Facilitates Alternative Asset Investing

Announcement: Catalyst Financial Partners is excited to have Marty Dolan to headline our Catalyst Cap Intro Summer event in New York on the 16th of June. He will give a talk on:

– “Navigating the roles of being an investor, senior corporate advisor and running for political offices“

Marty Dolan is currently a candidate for New York City Public Advocate, and ran last year as a Congressional candidate for district NY-14, against AOC. He sits on the boards of several start ups, and has an illustrious career from investment banking and strategy consulting.

Announcement: Catalyst Financial Partners is excited to have Marcus Seizing and Caroline Lovelace to headline our Catalyst Cap Intro Flagship ’25 event in New York on the 10th of March. They will give talks on, respectively:
– “The challenges and opportunities of how an established SFO may best reach its investment goals“
– “Opportunities in private credit to optimize allocators’ portfolio construction and risk management“

Marcus Seizing is the CIO & Co-President of Dillon Trust Company, an institutional SFO based in Sioux Falls, SD. Caroline Lovelace is the CIO & Co-Portfolio Manager of Preserver Partners, a fund-of-funds based in Memphis, TN.

Catalyst Financial Partners is happy to announce the next 12 months of events.

Four events will be hosted, one in each season. They are all dedicated to the broad range of alternative asset classes and strategies. Focus is on ‘alpha producing’ funds within hedge funds, private equity, and real estate, in the liquid and semi-liquid parts of the asset spectrum. 

We’ve had positive feed-back on and continue our ‘larger tent’ model, where we take into account asset class and strategy focus, but also the availability of investors and the fund raising cycle of managers by offering more applicable events.

All events are hosted in New York City.

Announcement: We’re excited to have Susan Webb to headline our Catalyst Cap Intro event in New York on the 16th of Sept. She will give a talk on:
“An allocator’s view on the alt industry and what makes a stand-out alt manager“.

Susan Webb is a seasoned alt industry leader, being the Co-founder, CEO and CIO of Appomattox Advisory, an Outsourced CIO firm with over $1.4bn in AUM.

– Carl Berg, Managing Member of Catalyst Financial Partners, says he has known Susan for over 15 years and admires her pragmatic, actionable and insightful approach to business and investment allocation. Where others may speak in codes, Susan always tells you directly what she thinks. It is a great pleasure to host her at Catalyst’s next event and learn from her industry expertise.

Returning guests at our cap intro events with attention to detail may notice that we update our event logo designs every year or so.

This year’s design is made by Mrs. Kim, our graphics designer, and is inspired by a warped space-time linear concept as background image, with different text colors for each seasonal event. For media where it makes sense, it is also animated.

Catalyst Financial Partners is happy to announce the next 12 months of events.

Events will be dedicated to different asset classes, with a focus on hedge funds (liquid and semi-liquid assets), private equity, and real estate, respectively.  Some cross-over might occur depending on the character of individual funds.

Fund raising is a function of asset class and strategy focus, but also on the availability of investors and the fund raising cycle of managers. By offering a somewhat ‘larger tent’, with more events fitting prospective participants, Catalyst aims to accommodate investors and managers better.

All events are hosted in New York City.

The Original and Best?

Similar to Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, our product was arguably an original in the marketplace. We spawned the structured ‘Cap Intro Event’ concept in 2010, on the back of our industry conferences.

To our minds, for the first time in the alternative investing industry, delegates would arrive to an event knowing not only who was speaking, but also who was interested in them and receiving a schedule of pre-set meetings with same. This was pretty powerful compared to earlier when ‘walking the floor’ was your shot at meeting new potential business partners, and nowadays, as a testament to the idea, the cap intro events concept has been widely adopted in the industry.

Throughout the years we have added more flavors with increased event specialization, follow-up feed-back reporting, award recognitions, investor qualification processes, online participant event management tools, 3PM services, and lately virtual and hybrid events, but the focus on bringing potential investment partners together for pre-scheduled introductions in a highly structured event format remains the same.

