Strategic Partners – Current Opportunities

Are you an investment manager that wants to gain AUM and new investment strategies through acquisition, adoption or subadvisory?

Many boutiques are better portfolio managers than marketers. They haven’t been able to build distribution organically or want to enter new markets. They are looking for strategic partners.

We have access to strong managers that want to have their mutual funds adopted, firms acquired, or strategies used in subadvisory by larger organization that can provide sales, marketing and other resources to propel growth.

Sampling of our asset managers looking for strategic partners:

Fund Adoptions

• Niche fixed income – higher yields and more consistent returns – $600m AUM total firm and funds
• Options fund – boutique fund, good performance
• Niche fixed income – boutique fund, good performance
• World equity fund – small fund, good performance

Acquisitions

• Small cap value – good performing mutual fund – $1.2b AUM total firm and fund
• Small and large cap international – boutique with a strong pedigree
• Boutique manager of primary style boxes – quant, good performance
• Diversified strategy of ETF’s – small AUM, good performance, access to insurance platforms

Subadvisory

• Private credit, managed volatility, commercial mortgage loans – large institutional manager looking for subadvisory
• Global fixed income – $5b institutional firm looking for subadvisory
• Tactical strategies using managed futures – boutique manager with a strong pedigree
• Small cap alts – hedge fund, good performance
• Investment research platform – uses artificial intelligence – looking for a strategic partner to launch funds using their research

We also work with a number of asset managers with strong distribution that are looking to partner with asset managers looking for strategic opportunities. Currently, they are looking for several types of niche strategies including short duration/high yield bonds, income oriented strategies and alternatives.

As part of our growth solutions for asset managers, Sondhelm Partners provides strategic partnership services to match buyers and sellers. We represent investment managers that want to provide sales resources and those that want to become subadvisors.

Select recent transactions we have facilitated:

• One large institutional manager sold three mutual funds to a firm with strong retail distribution to focus on their institutional business. They became the subadvisor to all three mutual funds.
• To focus on their wealth management business, one boutique manager sold their lone mutual fund to an experienced asset manager looking to start a mutual fund with a similar strategy.
• To focus on their institutional business, one boutique manager sold two mutual funds to a firm with retail distribution. They became the subadvisor to one fund and merged the second into the larger firm’s similar fund.
• A boutique investment manager realized he was a better fund manager than marketer. He reorganized his two mutual funds into a mutual fund family with strong distribution and became the subadvisor. Assets under management tripled since the transaction took place.
• A $5b institutional global fixed income manager wanted to expand into the intermediary channel without the headaches of building distribution themselves. We helped them win a meaningful mutual fund subadvisory account that should grow over time.
• We helped a $200M boutique investment manager, with a mutual fund, ETF & separate accounts, monetize his business and focus on stock picking by merging with a fast-growing boutique asset manager boasting strong marketing and sales programs.

To learn about our available opportunities or for information about our strategic partnership services, schedule a free consultation.