Headquartered in San Francisco with principal offices in Dallas, Philadelphia, Miami, New York, London, Milan, and Dubai, US Capital Global is a full-service global private financial group with an established track record in corporate finance, asset management, and capital formation services. All private placements, securities, and other related services are offered by the group’s FINRA-member broker-dealer affiliate, US Capital Global Securities LLC.

Mr. Ford brings a wealth of experience from his extensive career at leading financial institutions. He spent over a decade at Wells Fargo, where he excelled in managing and investing substantial funds, including $2 billion in fixed-income securities for top technology and pharmaceutical firms across California. Additionally, as an IPO specialist, he worked with boutique investment banks to successfully manage and execute public offerings.

Mr. Ford expressed his enthusiasm for his new role, stating, “I am thrilled to join US Capital Global’s regional headquarters in Europe. The group is at a pivotal moment in its international expansion, exploring new verticals and offering a comprehensive range of innovative financial solutions. I am excited to contribute to US Capital Global’s continued success in Europe.”

Charles Towle, COO and Managing Partner at US Capital Global, remarked on the appointment, stating, “I am delighted to welcome Giovanni to the group as we continue our global expansion. His extensive network, which includes strong ties with pension plans, municipalities, high-net-worth individuals, and investment consulting firms across the U.S. and Europe, is invaluable. Giovanni also brings significant expertise in real estate, having underwritten, financed, developed, and managed a variety of properties. He is a valuable addition to our global team.”

In 1995, Mr. Ford was entrusted with the critical task of establishing Wells Capital Management’s presence in the New York, Chicago, and Boston markets. Under his leadership, the firm secured key mandates from large pension plans and foundations, including successfully directing $440 million in pension assets to Wells Capital Management’s R2000 growth strategy. Since 2010, Mr. Ford has been actively involved in private equity, with a focus on green technology, healthcare, and real estate development.

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Chatham will occupy 6,700 square feet on the fourth floor at the Offices at Carson Station, a revamped property located at 1001 Morehead Square Drive in South End, one of Charlotte’s core business areas. Five employees currently work out of the Charlotte office, and Chatham plans to increase headcount in this location sixfold in the next few years. The Charlotte office marks the third new office that Chatham has opened this year, adding locations in New York City and Amsterdam earlier in 2024, bringing its total to 10 offices worldwide.

“Positioned at the intersection of finance and technology, Charlotte is a natural target for Chatham’s expansion,” said Laura Grant, Managing Partner and President of Chatham Financial. “Chatham is growing and diversifying like many of our clients. We are a stronger partner and better able to deliver the high-quality service our clients expect because we proactively engage with their business needs and challenges.”

Scott Simonton, a 15-year veteran of private capital risk management and a North Carolina native, will lead the Charlotte office. Prior to joining Chatham, Simonton was at Brookfield Asset Management in New York, New York, where he oversaw interest rate and currency risk management for a $550 billion private investment portfolio.

“Our new office is located in the heart of Charlotte’s business community, providing excellent connectivity for our clients and stakeholders,” said Simonton, Managing Director, Chatham Financial. “Chatham couldn’t have picked a better place to establish its presence in the Southeast. Charlotte provides access to a rich pool of tech and capital markets professionals as well as an incredible university system, enabling us to recruit top-tier talent at scale across sectors.”

For more information about Chatham Financial and its services, please visit chathamfinancial.com. For media inquiries, please contact chatham@backbaycommunications.com

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LendingPoint is a financial technology platform that provides financing solutions to a wide range of customers, including lending institutions and consumers. The company’s proprietary fraud prevention, risk, and asset management algorithms are used to create financing opportunities across the credit spectrum.

Mr. Stone is a senior financial services executive with more than 25 years of experience in online loan origination, loan servicing operations, credit and capital markets. He spent more than 20 years at Mr. Cooper, where he helped build Mr. Cooper into the country’s largest home loan servicer. He held numerous executive leadership positions across the entire platform, including Chief Revenue and Production Officer as well as Executive Founder and President of Xome, a technology-enabled real estate and mortgage services subsidiary of Mr. Cooper. Prior to joining LendingPoint, Mr. Stone was a senior advisor for Bayview Asset Management and served as the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors for Renovate America, a nationwide POS and ESG and home improvement fintech lender.

