Eaton Partners

Last updated
Eaton Partners
TypeWholly owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial
Industry Private Equity, Infrastructure, Real estate, Hedge funds
Founded1983;40 years ago (1983)
FounderCharles Eaton
Headquarters Rowayton, Connecticut, United States
Products Fund Raising, Secondary Advisory
Number of employees
80+
Parent Stifel Financial Corp.
Website www.eatonpartnersllc.com

Eaton Partners is a global placement agent that assists in raising capital for funds managed by some of the largest private equity firms, hedge funds, real assets and real estate funds in the world. The firm is also one of the oldest placement agents in the private funds industry. [1] [2] Eaton Partners raises capital primarily from institutional investors including private and public pension funds, endowment funds, family offices, fund of funds, foundations and other large pools of money that invest in alternative asset classes.

Contents

In 2009, The Wall Street Journal , citing a Preqin Ltd. league table, ranked them eighth among independent private funds placement agents. [3]

On November 9, 2015, Stifel Financial Corp. agreed to buy Eaton Partners. [4] [5] [6] The acquisition closed on January 4, 2016. [7]

History and background

The firm was founded in 1983 by Charles Eaton and has over 80 employees and nine offices: six in the US, two in Asia and one in Europe. The firm's headquarters are in Rowayton, Connecticut. [8]

In 2010, the firm was the first placement agent in the U.S. to launch a fund raising platform for private equity firms in China. [9]

In 2013 and 2017, Private Equity International named Eaton Partners the "Placement Agent of the Year in North America" ahead of Park Hill Group and Credit Suisse. [10] [11] The firm has also been recognized by PEI as "Placement Agent of the Year in Asia" since 2014, and "Secondaries Advisor of the Year in Asia" in 2016 and 2018. [12] [13]

In 2014, Eaton Partners won "Best Third Party Marketing Firm" of the Year by HFMWeek. [14]

Eaton Partners is a Registered Broker-Dealer and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The firm is also registered as an Introducing Broker with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and member of the National Futures Association and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). The firm's UK operating subsidiary is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and their Hong Kong-based arm is approved as a Type 1 License company under the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. [8]

Business lines

Fund raising - Eaton Partners has relationships with over 4,000 active institutional investors in the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Since its founding, the firm has raised more than $100 billion globally across more than 125 different private fund vehicles. [15]

Secondary advisory - In April 2014, Eaton Partners acquired a secondary advisory group that assists clients in the purchase and sale of limited partnership interests in various types of private funds including private equity, real asset, real estate, venture capital and illiquid hedge funds. [16] Eaton Partners's secondary advisory team assists private funds in managing the sale of limited partnership interests within their existing funds and also in raising new capital through stapled transactions, fund recapitalizations and fund restructurings. The team also advises limited partners on the purchase or sale of fund interests in the secondary markets.[ citation needed ]

Competitors

Eaton Partners competes primarily with large investment banks (most notably Credit Suisse and UBS) as well as a range of smaller firms including Atlantic-Pacific Capital, Campbell Lutyens, Probitas Partners, and Park Hill Group.

Within the secondary advisory space, other advisors also include investment banks.

Past clients

In 1989, the firm helped raise capital for a fund managed by Tiger Management Corp., one of the earliest hedge funds, which was founded by Julian Robertson. [17]

Private Equity - ICG Europe, Asia Alternatives, Summit Partners, Shoreline Capital, European Special Opportunities, Avista Capital, Black Diamond Capital Management, Landmark Partners, Tara India, Capital Today, Partners Group, JML Equity, Wind Point Partners, NorthStar Capital, CHL Medical Partners, Sterling Investment Partners, Sandler Capital Management, Swander Pace Capital, Telecom Partners, Wand Partners, Reich & Tang, Veronis Suhler Stevenson, Martin Currie, Southeastern Asset Management, Oak Investment Partners and Value Line Asset Management. [8]

Hedge Funds - Premium Point Investments, Welton Global Investments, BlackGold Capital Management, Burgundy Asset Management, DGHM, Dominion Ventures and Tiger Management Corp., Omega Advisors, Three Bridges Capital, Providence Equity Partners, ChinaRock Capital, Permal Asset Management, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.

