Brickfield Founder Rory Smith has published an article in Private Funds CFO, providing an update on developing trends in the U.S. fund finance mid-market, with comments and insight from Mike Mascia at Cadwalader, Brad Ellis and Mike Breaux at Stifel Bank, and Michael Sinclair and Jonathan Sammarco at People’s United Bank.
As we approach the end of LIBOR, the next phase of the transition is already upon us: incorporating the new fallback rates and market conventions into our transactions. This article highlights SONIA, the Bank of England’s recommended alternative for Sterling LIBOR. We explain everything you need to know about the differences between SONIA and SOFR and how they both differ from LIBOR, discuss expected variation on how SONIA will be used in the UK versus U.S. markets, and provide a cheat sheet of key terms that you’ll soon start seeing in your loan documents (if you haven’t already).
This week, Women in Fund Finance Global hosted a two-day virtual event covering all aspects of SPACs.
FFA Vice Chairman Tina Meigh is joined on video by Robert Riley-Gledhill of MUFG Investor Services to discuss Robert’s experience in the Mentorship Program. Matthias Jahnke of Wells Fargo is Robert’s FFA Mentor. The program is designed to help develop current and future leaders in the Fund Finance space through a safe and supportive network of individuals who are committed to exploring, growing and developing with each other. Watch here.
The FFA’s Women in Fund Finance group this week announced an event titled “WFF Global: The Status of Equality,” featuring Savannah Maziya, the Chairperson of Bunengi Investment Group. The event will take place on May 6 at 11 a.m. NY time. For more information or to register, click here.
The Fund Fanatics interview Mitch Melfi from Drake Real Estate Partners, discussing thoughtful fund raising with an eye towards financing, a recap of the market in Q1, and what to look forward to in Q2. The guys also recap the dramatic end to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and reminisce about Tiger Woods’ victory at the Masters a year ago. Check it out here.
A recent guest article by Khizer Ahmed in Private Funds CFO describes the entry of insurance companies into the fund finance market. Khizer highlights why insurance companies find fund finance lending attractive and summarizes several transactions insurance companies are participating in. The article is available here.
In this episode of Fund Finance Friday: Industry Conversations, Cadwalader partner Samantha Hutchinson is joined by Khizer Ahmed, Founder and Managing Member at Hedgewood Capital Partners, LLC, to discuss lender appetite over the course of the pandemic, the role of a fund finance advisor in the current market and more.
The FFA announced a handful of items and events this week, including Diversity in Fund Finance’s newsletter launch, an upcoming FFA event on LIBOR on April 27 and a NextGen event on the oil & gas industry on April 28.
Next Wednesday and Thursday (April 21-22), Women in Fund Finance Global will host a two-day virtual event examining the white-hot SPAC market.