economy has come from years of experience with management, analysts, economists, and market strategists. Mr. Goligoski writes and produces a weekly market commentary entitled Stillwater’s This Week in the Markets. Mr. Goligoski graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles. He currently holds series 7, 65 and 66 licenses and has served as trustee on the governing board of several public and private institutions.

Christopher Stanton, Partner & CIO, Sunrise Capital Partners
Prior to joining Sunrise nearly a decade ago, Stanton traded extensively in a wide range of global commodity and currency markets as Vice President and Portfolio Manager for Deerhurst Capital Management and as Capital Markets Officer for JP Morgan. In those roles, Stanton managed multi-million dollar portfolios and conducted all market and fundamental risk analysis for those portfolios. Stanton additionally spent several years as an attorney with an investment focus at both Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Quinn Emanuel. Stanton holds a J.D. cum laude from the Northwestern University School of Law, has engaged in graduate studies at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Applied Mathematics from Lehigh University.

Jason Gerlach, CEO and Managing Partner, Sunrise Capital Partners (Moderator)
Jason Gerlach is the CEO and Managing Partner of Sunrise Capital Partners. As one of founders of CalALTs, formerly known as the California Hedge Fund Association (CHFA), Jason served as President for ten years. He has also appeared on CNBC and in a variety of other media outlets and regularly presents at investment industry conferences on topics relating to the investment industry.

This week, we interviewed CalALTs member, Ted Parker, Senior Vice President and Regional Director of Custody Services at Millennium Trust Company. Ted is the first of our new series of Investor Spotlights, a series of interviews that will be dedicated to learning more investors and their approach to alternative investments. Read our interview with Ted below.

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

With Millennium Trust Company. I serve as the Senior Vice president, Regional Director of Custody Services.

What is your background in the ALTs sphere? How did you become interested in alternative investments?

I became interested in ALTs back in 2002 when a good friend and owner of a national multifamily construction company asked me if I wanted invest in one of the Apartment building they were rehabbing. Four years later, when that building was sold, my investment had an IRR of 48%. I was hooked!

What has been the most rewarding part about your career?

Opening up ALT investments to Advisors and their clients.

Investor Focus 

Do you have a specific industry or geographic focus for your investments?

My current passion is in the private equity space. More and more companies are staying private longer, and the largest pensions around the world are adding more to private equity to add the extra ALPHA to the portfolios. This space is best accessed through a PE fund because it doesn’t take many of those individual investment in the fund to make your double or triple run investments. PE is an area where research and management are paramount.

What is or has been your most successful investment?

My most successful investment has been with an LA based 1st TD investor in short term bridge loans for commercial real estate. These investments have provided consistent income and return of my investment.  They sailed through the 2008 market crash and kept my portfolio largely intact.  I am now in Fund VI with the firm and based on the short term nature of the loans, they have been managing the COVID-19 crisis quite well. So far I have never lost a penny and have averaged in excess of 9% across all investments.

CalALTs Involvement

What has your involvement with CalALTs looked like?

I first joined CalALTS in 2018 and have helped ALT investment sponsors and Advisors learn about the benefit of membership in CalALTs. I value the support and camaraderie of the members -- With the growing focus on ALTS , CalALTs is the best way to connect and stay informed.

Interested in an investor spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

 
Part 1: What to Expect Leading Up to November 3rd
October 27th, 1:30 - 2:30 pm PT
Sign Up Here

Part 2: The Election is Over - Now What?
November 5th, 3:00 - 4:00 pm PT
Sign Up Here


Panelists Include: 

Barry Knapp, Managing Director, Ironsides Macroeconomics
Barry Knapp is the Managing Director of Ironsides Macroeconomics, an independent provider of macroeconomic and public policy strategy for institutional and sophisticated individual investors, banks and corporations, with no affiliation with a broker dealer. Barry was most recently a Senior Managing Director and Head of Macro & Public Policy Strategy at Guggenheim Securities.  Previous roles included Managing Director and Head of Thematic Strategies for BlackRock Fundamental Fixed Income, Managing Director and Chief US Equity Strategist at Barclays Capital and Managing Director in principal trading and equity derivatives at Lehman Brothers. Barry has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Rhode Island, a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Fordham University and currently holds series 7, 86 and 87 licenses.

