Private Shares Group

The Private Shares Group at GFI was developed to service the need for liquidity among holders of private company stock. In line with GFI's proven track record as a cutting edge wholesale broker with roots in technology, the Private Shares Group works in the alternative investment class servicing investors in illiquid assets including asset managers, endowments, family offices, financial institutions, foundations, fund of funds, and public and private pensions.

GFI has expertise in fostering liquidity in OTC markets for complex and innovative financial products where liquidity is harder to achieve and expert brokerage services are therefore more valuable to market participants. We fostered liquidity in the credit derivative and currency derivative markets in their early stages and have grown our services offerings for these markets through the years. Similarly, we were an early entrant to the shipping, property, emissions derivatives and tax receivables markets.

As the average time for a private company to go from inception to IPO continues to extend from approximately three years to almost ten years, the need for liquidity increases among those that are early to invest in new companies.

Angel investors, founders, venture capital firms and others including former employees look to access liquidity through partners such as GFI. The Private Shares Group facilitates sophisticated anonymous transactions by matching institutional buyers with liquidity seekers in high-growth pre-IPO companies that are among the top-ranked of their business class.