“I am honored to join LendingPoint and to work alongside such a dedicated and talented team at a pivotal time in our growth. I previously had the opportunity to work with LendingPoint as a lending partner and was impressed with their fintech lending platform, customer-centric culture and operational excellence,” said Shawn Stone. “I also want to thank Mark for his leadership and significant contributions to LendingPoint in various roles over the past seven years and look forward to working closely with the team on this next phase.”

“It’s been a privilege to serve LendingPoint as interim CEO. I believe that Shawn is a great fit and will continue the company’s mission to provide innovative financing solutions for customers, while identifying new strategic growth opportunities,” Mark Lorimer, Chief Business Affairs and Legal Officer. “Throughout his career, Shawn has been recognized for his ability to drive organizational success, foster a culture of excellence, and deliver superior results. His strategic vision, operational expertise, and championship of customer experience make Shawn the ideal leader to guide LendingPoint in its next chapter.”

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The number of blockchain networks is rapidly increasing, with a growing proliferation of L1 and L2 chains across various ecosystems. This chain-dense approach to scalability leads to highly fragmented user bases and liquidity, resulting in poor user and developer experiences alongside significant friction/costs.

Particle Network is a modular Layer 1 blockchain that provides Chain Abstraction infrastructure to address liquidity and user fragmentation in a multi-chain world. They achieve this through four core features, namely Universal Accounts, Universal Liquidity, Universal Gas, and the Particle L1 chain.

With Particle Network, users can maintain a single account and balance across the entire ecosystem, eliminating the need for manual bridging or asset management across multiple chains. They act as a coordinator for the multi-chain ecosystem, with the goal of allowing users to have a single address and balance across every chain, and eventually pay for gas in any token. Their mission is to unify Web3 through its Modular Chain Abstraction Infrastructure, providing a seamless experience with “One Account, One Balance, Any Chain.”

The newly secured funds will be allocated to several key areas to drive Particle Network’s growth and success, including global team expansion; enhancing the features and integrations of their Chain Abstraction ecosystem to provide a more robust and comprehensive solution for users; and ensuring a secure, efficient, and timely launch of their L1 Mainnet later this year.

“Binance Labs is committed to supporting founders who are building innovative products to onboard the next billion users into Web3. We look forward to supporting Particle Network in their mission to create a smoother and more intuitive user experience for everyday users,” said Yi He, Co-Founder of Binance and Head of Binance Labs.

“We are honored to receive this investment from Binance Labs, a true pioneer in driving industry innovation. This partnership is a significant milestone for Particle Network as we work towards advancing the realization of Chain Abstraction and accelerating the mass adoption of Web3. With Binance Labs’ support, we will enhance our technical capabilities and expand our reach within the global Web3 community. Together, we are committed to making Web3 more accessible and user-friendly for everyone,” said Pengyu, Founder of Particle Network.

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Toms is a seasoned executive with over 35 years of experience in consumer finance and asset management. His visionary leadership and strategic acumen have consistently propelled companies to industry-leading positions, setting new benchmarks for performance. At Axar Capital, Toms supported the firm’s consumer finance strategy. Prior to Axar, he launched Freedom Financial’s (later Achieve.com) successful lending division. Under his leadership, the division grew into a highly profitable consumer lending business, with a top-performing $2 billion consumer credit fund and a robust securitization program that received AAA ratings from two separate rating agencies.

“Krishna has built an incredible foundation, and I am committed to building upon it and leading ADF into its next phase of growth and success,” said Toms. “Over the past several months, I have had the privilege of working closely with the talented team at ADF and have been consistently impressed by their dedication, expertise, and customer-centric approach. ADF’s sophisticated risk pricing abilities, driven by its advanced data-science capabilities and cutting-edge analytical approach, set the company apart in the industry. I look forward to working with the entire ADF team to continue delivering innovative and responsible credit solutions to our customers.”

Toms’ appointment follows the company’s successful refinancing and growth equity capital infusion in late 2023, which will allow ADF to continue growing while also exploring new opportunities for innovation and expansion.