Catalyst Financial Partners has now produced over 100 cap intro events, and has established itself as one of the leading, specialized and independent cap intro providers.

Catalyst Financial Partners has successfully conducted virtual cap intro events since September 2020. Following current health guidelines we aim to return to an in-person event format in the fall of 2021. This means we will be following the ‘Key to NYC’ policies whereby participants need to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination before accessing the event premises. As the health environment remains in flux and geographically fragmented, our events may be changing event formats with a fairly short notice (min of 10 days). We refer participants and potential participants to our event terms on our registration site.

We are taking steps to arrange our in-person events with lots of room for guests and access to some out-door space. Fundamentally, all our events are small and exclusive, with only about 30 participants each, which make for a controlled and healthy environment. In addition, the events are hosted in New York City, likely limiting the need for long-haul transportation for many of our participants.

We also acknowledge the varying health sentiments and occasionally also the practical benefits of a virtual format with some participants. We are monitoring these developments and may offer hybrid access to our events on demand.

Carl Berg, founder of Catalyst Financial Partners, and Susan Weerts, a Research Analyst, publish the report “Survey of Allocators’ Investment Trends 2021”.

View the full report in pdf or as a flipbook below.

Some of the main findings are:

• The characteristics and record performance of hedge funds in 2020 have helped its reputation as producer of alpha.
• To avoid being overexposed to US equity market from recent rallies and highs, investors seem to seek diversification in Emerging Markets.
• Investors highest priority is getting Meaningful Performance.
• Investors seem to shift away from Credit & Fixed Income strategies as well as Commodity & Energy strategies.
• Investors continue their affinity to Private Equity.
• ETFs/Mutual Funds lost their luster in today’s environment, while being a top consideration in 2020 when liquidity was highly prized in a more volatile market.

The survey also asked some questions regarding virtual vis-à-vis in-person events:

• During the last year, investors think virtual events have been a mixed bag.
• The majority thinks they will start attending in-person events again in the early fall period.

Catalyst Survey April 2021 Flip Book

Starting from fall of 2020, Catalyst Financial Partners will also offer virtual events:

Catalyst’s virtual events retain the same successful format and approach as its on-site events. A virtual event – as an on-site event – will include a main presentation session, followed by private meetings, and conclude with a general networking session, all conducted via an online video platform.

The essence of any type of Catalyst Cap Intro Event is pre-scheduled meetings with pre-qualified participants focusing on a particular investment sector or asset class. Both on-site and virtual events accomplish that well.

New for all event types is that all participants will receive their agendas, delegate details and meeting schedules delivered via a dedicated, online Catalyst Event Portal.

Furthermore, the different event types will be convertible and interchangeable, and Catalyst may also add hybrid events, as the health situation across the world looks to be geographically fragmented in the near to mid future.

Catalyst Financial Partners’ sister organisation Catalyst Fund Advisors has launched COIN – the Catalyst Online Investor Network:

COIN is an online capital introduction platform for qualified investors who focus on alternative investing. The platform will feature ‘COIN Funds’, which are hand-picked, small to mid-sized, alpha focused investment managers. Investors will be able to be directly introduced to any of the COIN Funds through the platform.

Says Carl Berg, the manager of COIN:
“COIN fills a need in our suite of capital raising services whereby some exceptional funds can get constant exposure to investors by being showcased online, alongside and in addition to our in-person Catalyst Cap Intro Events and our more hands on 3PM services. The COIN Funds are selected to be truly alpha-focused and differentiated managers, and consist of funds which are typically hard to discover. In that sense COIN is designed to assist in investors’ manager research efforts.

It’s also telling what COIN is not; it’s not a database, not a long list of random managers where you play around with data, and not a pay-per-click advertising board. The model is a brokerage solution, wherein our interests are aligned with the investors, as well as the managers. We aim to only feature about a dozen or so COIN Funds, making each featured fund very important. We want investors to look at the group of COIN Funds and say ‘Wow, some great stats and strategies here, I want to learn more’.”