Real Estate - Moor Park Real Estate, Landmark Partners, MacFarlance Partners, O'Connor Capital Partners, Trophy Property, Centerline Capital Group, ARCap, Lend Lease, Patron Capital Partners, and KBS Realty.

Real Assets - Ridgewood Energy, Red Kite Group, Molpus Woodlands Group, Parallel Resource Partners, Alterna Capital Partners, Quintana Capital Group, Hudson Clean Energy, Alinda Infrastructure, Tenaska and AIG.

Private Credit and General Partner Advisory & Directs – GLS Capital, Lyric Capital Partners, Lake Whillans, Trinitas Capital Management, Fundamental Partners, Portfolio Advisors, KSL Capital Partners

Emerging Managers - AE Industrial Partners, Brightstar Capital Partners, SDC Capital Partners, Ridgewood Energy, Turning Rock Partners [8]

Related Research Articles

In the field of finance, private equity (PE) is an investment fund, usually a limited partnership, which invests in and restructures private companies. A private-equity fund is both a type of ownership of assets and is a class of assets, which function as modes of financial management for operating private companies that are not publicly traded in a stock exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stifel</span> American investment bank

Stifel Financial Corp. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company created under the Stifel name in July 1983 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange on November 24, 1986. Its predecessor company was founded in 1890 as the Altheimer and Rawlings Investment Company and is headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

In finance, the private-equity secondary market refers to the buying and selling of pre-existing investor commitments to private-equity and other alternative investment funds. Given the absence of established trading markets for these interests, the transfer of interests in private-equity funds as well as hedge funds can be more complex and labor-intensive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbell Lutyens</span> American independent private equity advisory firm

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexington Partners</span> Private equity company

Lexington Partners is one of the largest manager of secondary acquisition and co-Investment funds in the world, founded in 1994. Lexington manages approximately $55 billion of which an unprecedented $14 billion was committed to the firm's ninth fund. This renders it the largest dedicated secondaries pool of capital ever raised at the time.

A private placement agent or placement agent is a firm assisting fund managers in the alternative asset class and entrepreneurs/private companies seeking to raise private financing through a so-called private placement.

Probitas Partners is an independent, global advisory firm founded in 2001. The company is focused on raising capital as a placement agent for private equity fund sponsors as well as providing portfolio management and liquidity solutions, through the private equity secondary market, for investors in private equity. The firm operates through three primary businesses: fund placement, portfolio management and secondary advisory. In 2002, the firm established a European placement business.

Atlantic-Pacific Capital (APC) is an independently owned placement agent. APC has established relationships with a network of institutional investors in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Australasia, and the emerging markets to which it markets private equity funds.

Needham & Company is an independent investment bank and asset management firm specializing in advisory services and financings for growth companies. Needham & Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Needham Group, which also operates a private equity investment business and an investment management business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squadron Capital</span>

Squadron Capital was an investment advisory firm headquartered in Hong Kong, focused on private equity investment within the Asia Pacific region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winton Group</span>

Winton Group, Ltd is a British investment management firm founded by David Harding. In the United States, Winton is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment advisor and with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a CTA, and is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. The company trades on more than 100 global futures markets in a wide variety of asset classes and on global equity markets. The firm was launched with $1.6 million in 1997, reached a peak of $28.5 billion in assets under advisement, before dropping to $7.3 billion by late 2020. Winton Group has six offices around the world: London, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, and Abu Dhabi.