Bryan Goligoski, Founder and CIO, Stillwater Capital, LLC
With over twenty years of professional experience in a full range of market environments, Bryan Goligoski provides a unique investment perspective. He has worked in senior positions as portfolio manager for multiple strategies, securities analyst, and alternative investment specialist. He has worked at Strome Partners, Nuveen Investments, Mercer Advisors, Hatteras Funds and TCW. His deep knowledge of the various sectors of the economy has come from years of experience with management, analysts, economists, and market strategists. Mr. Goligoski writes and produces a weekly market commentary entitled Stillwater’s This Week in the Markets. Mr. Goligoski graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles. He currently holds series 7, 65 and 66 licenses and has served as trustee on the governing board of several public and private institutions.

Christopher Stanton, Partner & CIO, Sunrise Capital Partners
Prior to joining Sunrise nearly a decade ago, Stanton traded extensively in a wide range of global commodity and currency markets as Vice President and Portfolio Manager for Deerhurst Capital Management and as Capital Markets Officer for JP Morgan. In those roles, Stanton managed multi-million dollar portfolios and conducted all market and fundamental risk analysis for those portfolios. Stanton additionally spent several years as an attorney with an investment focus at both Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Quinn Emanuel. Stanton holds a J.D. cum laude from the Northwestern University School of Law, has engaged in graduate studies at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Applied Mathematics from Lehigh University.

Jason Gerlach, CEO and Managing Partner, Sunrise Capital Partners (Moderator)
Jason Gerlach is the CEO and Managing Partner of Sunrise Capital Partners. As one of founders of CalALTs, formerly known as the California Hedge Fund Association (CHFA), Jason served as President for ten years. He has also appeared on CNBC and in a variety of other media outlets and regularly presents at investment industry conferences on topics relating to the investment industry.

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is Zack Streit, Senior Vice President of George Smith Partners. Zack was recently a moderator for the CalALTs Webinar: Fintech and the Impact on Commercial Real Estate & the Banking Industry on July 9, 2020. You can read the full interview with Zack below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I am originally from Los Angeles, California and am still located here. I did live in New York City for the first decade of the 2000s and started my real estate career there.

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

My current role is as the Senior Vice President at George Smith Partners and a member of the Davies Group. We are focused on arranging debt and equity financing for entrepreneurial commercial real estate sponsors undertaking institutional projects.

What are you passionate about?

Connecting people and helping them in the process. 

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

We play a role in helping our clients scale their platforms and projects - and, since construction and transition deal are our focus, we help our clients get their deals out of the ground!

CalALTs Involvement 

When did you join CalALTs? What do you value most about the organization? 

I joined CalALTs in July after being recruited to moderate for the CalALTs Webinar, FinTech and the Impact on Commercial Real Estate & the Banking Industry. I value having access to a network that I have less exposure to. 

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Be hungry and patient. Work as hard as you can but don't expect the rewards to come easy. If you work hard, the rewards will come -- even if you can't see how!

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

Running, tennis and meditating -- and spending time with my wife and 20 month old son. I love mentoring young people, so please don't hesitate to reach out! My contact is zstreit@gspartners.com. 

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

~ Webinar Attendee*

"Great call today. I really enjoyed it."

~ Webinar Attendee *

"It was great! I look forward to staying in touch and attending additional upcoming meetings."

~ Webinar Attendee*

*All quotes are taken from our Post-Webinar Attendee Survey.

On Thursday, September 10th, CalALTs Board members’ Vincent Calcagno and Jason Gerlach were joined by Michael Marcus, Partner & Head of Manager Research for Prelude Capital, and Greg Moroney, Principal & Operational Due Diligence Analyst with ABS Investment Management LLC to discuss the changes they’ve seen with regard to how they do business and create capital in today’s changing environment. The panel explored new virtual visits versus traditional onsite meetings, how they manage a remote team, updates to operational due diligence that allocators have to be aware of, and anecdotes about their own interesting experiences during the past 6 months.
 