“I am delighted to welcome Joe as the new CEO of Applied Data Finance,” said Gopinathan, who co-founded ADF in 2014 and has served as its CEO for the better part of a decade. “His extensive background in consumer finance, combined with his intimate understanding of ADF’s business as a board member, positions him perfectly to lead the company forward. I have full confidence in his ability to drive ADF’s success, and I look forward to working with him in my new capacity as a board member and advisor.”

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Private markets are the fastest growing segment of asset management, with alternative assets expected to reach nearly $40 trillion by the end of the decade. As institutional and wealth investors increase allocations to alternatives, BlackRock has built a leading private markets franchise to meet this client demand. There is an even greater need for standardized data, benchmarks, and analytics that enable investors to better incorporate private asset classes into portfolios and provide fund managers with better data and tools to deliver outcomes for clients. Private markets data is estimated to be an $8 billion total addressable market and growing 12% per year, reaching $18 billion by 2030.

Preqin empowers investors to make better decisions by providing data and insights that increase transparency and access across the global alternatives market. With a 20-year history, Preqin is a leading independent data solutions provider in private markets with global coverage of 190,000 funds, 60,000 fund managers and 30,000 private markets investors, reaching more than 200,000 users, including asset managers, insurers, pensions, wealth managers, banks, and other service providers. In 2024, Preqin is expected to generate ~$240 million of highly recurring revenue and has grown approximately 20% per year in the last three years.

Through the Aladdin platform, BlackRock provides technology solutions to over 1,000 clients. The combination of Preqin with eFront, Aladdin’s private markets solution, brings together the data, research, and investment process for fund managers and investors across fundraising, deal sourcing, portfolio management, accounting, and performance. Preqin will also continue to be offered as a standalone solution.

“BlackRock’s vision has always been to bring together investments, technology, and data to offer solutions that meet our clients’ needs across their whole portfolio. As clients increasingly evolve their focus from choosing products to constructing portfolios, this shift requires technology, data, and analytics that create a ‘common language’ for investing across both public and private markets. We see data powering the industry across technology, capital formation, investing, and risk management,” said Rob Goldstein, BlackRock Chief Operating Officer. “Every acquisition has been an opportunity to strengthen our capabilities for clients—and in fact, we have been a client of Preqin for many years, and we look forward to welcoming the talented Preqin team to BlackRock.”

“Together with Preqin, we can make private markets investing easier and more accessible while building a better-connected platform for investors and fund managers. This presents a substantial opportunity for Aladdin to bridge the transparency gap between public and private markets through data and analytics,” said Sudhir Nair, Global Head of Aladdin.

“BlackRock is known for excellence in both investment management and financial technology, and together we can accelerate our efforts to deliver better private markets data and analytics to all of our clients at scale.” said Mark O’Hare, Founder of Preqin. “I look forward to joining BlackRock and continuing to play a role in the continued growth and success of Preqin and our customers.” Preqin founder Mark O’Hare will join BlackRock as a Vice Chair after the close of the transaction.

“Private markets continue to evolve and so is Preqin. I am incredibly excited about the opportunities this next phase of growth, together with BlackRock, promises our customers and our employees,” said Christoph Knaack, CEO of Preqin.

Terms of the Transaction

Under the terms of the transaction, BlackRock will acquire 100% of the business and assets of Preqin for total consideration of £2.55 billion or approximately $3.2 billion in cash.

The transaction is expected to close before year-end 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Barclays served as lead financial advisor to BlackRock, with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom acting as legal counsel. Goldman Sachs International served as the sole financial advisor, and Macfarlanes acted as legal counsel, to Preqin.

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Phillips, a seasoned investment professional with nearly two decades of experience, will spearhead the ongoing evolution and expansion of SMArtX Investment Solutions. Pascal Roduit, SMArtX Chief Investment Strategist, will report to Phillips and continue to manage existing SMArtX Investment Solutions relationships, overseeing the quarterly-produced SMArtX Manager Select List. Together, Phillips and Roduit will build upon these existing services, delivering new capabilities such as turnkey investment solutions and overlay management services, including multi-asset portfolio management. SMArtX Investment Solutions will offer a concierge level of service to support advisors with their investment needs across the spectrum – from asset allocation and manager selection to client communications. Phillips will also implement and chair the SMArtX Investment Policy Committee.

