GTCR Announces Partnership with David Minella to Form Aligned Asset Managers

Industry Veteran to Start New Firm Backed by GTCR

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced it has entered into a partnership with David Minella to form Aligned Asset Managers, LLC (“AAM”). AAM, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, will focus on building a leading multi-strategy asset management platform through substantial equity investments in firms across alternative and traditional asset classes. GTCR, the firm that pioneered the Leaders Strategy of partnering with proven executives in growing industries to create market-leading companies, plans to invest up to $200 million of equity capital to support the strategy. Mr. Minella will serve as CEO of AAM.

“David has a strong track record of both investing in and managing asset management businesses. We believe there is a large opportunity in this dynamic industry to partner with exceptional investors and work together to sustain performance while also adding distribution capabilities”

Minella, a 35-year financial services industry veteran, was formerly CEO at Value Asset Management (“VAM”), a multi-manager platform he built and managed from 1997 to 2007. Prior to VAM, Mr. Minella held roles as CEO of Lichtenstein Global Trust, the Bank of Liechtenstein’s global asset management business, and National Sales Manager and U.S. President at GT Investments, a firm focused on international mutual funds. He began his career at Putnam Investments, where he rose to the position of Vice President and Global Head of Mutual Fund Sales. Most recently, Mr. Minella was CEO of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (“SPAC”) formed in 2007, which merged into Kennedy Wilson, a real estate investment manager and services provider, in 2009.

“The current asset management marketplace does not provide managers with many options for realizing liquidity, re-equitizing the business and enhancing distribution capabilities while maintaining a stake in the upside growth of the firm,” Minella said. “There are a wide variety of managers who are currently looking to take their business to the next level, and I am excited to begin exploring investment opportunities with quality managers that want to have access to more distribution to grow their business. GTCR’s strong track record of working with management teams across financial services to invest in growth and build leading companies makes them an ideal partner in this venture. Furthermore, AAM has begun recruiting for an experienced institutional sales team to develop the various distribution channels.”

“David has a strong track record of both investing in and managing asset management businesses. We believe there is a large opportunity in this dynamic industry to partner with exceptional investors and work together to sustain performance while also adding distribution capabilities,” said Collin Roche, a Principal at GTCR. “We look forward to working with David to build a high-quality diversified platform across both alternative and traditional asset management classes.”

Mr. Minella and GTCR are also pleased to announce that LLM Capital Partners (“LLM”) will participate in AAM as a minority investor. LLM previously backed Mr. Minella at VAM and Prospect Acquisition Corp.

About David Minella

As CEO of VAM, Mr. Minella completed five investments and four dispositions across alternative and traditional asset classes. The four platforms included Grosvenor Capital Management, an alternative manager; Dalton Greiner Hartman & Maher, a value-driven equity investor; MDT Advisors, a quantitative investment firm; and Hillview Capital Advisors, a provider of high net worth wealth management services. Assets under management for these entities grew from a combined $8 billion at time of the respective investments to $35 billion at time of sale. The growth stemmed from a combination of accessing new distribution channels for existing products as well as leveraging existing channels for new products under Mr. Minella’s guidance.

Following the disposition of the final firm within VAM, Mr. Minella raised $250 million through Prospect Acquisition Corp. (PAX: NYSE Amex), a SPAC focused on consummating a transaction in the financial services sector. In November 2009, PAX merged with a real estate asset management firm, Kennedy Wilson, Inc. to form Kennedy Wilson Holdings, Inc. (KW: NYSE). Prior to VAM, Mr. Minella had a longstanding career in the operational side of the asset management business. He joined Putnam Investments in 1975, where he ultimately became Vice President and Global Head of Mutual Fund Sales and drove mutual fund growth from $1 billion in AUM to approximately $30 billion between 1980 and 1986. After Putnam, Mr. Minella joined GT Investments (“GT”), an international asset manager, as National Sales Manager. The Prince of Liechtenstein subsequently acquired GT, forming Liechtenstein Global Trust (“LGT”), a global money management firm with 11 offices around the world. Mr. Minella ultimately became the global CEO of LGT, where he drove significant asset growth and oversaw the acquisition and integration of New York based Chancellor Capital Management in 1996, bringing the firm’s AUM to $60 billion.

About Aligned Asset Managers

Aligned Asset Managers, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a financial services holding company focused on the asset management sector including both alternative and traditional asset classes. For more information about AAM, contact David Minella at 203-656-0246 or [e-mail], or James Cahill at 203-938-9924 or [e-mail] or visit AAM’s website at www.alignedam.com.

About GTCR

Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies in the Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Information Services & Technology industries. The Chicago-based firm pioneered the “Leaders Strategy” – finding and partnering with world-class leaders as the critical first step in identifying, acquiring and building market-leading companies through acquisitions and organic growth. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $8.0 billion in over 200 companies. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com.

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