Family Office Webinar Abstract

Maximize Investment Manager Selection to Maximize ROI

In late May 2021 Clarity Equity Group’s own Managing Director Seth Wilson was honored to moderate a panel discussion webinar with three of the smartest guys in the room:

Kamil Homsi

Co-Founder/CEO 

GRC Investment Group

Gary Post

Investment Partner, Private Equity

Andina Family Offices

Paul Kang

Chief Investment Officer

Alta Companies

The title of this webinar was “Maximize Investment Manager Selection to Maximize ROI”. 

The webinar had two objectives. 

1. To show Family Offices and other High Net Worth Individuals some of the best practices in selecting effective investment managers, men and women of both character and capability. 

2. To equip investment managers (manager) with the tools, answers, and actions that these successful individuals will be looking for during their allocation process. 

You are welcome to watch the entirety of the hour-long webinar here. Below is an abstract with the high points.

Point #1 Family Office Credibility and Competence Check

When asked how they measure credibility and competence the overwhelming answer was that the investors want to spend time with the manager and their team. They want to see the dynamics of the team, how they work together and how their decision-making processes work. 

The investors also said in a reoccurring manner that they want to get the manager’s opinion on topics other than business. The investors want to see if the managers are worldly and understand how their firm fits into a larger picture. Finally, the investors were interested in the emotional intelligence of the team. 

Point #2 Track Record

Surprisingly to the moderator the investors did not want to dig through decades worth of performance and information on the manager. They were much more interested in a more holistic track record to include: where the manager has been and where they are going in both their professional and personal lives. Where are they jumping around from job to job or industry to industry? Has the manager had a pattern of success in their lives? Also, was the manager really involved in the deals in the past they have on their resume or were they on the outside looking in such as an investment banker or an attorney?

Style drift or changing strategy or industries to catch the new hot thing was universally condemned. 

The investors all preferred a likable person, as they want to build a long-term relationship with them. 

When queried about the ups and downs in the market cycle they were much more interested in the manager showing good performance against their peers and keeping their wits about them. 

Point #3 Due Diligence Questionnaires (DDQ)

DDQs can be an outstanding source of information for investors to learn about their potential managers. These investors down played the use of them as they prefer to learn about the manager and their team in a more casual and conversational manner. But what they did say about DDQs was insightful. 

Homsi said that when working with the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the United Arab Emirates that the DDQ is 600 to 650 questions long. While this maybe overkill for many of the opportunities that a family office will allocate into it is interesting to know that such thoroughness exists and that managers should be prepared. 

The consensus with the panelists was that there is no one hard and fast DDQ for every investment. Depending on the market, geography, risk and industry specialized questions will be asked of the variables. 

To be foreworn to is be forearmed. If the manager is to submit their own DDQ to an investor make sure that it answers the questions that are most important to that investor type. Gary Post stated that if in the manager supplied DDQ, that questions that are important to him and his family aren’t included then he worries that the investment may not be for him. Post will ask follow on questions to see if the manager understands what his family office wants and needs before proceeding.

Point #4 was skipped for time considerations.

Point #5 is technical in nature. Please watch the video for more information. 

Point #6 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) & Diversity

When asked how ESG is considered when selecting an investment manager there was a spectrum of answers. This shows how relatively new ESG is and how abstractly defined it also is. 

Paul Kang stated that ESG was very important to him. He wants to know that the manager and their team understands the world around them and wants a team with a diverse background and diverse perspectives. He wants to see a team with broad-minded thinking. 

Gary Post made clear that he didn’t want to invest in vice or hostile investments and wanted his investments to do good in the world. But when it came to social issues, he feels that he is most effective with his philanthropic giving outside of his investments. 

Kamil Homsi was very passionate about ESG and has spoken on the subject many times before. He requires that his investments be ESG centric. While he didn’t go into the details, due to time and scope limitations, he is very active in this field and has videos published on his thoughts. Finally, Homsi also ensures that women receive equal pay and requires the manager to provide proof that they do. 

Conclusion

The panelists are very proactively involved in all of their investments and their managers. These Family Offices are looking not only for an investment manager that can produce an economic return but also be an advisor in a specific market, region and industry.

When looking to allocate to an investment manager take the advice of the three panelists, they have invested in hundreds of funds and an uncountable number of direct investments. Notice how measured and prepared that they are when speaking about their investments and outside of ESG and diversity they were all very dispassionate and calculating in their answers. 

When raising capital from family offices and high net worth individuals really spend the time to understand what is important to the investor before approaching them. And if you can offer a bespoke opportunity that really fulfills their needs that is even better. 

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