FON Launches Co Investment Family Office Platform For Qualified Members

WELLINGTON – (March 8, 2023) - FON launches co-investment family office platform, opening the door for socializing fractional co investments in family office lead investments (www.FONmarketplace.com).  


FON launched FONmarketplace.com (beta v1.0) and the Co- Investment Now button to allow families, private funds and issuers seeking to raise co investment capital the ability to fractionalize as well as tech enable the co investment process. FONmarketplace.com seeks to be an inclusive platform that allows collaboration by families around co investments across return objectives, proactive quality deal flow, efficient screening, rigorous investment and operational due diligence, considerate deal structure including an alignment of governance as well as investment and post closing investment management. 


According to a recent FON study showing improved deal flow as a top families list for 2023. In the same FON study, 45% of FON families surveyed had a Formal Investment Policy with 37% of FON families stating key family members made investment decisions whereas 28% of survey respondents said money is investment via collaboration and a consensus driven process. The FON Co-Investment Survey also showed small to mid sized deals are being done by families, via co-investments, particularly in the pre IPO secondaries as families are moving away from over allocating to large or mega funds and instead are focused on cherry picking select deals into a private basket of opportunities. 


Families felt co-investments to put new money to work as other assets recover as families can have otherwise a limited ability to originate and identify suitable co investments, negotiating and agreeing to terms, as well as making an investment, managing an exit and realizing gains. To surveyed families, co-investments allows families to share the operational risk and time management issues of due diligence, investment management and control of exit options. 


Family offices and ultra high networth investors have been co-investing has become the new trend. (put in an industry fact for 2022) we anticipate that there will be more for 2023. And our platform will allow us both the issuer and the investor a quicker and efficient….en going on for many years between families offices and other groups and its become one of the most effective ways of raising money from a select few like minded individuals. Co-investments are attractive to families alike for a number of reasons including for families to gain exposure to specific opportunities of investment interest and/or where a family may have operating expertise and/or contacts that could be monetized when working with a large private fund or other strategic families. “Very often co-investment lacks the support or attention of the big Wall Street firms and hence provides for abundant return potential yet. Further, private family owned businesses go dramatically underserved in their own co-investment capital raising needs'' stated Victor Park, President of Family Office Networks.” 


“Family offices are more inclined to invest and co-invest with other families especially if they have their own skin in the game. Doing so eliminates resource issues such as infrastructure, family conflicts and instead allows families access to higher quality deals while benefiting from each families expertise, cost reductions and ongoing governance around a co investment” commented Andrew Schneider, Founder of Family Office Networks (www.FamilyOfficeNetworks.com). 


Family office Networks, via the FON Co-Investment Club, works with different groups from family offices to VC, PE and hedge fund firms to put interested and relevant parties together to share in due diligence, negotiation and execution of co-investment terms on a networking, informational and educational basis. 


According to a recent FON Survey, roughly 36% of families committed to co-investments post COVID during 2020-2022. FON President, Victor Park stated “We’re seeing dramatically more interest in co-investment from FON Members and expect stronger co-investment activity in 2023 as many families feel 2023 thru early 2024 will be an opportune time to put money to work on a deal specific basis. Here connections and relationship intelligence are as important as philosophical viewpoints.” 


Park went on to say that families are reforming strategic relationships particularly for direct deal origination as like minded patient capital is generating higher returns on co-investments as more and more formerly public companies prefer to stay or go private with the goal of generating longer term profits than focus on quarterly earnings. 


FON Founder Andrew Schneider added “Given the dramatic transformation of the family office community amidst accumulation of wealth and talent, family offices have more control, decision making ability, alignment of interests as well as more value particularly by single family offices and Patriarch/Matriarch driven private family investment portfolios. Hence, we’re seeing more demand for Investment Clubs on a geographic as well as investment area specific basis. Here we’re seeing a bias toward co investments where a distinct principal investor takes the lead on behalf of collaborative co investors.” 


If you’re interested in co investing or joining a FON Co-Investment Club click here.