Samena Capital is an Asia, India and MENA-focused alternative investments group, co-established in 2008 by Shirish Saraf and key partners from a cross section of industries and regions. This name was chosen due to the markets that Samena invests in. These are the Indian Subcontinent, Asia, Middle East and North Africa – a region collectively known as SAMENA. Also in ancient Buddhist script, Samena means "together" or "collective", which reflects the collective investment model the company is based on. The company and its subsidiaries employ 26 people in 3 locations worldwide, and has 48 shareholders.

Setter Capital is a Canadian independent investment bank primarily focused on the private equity secondary market, providing fund acquisition, non-strategic asset disposal, investor liquidity management and optimization and market validation advisory services between some of the world’s largest institutional investors.

Rede Partners is an independent private equity fundraising advisory firm focused on primary fundraising, secondaries, strategic advisory projects and investor relations advisory. The firm has offices in London, Hong Kong and New York with a team of over 100 professionals. Rede Partners was founded in 2011 by Scott Church and Adam Turtle. Scott's career began at Merrill Lynch where he remained for sixteen years, ending it as a managing director within the private equity group (placement). He moved to Lazard where he was a managing director in the private funds group. Adam, previously a Director within the investor relations group at private equity firm Actis, began his career with Credit Suisse's private fund placement group. Kristina Widegren joined the partnership in 2019 and was followed by Alexandra Bazareweski, Magnus Goodlad and Bruce Weir in 2020.

Asante Capital Group is a private equity advisory firm with offices in London, New York City, Hong Kong, and Munich. The firm is active across primary capital raising, secondaries advisory and direct investment transactions. Asante partners with fund managers globally and across the strategy spectrum including buyout, growth, venture, private debt, infrastructure and real assets. To date, Asante has assisted the placement of over 100 funds and transactions with more than 60 notable investment firms, including Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe, Chequers Capital, Creandum, LLR Partners, Montagu Private Equity, One Equity Partners, Summit Partners, NIO Capital, Whitehorse Liquidity Partners, and others.

Hamilton Lane is an American alternative investment management and advisory company headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The company provides private markets investment solutions to its clients.

References

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  2. Shieber, Jonathan (April 11, 2013). "Energy Trust Partners Seeks $600M for Its Fourth Fund". Dow Jones LBO Wire.
  3. "Top Placement Agents at End of 2008". The Wall Street Journal . April 22, 2009.
  4. Dunford, Thomas (November 10, 2015). "Private Equity Beat: The Morning Leverage". The Wall Street Journal.
  5. Basak, Sonali; Chiglinsky, Katherine (November 9, 2015). "Stifel to Acquire Eaton for Private Equity, Hedge Fund Ties". Bloomberg.
  6. Barr, Diana (November 9, 2015). "Stifel to buy advisory firm Eaton Partners". St. Louis Business Journal.
  7. PE Hub, Jan. 4, 2016, "Stifel Financial Closes Eaton Partners Buy"
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Eaton Partners Fund Placement". Eaton Partners Fund Placement.
  9. Sheng, Ellen (August 30, 2010). "The Go-Go World of Private Equity in China". The Wall Street Journal.
  10. Private Equity International Awards 2012. Private Equity International, Annual Review 2012
  11. Staff, P. E. I. (2018-03-01). "PEI Awards 2017: See the winners". Private Equity International. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  12. Mar 1, Eaton Partners; article, 2018 Share this (2018-03-01). "Eaton Partners Named Placement Agent of the Year in North America and Asia by Private Equity International". Eaton Partners Fund Placement & Advisory. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  13. Partners, Eaton. "Eaton Partners Named Placement Agent And Secondaries Advisor Of The Year In Asia By Private Equity International". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  14. Partners, Eaton. "Eaton Partners Hedge Fund Team Named "Best Third Party Marketing Firm" of the Year by Leading Hedge Fund Publication". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  15. "Who We Are". Eaton Partners Fund Placement & Advisory. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  16. "Eaton Partners Launches Secondary Advisory Group". FINalternatives. April 11, 2014.
  17. "A Pioneer". Columbia Business. October 9, 2013.