AdultVest, Inc. is an
investment management
Investment management is the professional asset management of various securities, including shareholdings, bonds, and other assets, such as real estate, to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of investors. Investors may be institut ...
company based in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. It was founded in 2005 by former
hedge fund
A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...
specialist Francis Koenig as an institutional investment company focusing exclusively on
sex industry
The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide Sex worker, sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of s ...
-related investments.
Only
accredited investor An accredited or sophisticated investor is an investor with a special status under financial regulation laws. The definition of an accredited investor (if any), and the consequences of being classified as such, vary between countries. Generally, acc ...
s may invest in the fund; it caters to investors willing to invest more than one million dollars.
The firm is a former winner of the Hedge Fund Launch of the Year Award.
Fraud accusations and exoneration
In January 2009, ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' reported Koenig stating that AdultVest had made a 50% return.
[ The '']Business Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
'' stated that they were "deeply skeptical" about Koenig's claim of a 50% return because when they asked him how the company had made the money, Koenig referred to "valuing assets like iPhone porn startups and unsold domain names".
According to private equity source, FINAlternatives, and the SEC's exoneration letter referenced in the article, Koenig was misquoted. The actual 50% claim was, instead, a 50% increase in the per unit buy-in price based on the fund's progress. The SEC reviewed the company and concluded that all funds were correctly accounted for, and the fraud case was closed in April 2010, with Koenig being exonerated in an official letter.
References
External links
Official Website
Codedruns Website
Sex Toys Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adultvest
Financial services companies established in 2005
2005 establishments in California
American companies established in 2005
Companies based in Beverly Hills, California
Hedge fund firms in California
Investment companies of the United States
Sex industry in the United States