Key takeaways from their comprehensive discussion include:

• Hedge fund’s showed resiliency in performance as well as operationally in dealing with the virus and related market impact. The inability of fund personnel and counter-parties to access offices across the country was essentially a non-event due to the strides made the last few years in technology.  Surprisingly severe storms like the one that hit the Northeast last month proved more problematic due to downed power lines and multiple communication firms failing to maintain connectivity.
  
  
• Asset allocators are becoming increasingly comfortable with undertaking a lot of their qualitative and operational due diligence remotely using tools such as Zoom and various cloud-based document repositories such as Citrix ShareFile, Box.com, Dropbox, Teams and others.  Managers seeking allocations should become comfortable with these tools and have all of the documents that an allocator requests prepared, organized and ready to reference and share prior to any due diligence meeting.  As was noted on the panel, "a manager shouldn’t get on a call or video conference with me unless that manager knows his/her stuff."

• There remains a thirst for asset managers who can present a differentiated investment process that delivers truly unique and complementary return outcomes. In other words, allocators are rarely looking for managers who are able to generate returns using widely traded stocks but instead, seek managers who are able to trade less-frequently traded stocks or other instruments and doing so in a way that generates a return profile that looks materially different than a return stream that can be achieved from buying and holding a basket of widely traded stocks. Managers should not just be prepared to explain and demonstrate that their investment strategy is unique, but also be able to demonstrate how it’s replicable and likely to generate a return stream that the allocator’s other managers are not likely to be able achieve.
  
  
• While very large asset management firms continue to retain many advantages in the allocation game such as having more robust operational infrastructures and generally being viewed as “safer” bets by many allocators, there is room for smaller and emerging managers to gain a foothold if they are prepared for the rigors of the due diligence process and armed with a compelling story. Namely, managers should be prepared to explain and demonstrate why their business, despite being of a smaller size, is aligned with the right service providers such that it can safely take on and manage new allocations and comply with all relevant regulatory requirements. Moreover, managers should present their investment thesis and processes in a way that will show that what they are doing is perhaps something that, due to their scale and lack of nimbleness, large asset managers are not able to replicate.

• The traditional 2% management fee/20% performance fee model that dominated the hedge fund space for many years is, with a few notable exceptions, “dead.”  In other words, thanks to challenged returns in recent years for the average hedge fund and thanks to intense competition among many mangers for a reduced flow of assets, very few allocators are now willing to pay managers at a 2 and 20 level, particularly newer managers who have not yet proven the robustness of their investment strategy and smaller managers that don’t have sufficiently scaled operational expenses to justify fees at the 2 and 20 level. Accordingly, it is imperative that early stage and smaller managers be prepared for more flexible terms related to their pricing structures if they want to gain market traction. Click here for reference. 

• Of particular concern for everyone was the unintended consequences related to individuals working from home for extended periods of time thus having the lines blurred even further between work and personal time.  Company culture, hiring, training, teaming and mental well-being of colleagues were all mentioned as areas for further analysis and focus.

If you didn't make this Hedge Fund Special Interest Group (SIG) event, please check the CalALTs calendar for details about future events.

We post our Member Spotlight each month to recognize exemplary members of the CalALTs community. This month's Member Spotlight is James Burron from the Canadian Association of Alternative Strategies & Assets (CAASA). You can read the full interview with James below. 

Current Endeavors and Background

Where are you from originally? Where do you reside now?

I am originally from and still reside in Canada. I did a stint in Korea also. 

What is your current role and focus relative to alternative investments?

Having been active in product creation and due diligence as well as institutional sales for FoHF, PE funds, RE funds, and structured products, my focus for the last 12 years has been connecting folks within the alts industry under various umbrellas: the CAIA Association (3 years pro bono running the Toronto Chapter), AIMA (7 years running the Canada operation and leading 14 outbound missions with the Government of Canada, and now CAASA (almost 3 years from its founding with membership worldwide).

