New York, March 24, 2021 – iConnections, the industry-leading platform and community that seamlessly connects investment managers and allocators, today announced that it will be hosting Funds 4 Minds, a month-long initiative bringing together the alternative investment industry to fundraise for mental health charities.
Throughout May, iConnections will facilitate a series of private capital introduction meetings between alternative investment managers and allocators, donating $100 to select mental health charities for every meeting that takes place.
The event will bring together managers from across the alternative asset management spectrum with top allocators including many of the most prestigious and sought-after end-investors and asset owners around the world, including Carnegie Corporation of New York, The J. Paul Getty Trust, Stanford University.
Ron Biscardi, CEO of iConnections, said: “Over the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic has upended the lives of people of all ages, everywhere. From grieving the loss of loved ones to managing loneliness as a result of social distancing and lockdown measures, it has been exceptionally challenging to adjust to the new way of living that the pandemic has precipitated. Prioritizing mental health has never been more critical. In a time of such great uncertainty, we are proud to bring together the alternative investment industry to solve a universal problem.”
Alongside capital introduction meetings, iConnections will host a series of virtual events, including coffee chats, webinars and fireside discussions with leading allocators and managers. Funds 4 Minds follows the successful Funds 4 Food capital introduction event that iConnections hosted last year, which saw over 4,000 meetings pledged between allocators and managers to raise a total of $1.9 million for Covid-19 hunger relief efforts.
More than 200 asset managers are taking part in the event so far– spanning hedge funds, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, private debt, venture capital and long-only funds – while the line-up of allocators include leading university endowments in North America, APAC, the UK and Europe, along with many of the world’s biggest and most influential foundation, pension, sovereign wealth, insurance, fund of fund and large family office investors.
Gregg Sommer, Partner, Mercer Investments said: “As we look forward to a post-pandemic world, addressing the mental health toll from the pandemic will be critical to ensuring that we have a vibrant economic and social environment. Our industry can play a critical role in ensuring that we support and accelerate a return to normal life for all.”
Allocators who will be attending the event include GCM Grosvenor, Millennium Management, Boothbay Fund Management, Oppenheimer, Titan Advisors, Northropp Grumman, Bessemer, Perella Weinberg, Cambridge Investment Management Limited (CUEF), Columbia Investment Management Company, Kamehameha Schools, Stanford Management Company , Abdul Latif Jameel Investment Advisory Services UK Limited, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Mercer Investments, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, PAAMCO Prisma, The J. Paul Getty Trust, Aksia, ICG Advisor, Aberdeen Standard Investments and Forbes Family Trust.
iConnections will host its physical Global Alternatives Conference for managers and allocators at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach in January 2022 which will also be raising funds through its iCare program. Managers and allocators can sign up for Funds 4 Minds and iConnections Global Alternatives Conference 2022 through the iConnections platform.
