Eaton Partners is a global

placement agent A private placement agent or placement agent is a firm assisting fund managers in the alternative asset class (e.g., private equity,private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including lev ...

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 s ...

real assets Real Assets is an investment asset class that covers investments in physical assets such as real estate, energy, and infrastructure. Real assets have an inherent physical worth. Real assets differ from financial assets in that financial assets get ...

and

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

funds in the world. The firm is also one of the oldest placement agents in the private funds industry. Eaton Partners raises capital primarily from

institutional investors An institutional investor is an entity which pools money to purchase securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, government-linke ...

including private and public

pension funds A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income. Pension funds typically have large amounts of money to invest and are the major investors in listed and priva ...

endowment fund A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are of ...

family offices A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50-$100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer ...

fund of funds A "fund of funds" (FOF) is an investment strategy of holding a portfolio of other investment funds rather than investing directly in stocks, bonds or other securities. This type of investing is often referred to as multi-manager investment. A ...

, foundations and other large pools of money that invest in alternative asset classes. In 2009, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', citing a

Preqin Preqin is a privately held London-based investment data company that provides financial data and insight on the alternative assets market, as well as tools to support investment in alternatives. By the company's own definition, its data encompa ...

Ltd. league table, ranked them eighth among independent private funds placement agents. On November 9, 2015, Stifel Financial Corp. agreed to buy Eaton Partners. The acquisition closed on January 4, 2016.

History and background

The firm was founded in 1983 by Charles Eaton and has over 80 employees and nine offices: six in the US, two in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and one in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. The firm's headquarters are in

Rowayton Rowayton is an affluent coastal village in the city of Norwalk, Connecticut, roughly from New York City. The community is governed by the Sixth Taxing District of Norwalk and has a number of active local associations, including the Civic Assoc ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. In 2010, the firm was the first placement agent in the U.S. to launch a fund raising platform for private equity firms in China. In 2013 and 2017,

Private Equity International ''Private Equity International'' (PEI) is a global insight, analysis and data provider for the private equity industry, with a core focus on the relationship between investors and fund managers: the LP-GP nexus. Launched in December 2001, the tit ...

named Eaton Partners the "Placement Agent of the Year in North America" ahead of Park Hill Group and Credit Suisse. The firm has also been recognized by PEI as "Placement Agent of the Year in Asia" since 2014, and "Secondaries Advisor of the Year in Asia" in 2016 and 2018. In 2014, Eaton Partners won "Best Third Party Marketing Firm" of the Year by ''HFMWeek''. Eaton Partners is a Registered Broker-Dealer and a member of the

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private American corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. FINRA is the successor to the National Associat ...

(FINRA). The firm is also registered as an Introducing Broker with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and member of the

National Futures Association The National Futures Association (NFA) is the self-regulatory organization (SRO) for the U.S. derivatives industry, including on-exchange traded futures, retail off-exchange foreign currency (forex) and OTC derivatives ( swaps). NFA is headqua ...

and

Securities Investor Protection Corporation The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC ) is a federally mandated, non-profit, member-funded, United States corporation created under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) of 1970 that mandates membership of most US-register ...

(SIPC). The firm's UK operating subsidiary is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and their Hong Kong-based arm is approved as a Type 1 License company under the Securities and Futures Commission in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Business lines

Fund raising - Eaton Partners has relationships with over 4,000 active institutional investors in the US,

, Asia and the Middle East. Since its founding, the firm has raised more than $100 billion globally across more than 125 different private fund vehicles. Secondary advisory - In April 2014, Eaton Partners acquired a secondary advisory group that assists clients in the purchase and sale of limited partnership interests in various types of private funds including private equity, real asset, real estate, venture capital and illiquid hedge funds. Eaton Partners's secondary advisory team assists private funds in managing the sale of limited partnership interests within their existing funds and also in raising new capital through stapled transactions, fund recapitalizations and fund restructurings. The team also advises limited partners on the purchase or sale of fund interests in the secondary markets.

Competitors

Eaton Partners competes primarily with large investment banks (most notably Credit Suisse and UBS) as well as a range of smaller firms including Atlantic-Pacific Capital, Campbell Lutyens,

Probitas Partners Probitas Partners is an independent, global advisory firm founded in 2001. The company is focused on raising capital as a placement agent for private equity fund sponsors as well as providing portfolio management and liquidity solutions, through ...

, and Park Hill Group. Within the secondary advisory space, other advisors also include investment banks.

Past clients

In 1989, the firm helped raise capital for a fund managed by Tiger Management Corp., one of the earliest hedge funds, which was founded by

Julian Robertson Julian Hart Robertson Jr. (June 25, 1932 – August 23, 2022) was an American billionaire hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. Robertson founded Tiger Management, one of the first hedge funds, in 1980. From its inception in 1980 to its 1 ...

. Private Equity - ICG Europe, Asia Alternatives, Summit Partners, Shoreline Capital, European Special Opportunities, Avista Capital, Black Diamond Capital Management, Landmark Partners, Tara India, Capital Today, Partners Group, JML Equity, Wind Point Partners, NorthStar Capital, CHL Medical Partners, Sterling Investment Partners, Sandler Capital Management, Swander Pace Capital, Telecom Partners, Wand Partners, Reich & Tang,

Veronis Suhler Stevenson Veronis Suhler Stevenson, known by its initials, VSS, is a private investment firm that invests in the information, business services, healthcare IT, education, media and marketing industries in North America and Europe. Since 1987, VSS has mana ...

, Martin Currie, Southeastern Asset Management,

Oak Investment Partners Oak Investment Partners is a private equity firm focusing on venture capital investments in companies developing communications systems, information technology, new Internet media, healthcare services and retail. History The firm, founded in 19 ...

and Value Line Asset Management. Hedge Funds - Premium Point Investments, Welton Global Investments, BlackGold Capital Management, Burgundy Asset Management, DGHM, Dominion Ventures and Tiger Management Corp., Omega Advisors, Three Bridges Capital,

Providence Equity Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity investme ...

Partners, ChinaRock Capital, Permal Asset Management, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Real Estate - Moor Park Real Estate, Landmark Partners, MacFarlance Partners, O'Connor Capital Partners, Trophy Property, Centerline Capital Group, ARCap, Lend Lease, Patron Capital Partners, and KBS Realty. Real Assets - Ridgewood Energy, Red Kite Group, Molpus Woodlands Group, Parallel Resource Partners, Alterna Capital Partners, Quintana Capital Group, Hudson Clean Energy, Alinda Infrastructure,

Tenaska Tenaska is a private, independent energy company based in the United States. The employee-owned company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, with regional offices in Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, and Calg ...

and

AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...

. Private Credit and General Partner Advisory & Directs – GLS Capital, Lyric Capital Partners, Lake Whillans, Trinitas Capital Management, Fundamental Partners, Portfolio Advisors,

KSL Capital Partners KSL Capital Partners is a Private-equity firm based in Denver, Colorado specializing in travel and leisure investments. Many of the investments have involved Colorado ski resorts. Since its founding in 2005, the firm has raised more than $13 bill ...

Emerging Managers - AE Industrial Partners, Brightstar Capital Partners, SDC Capital Partners, Ridgewood Energy, Turning Rock Partners

References

External links

Eaton Partners
(Company website)
Eaton Partners referenced in Wall Street Journal Article
{{Authority control Private equity secondary market Investment banks in the United States Financial services companies established in 1983 Companies based in Norwalk, Connecticut Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange