Mac Hofeditz, Shannon Zoller launch fund placement business for i-bank

The investment bank, a specialist in M&A and related advisory work for high-growth companies, plans to focus on raising funds of $100 million to $1.5 billion on behalf of North American private equity firms. It also plans to help firms outside of North America raise money from North American investors. The three-person “private funds group” has an initial capacity for three to four projects at a time.

Hofeditz, as managing director and head of the group, handles new business development, project management and distribution for the fledgling group. Most recently Hofeditz has been helping sponsors raise money at his own San Francisco shop, Persistence Holdings. Earlier, from 2001 to October 2012, he was a founding member and partner at placement agency Probitas Partners.

Fellow Managing Director Zoller, most recently a senior member of the UBS fund placement group, works mainly on distribution but contributes to other areas as well. A third executive on the team, Vice President Linda Tan, formerly a vice president at Forbes Private Capital Group, works on new business development, project management and distribution out of the investment bank’s New York office. The group plans to hire one to two more senior-level executives in the next six to 12 months, said Hofeditz.

Hofeditz said the three-person group has additional support from several other analysts and investment-bank employees.

The private funds group is looking for clients that need help raising up to $600 million in new money for their funds (as opposed to re-ups). The group is especially interested, said Hofeditz, in taking on clients with complex problems to solve—firms transitioning from one generation of leadership to the next, teams spinning out of established firms and sponsors that have limited partners looking to cash out of old funds.

Hofeditz said that his team, because of its small client base, can work closely with individual clients to raise money from “high-quality” limited partners. The aim is to provide clients with “a better service at a more reasonable price” than rival placement agents, he said.

GCA Savvian has two early clients, including University Ventures, a New York post-secondary education specialist that has secured at least $188 million toward an offering amount of $350 million for a growth capital fund, according to a recent Form D filing, and Buyouts has separately learned that the firm has secured well over $200 million. Hofeditz said he hopes to sign up a third client within the next few weeks. 

According to the GCA Savvian website, Hofeditz has led 25 fundraises during his career, helping to raise more than $13 billion for such clients as Arclight Capital, BV Investment Partners, CIVC Partners, Marlin Equity, KPS Capital Partners and WestView Capital.

Hofeditz said he chose to join GCA Savvian in part due to his long-time association with two of GCA Savvian’s managing directors, Clark Callander and Todd Carter. Hofeditz got to know both in the late 1990s when the two were executives at investment bank Robertson Stephens.