Services
Brittany Capital Group, Inc. ("Brittany") was founded in 1996 to assist alternative asset managers in the institutional capital raising process. Over the decades, our business platform has evolved to specialize in the formation of joint ventures between forward-looking innovative institutions, and teams pursuing specialized, non-traditional, differentiated investment strategies. The institutions include public and corporate pension funds, endowments, hedge funds, foundations, insurance companies, banks, investment banks and family offices.
Representative Joint Venture and Advisory Assignments
Flexible financing is available for tailored joint venture relationships. These arrangements afford a team flexibility and the ability to get started quickly, without some of the restrictive aspects of funds. In addition, Brittany works with teams on specific direct investment transactions.
No firm possesses Brittany Capital’s level of expertise in crafting alternative asset joint ventures. Our senior relationships range from the world’s very largest hedge funds, to family offices, to investment groups with a branded presence in the market, to hard-to-characterize (and find) investment pools.
Representative Assignments
- Agricultural Technology
- Algorithm-Generated Tax Lien Investment
- Alternative Power
- Defense
- For-Profit Early Education
- Industrial Technology: Innovative Battery Technology Platform
- Raw Land
- Regional Power Center Acquisitions
- Regional Industrial Specialty Lender
- Regulated Public Utility Acquisition
- Specialty Finance Company: Government Receivables
- Specialty Finance Company: Mission Critical ERP
Innovation
Contemplating a strategic alliance? A direct/co-investment program? A generational GP ownership change? A “best practices” survey? A difficult “end of life” to a particular fund? A realignment of carried interest among partners? A spinout of your group from a franchise that has grown too large?
Brittany Capital has advised clients in each of these situations. We welcome “off-the-run” intellectual and execution challenges. Our decades of corporate finance experience combined with our deep connections within the alternative asset world positions us ideally to take on unusual assignments that require innovative thinking. If it hasn’t been done before, we are interested.
Legacy Advice and Some New Thoughts
The three sections below were written just after the turn of the last century. While technology has driven much change in capital campaigns, we include the legacy advice because we believe there is still some wisdom in analog practices.
Analog recommendations aside, here are five thoughts on virtual meetings:
- Be proficient in all the platforms you use. Know how to screen share, direct message, mute/unmute, format views, generate invitations, etc.
- Think about your mise en scène and all it says about you.
- Lighting and audio: do yours enhance or detract?
- Be mindful of your screen name; consider whether you should include branding or a company logo.
- If what you wear from the waist down is not as carefully constructed as what you wear from the waist up, remember to remain seated.
Legacy Advice on Presentation Content
- Distill the presentation to no more than 15 to 20 pages (excluding appendices) for a 40-minute presentation. No more than three to five bullet points per slide, appendices for everything else.
- You don’t have to explain everything in a presentation, but you should be able to answer all the questions. If you try to do too much in a presentation, investors might lose sight of the forest for the trees.
- On the other hand, if you are not prepared to give a good answer to a particular question, make note of the question and get back to the poser as quickly as possible.
- Handouts are always a good idea. They can physically shift the tenor and tempo of the meeting, and encourage more personal interaction among the participants. Handouts are particularly good for presenting recent developments and good news.
- Leave enough room on the page for participants to write notes. Avoid dark backgrounds, or formats that do not copy well. Have an extra copy or two.
- Proofread the presentation. Proofread it again. Then proofread it again. Approach every round with the attitude: there is a mistake here somewhere, and I am going to find it.
Presentation Style
- Rehearse the presentation until you are comfortable delivering it.
- Have third parties and your placement agent critique your presentation.
- If actual meetings demonstrate that something in the presentation is not effective, change or delete it.
- Have at least two representatives of the firm at the meeting. Your first shot is your best, so don’t save key personnel for later.
- Consider starting off the presentation by introducing both yourselves and your team. If your team is large, a chart explains a great deal.
- Interact with your colleagues. Balance the responsibilities in the presentation. It is about teamwork.
Logistics, Appearance and Courtesy
- Know where you’re going; be on time.
- Wear a suit and a necktie if you are male.
- If you use a computer, make sure that you have sufficient power reserves, and (if needed) the power adaptor appropriate for the country in which the meeting is held. Be prepared for the computer not to work.
Biographies
Raymond Mendez
Ray Mendez has over four decades of investment banking experience, with expertise in all aspects of the capital raising process. Ray joined Brittany Capital in 1999 from Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., where he was a Managing Director. Prior to Bear Stearns, Ray was a vice president at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He acts as a Senior Advisor to Moore & Warner Ag Group, a farm-management and ag tech advisory firm based in Clinton, Illinois.
Ray graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
Russell P. Pennoyer
Russell Pennoyer joined Brittany Capital in 2014 after 20 years with Benedetto, Gartland & Company, a leading private equity placement agent, where he was a partner and ultimately president. He has extensive experience raising capital for private equity, venture capital and hedge funds from institutional investors throughout the world. He was previously an executive with an independent oil and gas company and an associate at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. He is a trustee of the New-York Historical Society, the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, the Hudson Institute and the Manhattan Institute. He is also the chairman of the William T. Grant Foundation and president of the Achelis and Bodman Foundation.
Russell graduated from Harvard College and Columbia Law School.
Howland D. Murphy
Born and reared in New York, Howland D. Murphy pursued a long career on Wall Street. From his days as a spirited Buckley Boy, then as a tenacious St. Paul’s football player, then as a member of the varsity squash team at Harvard College, Howland brought a force to everything he did. Howland’s career began at The Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York. He went on to Columbia Law School; after graduation he moved to investment banking with Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. Howland did innovative work in the high-yield bond market while a partner at L.F. Rothschild and was later a pioneer in the nascent days of private equity fundraising.
Howland Murphy co-founded Brittany Capital in 1996. Those who worked with him will miss his energy and innovative thinking. His friends will miss his enthusiasm, good humor, and secret Christmas Punch.