In addition, investors that want to attend Catalyst Cap Intro Events need to be members of COIN, in order to qualify and gain admission.

Check out COIN here.

Carl Berg, founder of Catalyst Financial Partners, and Susan Weerts, a Research Analyst, publish the report “Survey of Allocators’ Investment Trends Post COVID 2020”.

See the full report here.

Below are some of the main points:

Many fund managers have demonstrated their ability to provide risk-adjusted returns during the market turmoil, i.e. adding alpha, and reignited investors’ interest in the alternative investing space.

For the moment, hedge funds enjoy being the most appealing investment opportunity. That is a first since we started publish our surveys in 2013.

There is a surge of interest in Credit and Fixed Income strategies, signaling that investors want to take advantage of undervalued asset prices and cheap credit in a Post-Covid era.

On the back end, investment destinations that are perceived riskier, like Emerging Markets and to a degree also Macro strategies, have fallen in investor interest.

Similar to the crisis in 2008/09, liquidity is king. There is a high degree of uncertainty of how the next quarters will develop (V-shaped, U-recovery, W-shaped or L-shaped recovery?).

Long lock-up strategies like Private Equity are out of favor while highly liquid products like ETFs are in.

Holding cash outright seems to be a sub-optimal solution, especially given the increasing risk of a deflationary environment.

Portfolio characteristics such as non-correlation is key – and investors seem open to look at new manager talent.

We’re happy for a bit of mentioning among the best Real Estate events in New York, as published by Metro Manhattan Office Space. See the article here.

Carl Berg, founder of Catalyst Financial Partners, and Susan Weerts, a Research Analyst, publish the report “Survey of Allocators’ Investment Trends 2019”.

See the report here.

Below are some of the main points:

Investors seem to be having both a risk-on and risk-off attitude going into 2019, in a two-pronged approach. At the core portfolio level, investors aim to reduce their idiosyncratic risk by increasing exposures to general markets. However, at the tactical level, they are willing to increase risk by increasing holdings of ‘true’ alternatives in pursuit of alpha. These often include illiquid assets, niche markets and strategies, and managers that focus on assets with a higher degree of market inefficiency.

Strategies with low market correlation continue to attract the most attention from investors. Event-driven strategies see the biggest jump in investors’ interest.

Investors seem to be increasingly drawn to technology innovation as being the basis of an investment strategy. Advanced computing power, new methods in data mining, Big Data, and machine learning are enabling managers to use new quantitative methods to more effectively and quickly exploit mispricing in the market.

Investors are also increasingly moving to private equity in pursuit of alpha, and a long lock-up is less of an issue compared to a few years ago.

Catalyst Financial Partners was awarded a Finance Award 2018 in the category ‘Best Alternative Asset Investment Facilitator 2018 – USA’.

See the award here.

Carl Berg, founder of Catalyst Financial Partners, and Susan Weerts, a Research Analyst, publish the report “Survey of Allocators’ Investment Trends 2018”.

See the survey here.

Below are some of the main points:

While the appetite of investing in alternative funds remains strong in 2018, investors in the survey are showing a more selective approach towards alternative investments. Investors only intend to put money into those funds that are deemed to be the exactly the right fit.

Across strategies, investors continue to favor low-correlation funds. Their top preferences are Quant & CTAs and L/S Equity strategies. In addition, the interest in Commodities & Energy strategies has soared.

Emerging Markets was out of flavor a couple of years ago, but investors are redeploying into the space. The interest in Mortgage related funds is extremely low.

Across the asset classes, the main trends are an increase in ETFs & Mutual funds and a deterioration in the interest in Real Estate funds. The interest in Direct Investments remains very high.

AUM size has dropped in significance as a criterion, while Long track-record remains important.

