Leading-High-Net Worth Investor Group TIGER 21 Launches California Chapters in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego
Los Angeles (December 4, 2006)— Home state to the largest number of millionaires in the U.S., California now welcomes the nation's premier network of confidential learning groups for high-net-worth investors, TIGER 21, which has just established member outposts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. Based in New York, TIGER 21 is expanding its successful model of collective intelligence for the super-affluent, who meet monthly to exchange investment ideas and share personal experiences on a broad range of wealth-related issues.
Founded in 1999 with six original members, TIGER 21 (The Investment Group for Enhanced Returns in the 21st Century) now has 105 members nationally, representing more than $7 billion of combined investable assets.
It took nearly five years for TIGER 21 to reach 15 members in New York, a threshold that has been achieved in only three months on the west coast. Attracting successful entrepreneurs and investors whose wealth primarily stems from real estate and technology, TIGER 21’s new California members contribute investable assets of roughly $1.5 billion, with average individual net worths of $50 million.
“California was an obvious choice for our first move beyond New York, given the concentration of exceptional wealth in and around Los Angles, San Francisco and San Diego,” said Tommy Gallagher, TIGER 21 CEO and a former vice-chairman of CIBC Oppenheimer.
“During the past several years, as TIGER 21 has become more recognized by the media and the investment community, we have fielded numerous requests from California residents interested in learning about our group and forming new chapters in the state,” Mr. Gallagher continued. “We’ve already had several west coast members who commute to New York to attend monthly meetings and presentations. In light of the need for regular face-to-face meetings for members, we decided the time had come to establish full-time residency in California.”
Mr. Gallagher noted that TIGER 21 has similarly launched its first charter group in South Florida, where there is also no shortage of high net worth investors interested in participating. TIGER 21 is also exploring further expansion in Texas, Arizona, Las Vegas and the Seattle area.
For its move into California, TIGER 21 has turned to long-time business development executive Lew Haskell to direct recruitment and manage operations. Mr. Haskell, who is based in San Diego, has 30 years of marketing and management experience and frequently leads management seminars to CEOs and senior executives. Mr. Haskell was most recently vice president of field operations for Vistage International (formerly The Executive Committee), a membership organization of more than 12,000 top-line executives, who meet to share insights and discuss business issues.
“After 16 gratifying years with TEC/Vistage, working with leading executives from around the world, I’m thrilled to apply my experience to help TIGER 21 gain traction on the west coast,” said Mr. Haskell. “Having accomplished extraordinary success in business, TIGER 21 members are looking for a congenial and confidential forum through which to share investment strategies and personal life experiences,” he added. “There is simply no other organization like it for wealthy, self-directed investors. I’m looking forward to helping make TIGER 21 as prominent in California as it has become back east.”
TIGER 21 members include successful entrepreneurs and business-owners, senior executives, Wall Street professionals and professional money managers. TIGER 21’s founder Michael Sonnenfeldt, is a former Goldman Sachs banker and real estate developer, who now runs a private investment firm. In addition to examining wealth issues and investment decisions, the group also marshals member investments in private equity, hedge funds and individual deal opportunities leveraging TIGER 21 world-class connections.
“TIGER 21 members understand that becoming a smarter investor is a lifelong learning process,” Mr. Sonnenfeldt explained. “Through our meetings, we continually challenge our conventional assumptions, our investment choices and our strategic view of the financial world. Members know they are getting honest and credible advice on wealth preservation from their peers, something they typically do not receive from even the most trusted financial advisor.”
One of the benefits of TIGER 21 is the access to leading financial experts. Some of the country’s most renowned financial writers, private equity investors, portfolio managers, and hedge fund principals regularly make presentations on a broad host of investment issues, including potential opportunities for well-vetted investments.
Recent presenters have included Stephen Schwarzman, cofounder of Blackstone Group; David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group; Alan “Ace” Greenberg, chairman of the executive committee for Bear Stearns; and best-selling financial writers, including Ron Chernow, James Stewart and James Surowiecki. For a full list of TIGER 21 presenters, see www.tiger21.com.
TIGER 21 meetings consist of several distinct sessions, each designed to broaden members’ knowledge of investing and to show how world events and personal issues can impact investment portfolios.
Central to this model is the regularly held portfolio defense session, where one member is required to present their personal balance sheet, income statement and financial goals in context with the larger events in their lives for review and analysis by the group’s members. Members give advice based on their knowledge of the presenting member’s likes and propensities, a knowledge that is built upon through regular contact and discussion of issues with each other. The process can be extremely personal and sometimes confessional – members are encouraged to be as candid as possible about individual and family issues that might weigh heavily on their investment choices. Members who experience the portfolio defense say that TIGER 21 has no equivalent for getting to the core of their investment strategies.
“Our model for peer-based learning has no borders, but in the end nothing works like the intimate sharing of information that comes from a group meeting. We welcome our new California members and hope we can help them tackle some of the thornier issues and challenges that come with wealth generation,” said Mr. Sonnenfeldt.
About Tiger 21
TIGER 21 is the nation's premier peer-to-peer learning group for high net worth investors. Building on shared collective intelligence, TIGER 21 members seek to enhance investment returns while limiting their investment risks to acceptable levels. There are currently twelve TIGER 21 learning groups, representing 100+ investors, with investable assets of more than $7 billion. Founded in New York, TIGER 21 has just established its first investor groups in California, with an additional member groups planned for South Florida. For more, visit www.tiger21.com