“While SMArtX has been recognized by Wealth Advisor as the fastest growing TAMP for the past four years, and has received the WealthManagement.comWealthies Award for our SMArtX Model Marketplace and Rebalancer on consecutive occasions, it’s the talented people behind the scenes that make this all possible,” said Jonathan Pincus, CEO of SMArtX. “Dan’s deep industry expertise coupled with his track record of innovation and delivering customized portfolio management at scale creates an exciting opportunity for SMArtX.”

Prior to SMArtX, Phillips was Director of Asset Allocation Strategy at Northern Trust Asset Management. There, he was responsible for Northern Trust’s asset allocation process, including capital market assumptions, strategic portfolios, tactical positioning, and multi-asset funds, models and custom portfolios. Recognized for his industry insights, Phillips also writes on a wide range of investment topics and is a frequent presenter at industry conferences and client events.

“I am very grateful to Jon and the entire team for welcoming me to SMArtX,” said Phillips. “I’m excited to be a part of the rapidly evolving fintech industry, especially at SMArtX with its state-of-the-art technology platform. Advanced technologies have created a number of new potential investment applications, and I plan to bring the most innovative of these to the SMArtX user community.”

SMArtX is a leading innovator in unified managed account (UMA) technology and architect of the SMArtX turnkey asset management platform (TAMP), designed to modernize outdated legacy technologies across the financial services industry. SMArtX leverages its cloud-based technology, microservices infrastructure, and APIs to simplify the investment management process for enterprise and advisory clients.

“We are incredibly proud of the award-winning technology platform we have built at SMArtX,” added Aaron Wormus, Chief Technology Officer of SMArtX. “Dan’s investment expertise will further our mission of bringing innovative investment applications to the SMArtX platform, enhancing the client experience, and ultimately saving the client time and money.”

Phillips will leverage SMArtX’s robust collection of nearly 1,500 investment strategies across over 300 asset managers, a platform overseen by Brad Haag, Executive Vice President, Asset Management Solutions. The collaboration between Phillips and Haag ensures comprehensive client support throughout the investment process, from investment strategy to strategy implementation.

“With such a diverse pool of managers and strategies available, Dan’s guidance will be crucial in crafting well-diversified portfolios that perfectly align with each client’s unique needs,” concluded Haag.

Phillips started his career in the financial industry in 2005 after graduating from the University of Iowa with a BBA in Finance and Economics. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2009 and his MBA, with concentrations in Finance, Economics and International Business, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2014.

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The INVL Asset Management fund invests in real estate funds in the US and Western Europe managed by Brookfield Asset Management, one of the world’s largest real estate management companies. An offering of the fund’s investment units ran from 6 March to 31 May (inclusive), organized by INVL Financial Advisors, the financial brokerage company that owns the INVL Family Office brand. The minimum investment amount in this fund is USD 145,000.

“With the expectation that interest rates in the US have peaked, liquidity and transaction volumes are recovering. In addition to that, the macroeconomic landscape on the other side of the Atlantic is stabilizing. Investors are welcoming these positive developments and looking at real estate investment opportunities in the U.S. with growing confidence,” says Asta Jovaišienė, the head of the INVL Family Office.

To date the INVL Partner Global Real Estate Fund I has raised USD 12.205 million from a total of 41 investors.

The new INVL Asset Management fund with unlimited duration will seek to increase the long-term value of its participants’ capital and at the same time enable investors to get periodic income from the fund’s assets.

NYSE-listed Brookfield Asset Management together with its subsidiaries had assets under management of over USD 850 billion at the start of 2024. That includes USD 271 billion of real estate under management, ranking the company the third in the world for total value of real estate assets.

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According to USA TODAY’s recent coverage, the landscape of financial advisory services is evolving, underscoring the importance of partnering with a trusted registered investment adviser (RIA) that prioritizes the client’s best interests through a fiduciary duty. Mission Wealth stands out in this critical aspect. They are dedicated to offering strategic, fee-based advice rather than relying on sales commissions, ensuring that recommendations are made with the client’s long-term financial success in mind, free from any conflicts of interest.