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about the connections and being in the nexus of the (ALTs) industry; using that perspective to put members together so that they can create relationships that would have probably never formed otherwise. Having an eye on every area and some training and experience in them as well affords me a view of each type of company and role within it – and it always seems to be the super-interesting folks who get into alternative investments, so it’s never a dull moment.

What do you find most rewarding about your career?

Our 3-person team produced 60 events in 2019 and, as a result of our digital pivot in March of this year, we organized 36 webinars in Q2 as well as 40 podcasts. Bringing together everyone from all parts: VC, PE, real estate, infra, lending, traditional hedge, liquid alts (our membership is responsible for 66% of the AUM), and even a few long-only shops has been the most rewarding part of my role. Having a 40% investor, 40% manager, and 20% service provider audience for our events is fantastic and really speaks to the programming topics and speakers that we are able to assemble – sometime straddling 4 time zones from Hong Kong to London...Even though we cannot be in the same room, people continue to want to connect!

CalALTs Involvement 

What do you value most about CalALTs?

I value the network! 

Advice for Young Professionals 

What advice do you have for young people getting started in the biz?

Get out and meet people and assume they don't have a job for you - just get to know them.

Fun Fact to Share 

What else are you passionate about personally?

My kids, travel and food! 

Interested in a member spotlight or think another member may be a good fit? Submit your spotlight here.

Join CalALTS at one of our upcoming Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings this September to meet other industry professionals with similar interests - ranging from Private Equity, Real Estate, Hedge Funds, Venture Capital, and FinTech. We’re missing in-person events just as much as you, but our SIGs will help foster new connections with our vast network of thought leaders, influencers and peers. The goal of our Special Interest Groups is to share investment ideas, best practices, and industry intelligence that will answer today’s question and drive tomorrow’s success. 

Sign up for CalALTs Membership

Become a Member 

Registration is first come first serve with priority for CalALTs Members. Sign up for any of the following Special Interest Group meetings in September to get involved and meet others (virtually)! Please note, pre-registration is required for each meeting.

2020 Lessons in Capital Raising & Allocating - Presented by the CalALTs Hedge Fund SIG
Presenters: Michael Marcus, Partner, Head of Manager Research, Prelude Capital and Greg Moroney, CAIA, Principal, Operational Due Diligence Analyst, ABS Investment Management LLC
Moderators: Vince Calcagno, CEO, Agile Fund Solutions & Jason Gerlach, Managing Partner, Sunrise Capital Partners
Thursday, September 10th from 1:15 - 2:00 pm PT

Sign-Up Here

CA Prop 15 and Their Implications - Presented by the CalALTs Real Estate SIG

Updates from Tom Bernard, EY Consulting. Keynote Speaker Ethan Penner, Mosaic Real Estate Investors.
Moderated by Peter Bush, EY Consulting, Benjamin Beer, CohnReznick and Dana Light, George Smith Partners

Thursday, September 15th from 2:00 - 3:00 pm PT

Sign-Up Here

Virtual Panel: Cybersecurity - Navigating Emerging Threats and Priorities in the Current Environment 
Presenters: Mike Pappacena, Partner, ACA Aponix; Patricia Voight, Managing Director, FSO Consulting, Ernst & Young; Jesse Starks, Chief Technology Officer, Breckinridge Capital Advisors.

Moderator: Jarod Winters, Chief Operations and Compliance Officer, Sunrise Capital Partners.

Sign-Up Here

FinTech Kick-Off Special Interest Group Meeting
Moderated by Mick Swartz, USC and Robert Klein, BNY Mellon, Perishing

Thursday, September 24 from 3:00 - 4:00 pm PT

Sign-Up Here

We look forward to “seeing” you in September at one of our upcoming virtual meetings! If you have any questions, please contact the CalALTs Office at info@calalts.org.