JonesTrading Institutional Services, a global banking and brokerage firm, has partnered with Boldwater Partners, an independent alternative asset placement agent and advisory firm, to expand its Capital Introduction Services.
Jeff LeVeen, Global Head of Outsourced Trading, said: “This is the first time we’ve had a strategic partnership with a placement agent or engaged a consultant to help us expand our cap intro offering.”
Boldwater is led by CEO and founder John Finn, an industry veteran who has decades of substantial industry expertise and experience as a trusted advisor to leading fund sponsors and institutional investors.
Prior to launching Boldwater he was Global Head of Hedge Fund & Alternative Credit Distribution at Eaton Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary and affiliate of Stifel Financial Corp. In that role, he led Eaton’s hedge fund practice that represented more than 25 different fund managers and raised over $5bn in assets during his tenure.
LeVeen said the decision made sense from a strategic perspective.
“JonesTrading benefits from the guidance of someone who has been very successful working inside a well regarded placement agent. Boldwater benefits from the necessary infrastructure Jones provides to their firm,” he told Traders Magazine.
JonesTrading anticipates near- and long-term client demand for its Capital Introduction Services.
“I believe demand will be quite high. It’s important that we deliver a quality offering and properly set client expectations from the start,” LeVeen said.
To accommodate this demand and to prepare for the continued growth of the already strong franchise, Boldwater and Mr. Finn will consult and advise JonesTrading on the development and implementation of these Capital Introduction Services.
Finn’s focus will be on operations and developing processes and structure, along with communicating these services to both the institutional investment community and clients of JonesTrading.
Alternately, JonesTrading will support Boldwater Partners’ broker-dealer activities, which will include primary capital placement, direct sponsor-led transactions, general partner solutions, secondaries, and co-investments for premier alternative asset managers.
Boldwater Partners will seek to identify and source exceptional investment opportunities and simultaneously provide partner clients with guidance and execution in all aspects of capital formation and strategic direction. Client alignment will be paramount for Boldwater Partners, with intentions to invest alongside its clients, both directly and as a significant portion of the firm’s fees.
John Finn, CEO of Boldwater Partners, said: “JonesTrading is the premier relationship-based liquidity provider in the space. Relationships, and alignment of those relationships, are also the basis of Boldwater’s placement business and core to the firm’s ability to execute for both clients and investors alike. That shared focus on relationships and alignment will result in an enhanced client experience for both organizations.”
According to LeVeen, the Capital Introductions Group facilitates introductions across JonesTrading institutional clients, including its prime brokerage, outsourced trading, and its agency relationships.
“The initial game plan is to expand upon our current offering with regular content and communication with our clients, and hopefully help our clients with strategic introductions,” LeVeen said.
Capital Introduction also represents cross-selling opportunities into JonesTrading’s diversified services, he said.
“Capital introductions is a service that’s in high demand. It’s important that we’re properly servicing active clients of our firm,” LeVeen said.
Commenting on the growth prospects, LeVeen said: “The goal is to first improve our process and the offering itself. As our client engagement grows we’ll look to scale appropriately. We realize this offering is important to a large majority institutional investors and we’ll look to thoughtfully grow the team.”