Read the full article on Mission Wealth’s website.

Matthew Adams, CEO of Mission Wealth, expressed his gratitude and vision following the announcement: “We are honored to be recognized by USA TODAY and Statista in their prestigious ranking of top RIAs. This accolade is a reflection of our team’s hard work and dedication to the financial wellbeing of our clients. Our firm is passionate about providing comprehensive and unbiased advice, with a shared purpose of ensuring that our clients achieve their financial goals with confidence and peace of mind.”

Ranked among the top RIAs, Mission Wealth has distinguished itself through exceptional asset management and personalized financial planning. The USA TODAY and Statista ranking not only examines growth in assets under management but also takes into account client and peer recommendations, highlighting the firm’s dedication to acting in the best interests of its clients. According to the report, there were 32,600 RIA firms at the end of 2022 that managed about $115 trillion in assets and, only 500 firms made the list.

Join Mission Wealth’s Award-Winning Team
Discover your path at Mission Wealth, where your career is more than a job – it’s a journey toward personal and professional fulfillment. Please visit their careers page for open positions across the country, or their partnership page if you’re interested in merging with this award-winning firm.

About USA TODAY’s Best Financial Advisory Firm List
The Best Financial Advisory Firms List was developed in 2023 for USA TODAY by market research firm Statista and attempts to simplify the jumble of the financial advisory industry. The list is based on the belief, espoused by many financial experts, that the best place to start is with registered investment advisers (RIAs). These are companies that have a fiduciary duty to act in their clients’ best interests at all times. They charge fees rather than sales commissions and employ investment adviser representatives (IARs) who are licensed to give financial advice.

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“John’s deep expertise in technology, broad competencies in the wealth management space and understanding of the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship and consulting make him the perfect addition to our team,” said Mr. Dwyer. “From start-ups to industry stalwarts, he has made his mark, helping to drive the design, development and distribution of many of the world’s largest and most successful asset management and wealth management platforms. John’s a business builder who not only stays ahead of the curve but who can see around corners to maximize outcomes.”

Recent Experience in Advanced FinTech
Most recently, Mr. Sweeney founded and served as managing partner of Momentum Capital Partners, LLC, providing consulting and advisory services to global financial services firms, FinTech start-ups and private equity firms. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer of Osprey Funds, an investment manager that built tradable investment products on top of digital assets and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Before joining Osprey, he was Head of Wealth and Asset Management at Figure Technologies, a FinTech unicorn building Business to Consumer (B2C) financial products on top of a Business to Business (B2B) blockchain called Provenance.

“I’ve enjoyed a dynamic professional career that has incorporated emerging technologies to drive better customer experiences, operational efficiencies and investment outcomes,” said Mr. Sweeney. “I’ve been watching Bill and his team at AlphaTrAI do extraordinary things at the intersection of AI and financial services. To find myself leading this team of brilliant scientists, innovative technicians and business visionaries is truly energizing. We’re breaking ground, pushing barriers and embarking on a new frontier in the financial services space.”

Deep Experience in Traditional Finance and Wealth Management
Mr. Sweeney spent over 19 years at Fidelity Investments as an Executive Vice President and head of several areas, including the managed accounts business, trust bank, retirement planning and portfolio construction tools and mutual fund product management. He and his team built the firm’s first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), first retail Separately Managed Account (SMA) and first Unified Managed Account (UMA).

In addition to his professional credentials, Mr. Sweeney is a recognized thought leader. He has testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and the Department of Labor and was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Money Management Institute (MMI). He is also the co-founder of the Blockchain Finance Forum, a public MMI community that brings together blockchain innovators and the financial services industry.

Mr. Dwyer concluded, “As the wealth and asset management industry sees the expanding value that AI, blockchain and other technologies bring to the table, having a leader so well-versed in these areas is a true differentiator for us. John’s a guy who has done it all and, frankly, he had his pick of options. That he chose to come work with us speaks to the value proposition we’re offering, the team we’re building and the results we’re driving.”

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