Investor Alert — GPB Capital Holdings Reports 45% Decline in Assets Under Management
GPB Capital Holdings, LLC (GPB)—a New York-based alternative asset management firm facing multiple investigations from state and federal authorities—recently reported a sharp decline in its regulatory assets under management (AUM). Specifically, as disclosed by GPB in a June 2020 Form ADV, the firm reported $238.6 million in assets as of June 2019. Only eighteen months earlier, at the end of 2017, GPB had reported AUM of $434.3 million, representing a decline of $196.3 million, or a drop of 45% in assets.
GPB’s business model is focused on raising investor capital in order to acquire “income-producing private companies” across several industries including automotive, waste management, and middle market lending. GPB raised approximately $1.8 billion in investor monies across its various private funds through the sale of high-commission financial products at approximately 60 independent broker-dealers. Some of the GPB private funds, in which investors acquired an interest as a limited partner, include GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP, GPB Cold Storage, LP and GPB Waste Management, LP.
Investors in GPB acquired their interest in various GPB funds through private placement offerings. Private placements are very risky investments due to their nature as unregistered securities offerings. Unlike well-known stocks that are publicly traded, and therefore must meet stringent registration and reporting requirements as set forth by the SEC, private placements do not have the same regulatory requirements and oversight. Typically, private placements are sold through an exemption from registration pursuant to Regulation D (Reg D) of the Securities Act of 1933.
Investing in a Reg D private placement is risky because investors in such unregistered securities will usually only receive very limited information (often provided through a private placement memorandum, or similar offering document). In some instances, investors in private placements may receive unaudited financials, or an overly optimistic growth forecast, which may have been prepared by a third-party firm hired by the investment sponsor. Such a lack of information and the potential for conflicts of interest make investing in private placements risky and complex. In addition, private placements are illiquid investments and cannot be readily resold.
Brokerage firms, and by extension their financial advisors, have a duty to perform adequate due diligence on any investment recommended to customers, including private placements offered under Reg D. Further, financial advisors have a duty to disclose the risks associated with such an investment, as well as conduct a suitability analysis to determine if the investment meets an investor’s stated investment objectives and risk profile.
If you have invested in GPB and have suffered losses or are unable to exit your illiquid investment and wish to learn more about your legal rights, you may contact us by telephone at (201) 771-1115 or by email at info@gialawgroup.com for a no-cost, confidential consultation. The attorneys at Giarrusso Law Group LLC have significant experience working closely with investors in complex and illiquid investments, including private placement offerings, to recover investment losses through securities arbitration before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).