1. Tell us about your background and what made you gravitate towards the private markets?
I started in the industry mid 2000s with life insurance and mutual funds. Over the years, I wanted to find new ways to diversify my client offering and that’s when I got involved in the private markets.
2. What are some of the biggest changes you have seen since you started?
There has been a market consolidation. There are fewer deals today and fewer dealerships that are active in the retail EMD space.
3. What is the one thing you want someone unfamiliar with this space to know?
Liquidity is scarce in the private markets, and that must be taken into consideration when making recommendations to a client. There is currently no secondary market for the private markets. In high inflation times like we are living now, unexpected financial upsets can happen in a client’s life, requiring withdrawals that were not part of the original planning.
4. What are your ‘go to’ features that you look for when completing KYP on a given product for suitability consideration?
a) Cost of Capital
b) Management
c) Business Plan
d) Other:
For a product to be distributed in the first place, the firm and the representatives play an important role to determine if the product has a chance of working or not. For a product to be successful, low cost of capital, good management and a solid business plan are all required. Assuming a product gets a green light on all of those requirements, then it’s time to see to what clients it would be suitable for. At similar risks, liquidity would be my ‘’go to’’ feature to determine client suitability.
5. Share something interesting about yourself that most people don’t know.
Before my career in the financial industry, I worked in project management for the aerospace industry. Many of the skills learned in engineering are beneficial in finances. Risk analysis, timeline, proper budgeting and good decision-making process are still an integral part of my day to day work.
