What Are Pooled Investment Funds and Should You Consider Them?

A New York City-based investment banker and financial executive, Matt Eitner is the CEO of Laidlaw & Company (UK), a position he has held for almost a decade. Matt Eitner previously worked with Aegis Capital and Casimir Capital. Laidlaw & Company manages numerous investment vehicles, many of which are pooled investment funds.

A pooled investment fund is a simple way for multiple investors to combine their investments into a single professionally managed portfolio. Typically, pooled investment funds are specialized in a sector or industry. An example is real estate investment trusts.

One of the major benefits of investing in a pooled fund is diversification. Even if they’re limited to one sector, pooled investment funds are usually spread out over many key players to maximize returns and mitigate risk.

Moreover, participating in a pooled investment fund carries a low upfront capital requirement. That’s not exactly a rule of investment funds, but most allow investors to enter with relatively small sums, so they’re a good way to become active in an industry without a major allocation of funds. And, pooled investment funds are passive vehicles. Fund managers are responsible for finding investments, negotiating prices, and managing assets.

Asset Allocation in Laidlaw & Company’s Planning Process

Matt Eitner is a registered investment advisor who has nearly two decades of experience in the financial industry. Since 2010, Matt Eitner has served as the CEO of Laidlaw & Company in New York City. Laidlaw & Company is a full-service investment and brokerage firm that caters to high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients. The company was founded in 1842, and employs a client-driven approach to financial planning that relies on 11 different asset allocation strategies.

Asset allocation refers to an investment strategy that seeks to achieve an optimal mix of risk and reward for a portfolio. Appropriate asset allocation is often regarded as a principal determinant of investment returns.

Typically, the strategy involves dividing assets according to four client-driven factors: risk tolerance, financial goals, investment horizon, and market conditions. Laidlaw & Company’s asset allocation strategy utilizes low-cost, passive exchange traded funds for equity exposure, in addition to fixed-income exposure through actively managed funds.
For additional information on Laidlaw & Company’s financial planning process, visit www.laidlawltd.com.

Laidlaw Serves As Book-Running Manager On BioSig IPO

With two decades of experience in the financial sector, Matt Eitner has held leadership positions at numerous investment firms, including Aegis Capital Corporation and Casimir Capital, LP, both based in New York City. Since 2011, Matt Eitner has served as the chief executive officer of Laidlaw & Company, also in New York City. At Laidlaw, he manages client relationships while also overseeing several initial public offerings (IPOs).

Most recently, Laidlaw served as the sole book-running manager for BioSig Technologies’ IPO. The $10 million dollar offering, which closed on February 25, 2020, included the sale of up to 2,500,000 common stock shares, each of which was valued at $0.001.

Speaking about the investment, BioSig noted that the funds raised will be used for scaling up clinical and commercial operations and for developing and securing new patents. In addition to research and development related to new products, the firm will also be using the funds for general corporate purposes and working capital.

Budgeting and Vocational Assistance Giving Mothers Renewed Hope

An accomplished investment banking expert, Matt Eitner is the chief executive officer of Laidlaw & Company (UK), Ltd. in New York City. For over two decades, he has successfully worked in key managerial positions across different investment and brokerage firms. Skilled in investment banking, private equity and wealth management, Matt Eitner is involved in numerous charitable organizations such as Good Counsel Homes.

Good Counsel Homes is a national non-profit organization that focuses on offering residential and community-based support to vulnerable groups such as people without homes as well as expectant and new mothers. Based on Catholic social traditions, the institution has assisted thousands of homeless women and children to rebuild their lives. Good Counsel Homes achieves this through several programs such as Budgeting and Vocational Assistance wherein staff educates rescued mothers on effective spending habits and how to put their lives back on track.

Under the program, each mother is encouraged to save one-third of their income with the ultimate goal of leaving their crisis street life and securing a permanent home. Under the program, staff and volunteers work closely together with program beneficiaries to become part of an assessment program that will help them to identify their talents, abilities, and interests as well as opportunities for employment at their disposal. There are various aspects of training under the program which include resume training, job interview counseling and generally preparing mothers to tap into various opportunities that shall promote their wellbeing.

Frequently Asked Questions about Investment Banking

CEO at Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd. in New York City, Matt Eitner has been working in the finance industry for over two decades and has held managerial positions at several financial institutions. Matt Eitner is an experienced equities trader and held a VP position at Casimir Capital, a boutique investment bank.

Investment banks aren’t like typical savings and loan institutions geared to the public. Rather, they work with large entities as securities agents, assist with mergers, and provide other support services. Here are some common questions that people tend to have about investment banks.

Q: How do investment banks raise capital?
A: The principal mechanisms are debt and equity offerings such as IPOs, selling shares, issuing bonds, and working with credit facilities.

Q: What is a boutique investment bank?
A: Just about any investment bank that doesn’t belong in the bulge bracket (the world's largest international investment banks) can be considered boutique. This includes those that specialize in specific industries or products or in working with small to mid-sized clients.

Q: What’s the best investment bank?
A: The answer really depends on the criteria used to grade the banks. There are numerous listings that evaluate investment banks by volume, prestige, number of deals, etc.

Capital Market versus Stock Market

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Chief Executive Officer Matt Eitner’s job with Laidlaw & Company, based in New York City, involves assisting clients in making wealth management decisions. As an investment banker and asset manager, Matt Eitner works in both the capital and stock markets to advise clients of the best ways to build their portfolio. Capital markets differ from the stock market in a few key ways.

One core difference is in the scope of what is traded in each type of market. Capital markets encompass a wide range of investments, of which the stock market is one category. A broad range of securities are traded on the capital market, including derivative options, such as debt, and commodity futures, which involve buying and selling raw material at specific dates at specific prices. The stock market, alternatively, is constrained to the buying and selling of shares in companies that have gone public.

Another difference relates to who has access to these markets. Some capital markets are accessible to the public, however, some markets are only accessible by large institutions. Within the capital markets, stocks on the NYSE and NASDAQ are accessible by the public.

Finally, capital markets are comprised of primary and secondary markets. Primary markets function to sell shares of stock to specific investors through an initial public offering (IPO), and the secondary market is the stock market, where buyers and sellers meet to trade shares.

Key Responsibilities of an Investment Bank in Mergers and Acquisitions

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With a career spanning nearly two decades, Matt Eitner has served in various leadership roles with leading investment firms in New Jersey and New York. Matt Eitner was named the CEO only six months after joining Laidlaw & Company, an investment banking and brokerage firm serving high-net-worth and institutional clients.

Investment banks specialize in complex financial transactions, including facilitating mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Listed below are some of the responsibilities of an investment bank in an M&A.

1. Valuation. Investment banks evaluate the value of a possible acquisition and help both parties agree on a fair price. They create financial models to capture the fixed and variable financial components that factor into the valuation.

2. Sell-side or buy-side work. An investment bank can represent either a potential acquirer, a potential seller, or both in the case of a merger. An investment bank performs what is known as a buy-side work, wherein they study the market to find a desirable company that best suits the strategic goals of the firm that it represents. On the other hand, a company may approach an investment bank to conduct a sell-side work and look for a buyer who is willing to purchase an entire company or part of it.

3. Financing. Should a potential buyer require funds to acquire a company, investment banks can act as an intermediary in selling securities or raising debt financing. Through valuation, investment banks can determine the best price of new shares and find investors who will buy the newly issued bonds or equities.