W&F Issue 2 2018

Wealth & Finance International - Issue 2 2018 27 Established in 2010, Star Mountain Capital is a specialized asset management firm, that is focused on investing in the largest segment of established businesses in the U.S. economy – private businesses that generally have between $10 million and $150 million in annual revenues, or $3 million to $15 million of EBITDA, which is often called the lower middle-market. There are approximately 200,000 of these businesses, all of which are a key factor in economic and job growth in the U.S, as Brett is keen to emphasize. “Star Mountain’s mission is to create superior risk- adjusted financial returns for investors, as well as creating substantial positive economic impact and job creations by investing in and helping build smaller businesses, a mission that led us to trademark - Investing in the Growth Engine of America®. To achieve this, we strive to be a flexible and solutions oriented partner to those we invest with. Being open, listening and creating structures and solutions to help accomplish everyone’s goals in an aligned manner. While this consumes more senior resources, it generally produces superior results for everyone.” “Fundamentally, we believe in the value of data, information and resources and as such, have developed a differentiated business model with a robust investment in technology. Also, we have a custom-built media platform that brings proven, large market resources to smaller businesses as a value- added investment partner.” This approach helps the firm to provide portfolios designed to maximise returns and support the companies the firm is investing in. Brett explores Star Mountain Capital’s investment approach in more detail. “To maximize our knowledge and build superior investment portfolios, we created a synergistic three- channel approach to investing in U.S. lower Solutions Oriented Asset Manager Invests in the Growth Engine of America Star Mountain Capital focuses exclusively on the lower middle-market by investing debt and equity directly into established operating companies, making strategic investments into fund managers and purchasing secondary fund positions. We invited Brett Hickey to tell us more about the firm’s innovative approach, which helped it to win Leading Asset Management Firm of the Year 2018 in our prestigious Global Excellence Awards. 1802WF27 middle-market companies: providing capital directly to established, small and medium-sized companies; investing as a strategic limited partner into other lower middle-market funds; and, finally, making secondary investments, providing liquidity to limited partners in other lower middle- market funds.” “With a focus on being a solutions-oriented investor for the institutions and individuals who invest with us, we provide customized funds for them across these three verticals, including options such as leverage, liquidity and capital deployment pace. Our synergistic three-channel approach provides us with substantial information, deal flow and portfolio management competitive advantages, all of which allows us to create what we believe are superior investment products.” As a key innovator in the investment space, Star Mountain Capital works hard to ensure that it utilises the very latest technological solutions. Brett is keen to highlight how the firm has worked to ensure its clients receive the most cutting edge support possible. “A common misconception in our industry is that you must be a large firm to have a technology strategy. As an innovator and investor in established private small and medium-sized businesses, technology for Star Mountain Capital is at the core of our operating model with values such as innovation, collaboration and investment in long-term growth. From the beginning, we invested in technology to build our competitive advantage, including adding a full-time Chief Technology Officer as a partner, to invest in the sustainability, scalability and user experience for the benefit of our stakeholders. Star Mountain Capital has invested into technology and systems out of the belief that technology can provide significant competitive advantages in sourcing investment opportunities, underwriting, monitoring investments, adding value to portfolio companies, managing risk and investor reporting.” As for the future of Star Mountain Capital, Brett believes that the company’s innovative approach will continue to provide it with many opportunities for further growth, as he proudly concludes. “Looking ahead, we are very excited by what the future holds for our business. We have a large market to execute against, which is what we were built for and can be summarized by four core elements. The first is that we invest defensively in established, smaller companies with low leverage. Secondly, we get paid for work where we concentrate on more labour-intensive loans to private businesses that have complex capital needs, such as financing an acquisition. Also, we help these companies grow, employ more people and create value in their communities and the economy. Finally, with respect to our team, our most important asset, we focus on high quality people who want purposeful and engaged lives – we find these people maximize long- term value as aligned partners in what we do.” “Ultimately, I can truly say that at Star Mountain Capital we love what we do and want to continue building a leading culture and long-term focused investment platform to attract like-minded investors, business owners and team.” Contact: Brett Hickey Address: 135 E, 57th, St 25th Floor, New York, NY, 10022, USA Phone: 001 646-787-0275 Website: www.StarMountainCapital.com