The mission of the Alternative Investments Group – the largest member group at CFANY – is to provide a forum for the discussion and analysis of nontraditional investment approaches, including all forms of hedge funds, funds of funds, private equity, structured products, institutional real estate, and other investments not typically available in the retail marketplace.
In 2019, the Alternative Investments Group hosted or co-hosted 15 seminars and conferences which attracted 9,000 participants, including attendees, Livestream and video viewers.
The Alternative Investments Group has been recognized with the 2019 Most Innovative Award and the 2017 Ambassador Award, and Group leaders have been recognized with the CFANY Volunteer of the Year Award for 2018 and 2019.
Mark Sullivan, CFA, is a Managing Director and Partner at Stonehaven, LLC. Mr. Sullivan works closely with Stonehaven’s CEO to spearhead origination and ongoing management of mandates while also playing a senior management role. Prior to Stonehaven, Mr. Sullivan was the Director of US Sales Management at Man Investments Inc. where he coordinated product operations and development and managed related workflow across stakeholders including investment management, marketing, third party investors, service providers, legal, compliance, operations, reporting and management. Mr. Sullivan came to Man Investments Inc. following the acquisition of Ore Hill Partners LLC in May 2011, where Mr. Sullivan was a Partner and served as the firm’s CFO and COO for over 8 years. Mr. Sullivan built and managed all non-investment functions for the multi product alternative asset management firm and was integral in helping grow the firm from $70 million & 7 employees to $3 billion AUM & 45 employees. Prior to Ore Hill Partners LLC, Mr. Sullivan worked for Credit Suisse First Boston / Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette within their Private Client Services division from 2000 to 2003. Mr. Sullivan also worked with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in their Private Wealth Management division from 1998 to 2000. Mr. Sullivan earned an M.B.A. from the Leonard Stern School of Business at NYU with a concentration in Finance and a B.A. in Economics from Boston College. Mr. Sullivan is a CFA charter holder and member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society New York (CFANY). Currently, Mr. Sullivan holds the Series 3, 7, 24, and 63 registrations with FINRA. Mr. Sullivan lives in Larchmont, NY with his wife, son and two daughters.
Chris Cutler, CFA, is founder of Manager Analysis Services, a hedge fund consultant for institutions, funds-of-funds and high-net-worth individuals. Since launching in 2003, MAS has reviewed more than 1,500 hedge fund managers representing every strategy in the asset class. In addition to hedge funds, Cutler has analyzed traditional equity, fixed income and private equity managers as well as individual private equity and venture capital investments. Prior to founding MAS, he worked for Deutsche Bank from 1994 to 2003, cofounding a specialized fixed income derivatives product, marketing over-the-counter interest rate derivatives and developing structured financial products. From 1988 to 1994, he worked as an emerging markets economist and bank regulator for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Cutler earned his MBA in finance from the New York University Stern School of Business and BA in economics from the University of Chicago, where he was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. As chair of the New York Society of Securities Analysts Alternative Investment Committee from 2005 to 2007, he created the Alternative Analysts’ Forums.
Anna is a financial services executive with over 18 years of experience, encompassing strategy, M&A and corporate advisory, credit analysis and credit risk / portfolio management. Recognized as a credit expert with experience managing a multi-billion portfolio of leveraged and investment grade credit facilities as well as hedging positions.
Jonathan Dong is an Associate Research Analyst at Lord Abbett. He is responsible for analyzing and recommending corporate bonds and loans issued by U.S. regulated utilities and merchant power producers. He has prior experience covering the mining sector on the $1 billion Lord Abbett International Equity Dividend Fund.
Stephan Connelly is a Director at Star Mountain and is involved in all aspects of the firm’s investment and portfolio management activities in addition to business development and investor relations efforts.Leadership
Chair: Anna Sembos, CFA, Ph.D.
Vice Chair: Stephan Connelly, CFA
Vice Chair: Jonathan Dong
Vice Chair: David Motsonelidze, CFA
Steven G. Bloom, CFA, 
Alvin Butler is a Vice President for Quilvest Private Equity, a global family office with $39 billion of assets under management. Alvin is based in New York and is focused on sourcing and executing private equity fund investments and direct co-investment opportunities in North America. Prior to joining Quilvest, Alvin was a Vice President at Landmark Partners, a secondary fund-of-funds with more than $15 billion of assets under management. Alvin was responsible for all aspects of the investment process including the sourcing, negotiation, and execution of more than $400 million of closed secondary and primary fund investments in the buyout, growth equity, mezzanine, energy, and infrastructure verticals. Before joining Landmark, Alvin was a Senior Associate at the Penta Mezzanine Fund, a lower middle-market mezzanine fund with more than $100 million of assets under management. Alvin’s roles at Penta included investment sourcing, transaction management, underwriting, investor relations, and capital raising. Alvin earned a dual MBA from New York University and London Business School and also earned a BS in Finance and MS in Entrepreneurship, both from the University of Florida. He is a CFA charterholder and lives in New Jersey with his wife and son.Upcoming Alternative Investments Group Events
Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) Reporting: What will its effect be?
Featured Past Event
The new GAAP standard for determining credit losses will be taking effect January 1, 2020 for major financial institutions and other credit investors. This CECL model is expected to have significant impacts on banks and other financial institutions loss recognition, income and net worth.
3rd Annual PE/VC Conference
Past Event — June. 25, 2019
This conference brings together leading private markets allocators, consultants and fund managers who focus on private equity, private credit, growth equity, and venture capital to learn how they select winners, add value and deliver returns.
Investor Forum 2017: Smart Data, Better Results
Featured Past Event
Smart analysts and investors leverage structured data to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase the accuracy of analysis. This half-day forum provided practical information about where you can get structured data on US and non-US companies, on who’s using this data today, and a step-by-step discussion on how to get started using XBRL data within your own organization.
What’s New in Financial Reporting in 2017
Past Event — Feb. 15, 2018
Have you looked at 2017 financial statements and been confused by changes in them? Do you understand how companies’ revenues have changed? What is happening with leases and derivatives? If you want to know the answer to these and other financial reporting questions, we have just the webcast for you. CFANY’s Financial Reporting & Analysis Group hosted a program that will answer these questions and more in a webcast available at your convenience 24/7. The webcast gives you a concise update on new developments in financial reporting taking effect with 2017 financial statements. Topics covered include changes in revenue recognition, derivatives reporting, developments in lease reporting and other important topics. The program includes speakers from FASB, leading accounting analysts and auditing firms. These program is a two-hour boot camp to get financial statement users up to speed quickly on these new standards as they have been incorporated into 2017 and future statements.
For more information about getting involved with FRAG, please contact its chair Arthur Fliegelman at [email protected].