Investors think that the market correction in early 2018 is a wake-up call that the period of low volatility is over and the need for actively managed funds is more acute.

Catalyst Financial Partners was awarded a Finance Award 2017 in the category ‘Specialist Events Producer Hedge Funds – USA’.

See the award here.

Please find the full paper here. 

Carl Berg, the Founder of Catalyst Financial Partners, shares some of his firm’s insights in the fund capital raising business. This paper is aimed at the new or more established managers alike, and elaborates on the following topics:

• So, What is the First Thing to Consider in Capital Raising?

• Is There a Road Map to Successful Capital Raising?

• The Sweat Equity

• The Tools and Science of Marketing a Fund

• What About Performance?

• The Private Fund Capital Raising Laundry List

Please find the full paper here. 

We are happy to share our Media Partner Preqin’s recent report spotlights covering the Real Estate, VC & Private Equity, and Hedge Fund industries:

The Real Estate Spotlight 2017 includes:
• 2016 in numbers
• Funds in market
• Fund manager views
• Deal flow
• Insight from Barings Real Estate Advisers
• The outlook for 2017

The VC and Private Equity Spotlight 2017 includes:
• First-Time Fund Managers
• Performance Benchmarks
• Investor Appetite
• Venture Capital Deals
• Largest Buyout Deals and Exits

The Hedge Fund Spotlight 2017 includes:
• Predictions for 2017
• Consistent Top Performing Funds
• News
• Latest Trends and Statistics

Carl Berg, founder of Catalyst Financial Partners, and Susan Weerts, a Research Analyst, publish the report “Survey of Allocators’ Investment Trends 2016”.

Allocation appetite among investors is mixed while it seems to be the case that current and forecasted volatility in 2016 may increase the appeal of hedge funds.

In 2016, investors are more selective towards hedge funds and skepticism exists. About 50% say they will see how the year develops or are only allocating if they find an appropriate manager. Departing from earlier years, some investors now even dismiss hedge funds based on being disappointed by the industry.

The top strategy preference is L/S Equity strategies while Macro strategies have become favorable compared to earlier years. Quant & CTAs record a huge increase in appeal.

See the survey here.

• Carl Berg, founder of Catalyst Financial Partners, and Susan Weerts, a contributing writer to Seekingalpha.com, publish the report “Survey of Allocators’ Investment Trends“. View the report here.

In summary, in 2013 an allocator is ready and willing to invest with an institutional quality hedge fund if it is providing portfolio benefits, decent – but not necessarily top – performance, at attractive fee levels and terms.

If these criteria are not fulfilled allocators may look at substitutes, notably Private Equity, ETFs and mutual funds, or Direct investments.

Going into 2013, within the hedge fund space, L/S Equity looks like the preferred allocation destination, followed by Emerging Markets and Credit & Fixed Income. This signals a return to more risky assets as Emerging Markets have particularly been out of favor the last 12-15 months.

Catalyst Financial Partners and Susan Weerts at Seekingalpha publish the report “A View from Both Sides: the Latest Trends in Capital Raising“.

The report is based on a survey and interviews with participants at the Alternative Investing Forum Spring 2010. Please find the report here. Some of the main conclusions are below:

– High Absolute Returns is the top reason investors allocate to hedge funds, and the primary criteria in selecting a hedge fund

– The current preferred strategy among investors is equity-related strategies

– In Manager Selection processes, investors rank Firm’s Stewardship last while for a fund manager it is at the top of the list

– More weight on risk management by investors than managers

– Traditional hedge fund clients are still the major sources of capital for small/mid-size hedge funds

– Pension Funds will be the driving force behind the future growth of hedge fund industry

– Investors think “Institutionalization of hedge funds” can boost investors’ confidence in the industry

– Investors are neutral on whether a new set of government regulations will increase their likelihood of investing in hedge funds in the near future

– Lack of access to appropriate capital distribution channel, rather than lack of attractive products, is credited as the top obstacle in raising capital by hedge fund managers