Alternative Investments/Private Equity
On behalf of our clients, ECA participates in alternative, non-traditional, hedge, and other private equity investment funds or pools. These funds or pools often maintain high barriers of entry (high minimum investments) and feature multi-managers and multi-styles. They emphasize various sectors of the economy, with low correlations to marketable securities including energy, real estate, hedge, and fixed income. Combining low correlated assets together in a portfolio enhances risk adjusted returns.
Alternative investments are often made available through affiliations with outside firms— consulting, hedge, real estate, fixed income, and others that have unique skills and experience in a wide variety of alternative management disciplines. ECA discovers, researches, analyzes, and monitors these alternative investment firms. A sample of some of the investment opportunities and characteristics are detailed below:
- Illiquid senior bank and real estate notes
- Direct general or limited partner interests in oil and gas wells
- Non-public real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- “Jones style” (long/short) hedge funds—both multi manager and individual managers
- Distressed securities