Underwriting at Ben, much like the company itself, has set its sights on democratizing the ability for all alternative asset investors to be able to access exit options in a cost effective and efficient manner. While individual investors and small-to-mid-sized institutions are the fastest growing investor segment of the alternative asset market, this segment traditionally has had little access to cost-effective, efficient options when they wanted to rebalance their portfolios.
Typical secondary transactions usually involve complex and lengthy processes to arrive at a valuation for the assets an investor wants to sell. Combine this with differing liquidity needs and goals for individual investors, and you are left with a subset of investors who are not well served by traditional secondary funds. This is where Ben is designed to come in.
To provide a modern way of accessing exit options, Ben has created innovative technology-driven systems and digital customer interfaces within an end-to-end transaction process. To support this approach, Ben has focused on being a nimble investment group that understands, values, and assesses a vast array of alternative assets while continuously developing new tools and approaches in an effort to make Ben’s exit options even more rapid and cost-effective.
This is made possible by leveraging proprietary processes and technologies like Ben AltAccess®, a digital platform that allows alternative asset investors to pursue exit options, and Ben AltQuote™, Ben’s novel tool that is designed to provide customers with access to quick, online quotes for their alternative assets. These tools, combined with Ben’s unique approach to underwriting, are designed to allow Ben to potentially deliver options to its customers in as short as 15 days or fewer.
Ben’s Approach to Alternative Asset Exit Options
The following chart highlights the broad range of alternative asset classes Ben can evaluate, ranging from private equity, hedge funds, and venture capital to real estate, infrastructure, natural resources, and specialty vehicles such as feeder funds and co-investments.
Eligible AssetsBen specializes in striving to provide a modernized way of obtaining exit options for most types of professionally managed alternative asset investments, including: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Private Equity | Non-Traded BDCs | Hedge Funds |
| Venture Capital | Non-Traded REITs | Fund of Funds |
| Leveraged Buyouts | Private Real Estate | Co-Investments |
| Special Situations/Structured Credit | Feeder Funds | Natural Resources |
| Private Debt | Infrastructure | Alternative Energy/Climate Solutions |
| Infrastructure Assets | Real Assets (Agriculture/Forestry) | |
Ben’s technology-driven, scalable approach is designed to offer secure, rapid, and cost-effective exit options to our customers for several reasons:
First, Ben seeks to simplify the process from the start by allowing customers to initiate, manage, and complete their request for exit options online through one of the industry’s first secure customer portals, AltAccess. Within AltAccess, customers receive and complete our short-form standardized agreement and transaction documents. This simplified, consistent process is designed to allow us to eliminate significant time usually spent on document negotiation and delivery, a process that alone can take up to over 60 days with traditional secondary funds, not to mention the time and cost required to secure outside legal counsel as is typically done in traditional processes.
Next, we seek to expedite the valuation and proposal process thanks to our method that incorporates both top-down and bottom-up valuation assessments.
This process was designed by our experienced Investment Team members in conjunction with Ben’s Portfolio Allocation and Risk Team, and with additional oversight and guidance from Ben’s Board of Directors’ Credit Committee. Our approach is designed to leverage both broad market categorizations and macroeconomic data with fundamental assessments at the fund and individual investment levels.
Ben Provides the Online Experience Customers Want
Finally, Ben is a permanent operating company that uses its own balance sheet. We believe this is a critical differentiator because it means there is no ticking clock or fund termination date which allows us to take a long-term view and potentially provide exit options on a wide array of eligible assets.
A common outcome in the traditional secondary market is that investors may only achieve partial solutions to their liquidity needs – i.e., not all of their assets can be liquidated. Ben’s goal of being a provider of exit options to a diverse universe of alternative investments also supports our mission to maintain exposure to a diversified collateral portfolio of alternative assets that is more naturally insulated from overconcentration toward any given subsector or asset class.
Continuously Improving Our Underwriting Process
Another key component of our Underwriting is our approach to continuous improvement. At our core, Underwriting has two mandates: 1) review and provide options for all of our customers with the tools we have available today, and 2) regularly improve our processes to meet the evolving needs of our company, our customers, and the industry by seeking ways to use technology, algorithms, and data to price more quickly and accurately.
By being customer-centric and focusing on the needs of individual investors and small-to-mid sized institutional investors, Ben has – and must continue to – design its structure and operations in an effort to create efficiency, scale, and speed in a market that traditionally has seen little of each. We must always optimize and develop new processes by leveraging the troves of data we gain from our ever-growing exposure to a diversified portfolio of alternative assets.
With our unique expertise, we believe Ben will be a leader in providing exit options and will continue to meet a critical demand for investors that have been underserved by traditional secondary funds for years.
Trust Ben®
At Ben, we have crafted a suite of reliable, ongoing solutions for investors in alternative assets. Our process seeks to give investors access to hard-earned investment capital, with financing provided from our own balance sheet. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with our expert team.
Important Disclosures
Subject to Qualifications
Liquidity exit strategies offered may not include all options and may vary over time; all exit options, including historic options such as cash, may not be available or offered to prospective customers at any given time; your options may differ. Exit options are presented on a case-by-case basis in Ben’s discretion and may be offered for less than current net asset value based on a variety of factors, including asset-specific factors such as Ben’s valuation analysis. References to “liquidity” generally refers to an opportunity offered by Ben to exit an investment in an illiquid asset. Ben can discuss with prospective customers what options may be currently available, including based upon the specifics of such customer’s situation and illiquid assets.
These materials are provided for illustration and discussion purposes and are not intended to be and do not constitute financial, tax, legal or investment advice or recommendations, or an offer to sell or exchange, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or exchange, any securities. Securities brokerage services are offered through AltAccess Securities Company L.P. (“AltAccess Securities”), which may provide certain materials to recipients. AltAccess Securities is affiliated with Beneficient, a Nevada corporation, and/or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries and successors (collectively, “Ben”) and is a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and various states and a Member FINRA/SIPC. Investments involve risks and are not suitable for all persons.