James Whiteley

M&A Advisory for Wealth and Asset Management Industry

Menai is a privately held fintech and asset management firm providing institutional-grade digital asset investment products. -Gained exposure to asset management and digital finance through a blockchain and digital assets lens -Assisted in reweighing the firm’s Diversified Digital Asset Index, a proprietary benchmark developed in collaboration with MSCI. Compiled performance metrics and conducted comparative analyses in Excel to support rebalancing decisions, reporting directly to Founder and CEO Zoe Cruz. -Conducted market research on macro and regulatory trends impacting digital assets. Developed insights into digital asset risk management and identified opportunities where blockchain and digital assets are disrupting traditional payment and trading systems

Cork Partners is a search fund formed to identify, acquire, and operate an existing private company with EBITDA of $2-$10 million and initial enterprise value of $10-$50 million. A remote 12-week internship was completed during my fall semester of senior year and offered exposure to the private equity space. Biweekly meetings kept the team informed of upcoming timelines and future deliverables. -Reporting directly to the founder, a Tuck MBA graduate, I conducted proprietary, niche industry research and produced concise memos that included topics on vertical farming, aviation software, and autism therapy. Memos contained SWOT analysis and other details, including market share, growth rates, and financial ratios. -Built and managed a pipeline of 150+ prospective acquisition targets using Hubspot and Grata; supported outreach and early engagement with firm leadership to drive deal sourcing efforts

IEQ Capital is a registered investment advisor with over $36 billion in AUM. A 10-week rotational program offered the chance to work in various departments, including client-facing roles, business development, and research/finance. Interns collaborated with associates and senior management and utilized applications such as Excel and PowerPoint daily. - Utilized Salesforce and Pitchbook to build and manage a CRM database of over 3,000 high-net worth prospective clients across ten Midwestern cities, supporting the firm’s regional expansion strategy - Constructed cash flows using Addepar, Excel, and PowerPoint to showcase the client’s current liquidity and to leverage for future alternative investment proposals - Presented a mock investment proposal of RidgeLake Partners, a GP stakes fund, to firm executives, outlining the fund’s advantages, risks, and historical performance - Evaluated fixed income and equity alternative pitch decks to assess their investment potential, which included research into secondaries, distressed credit, and opportunistic real estate

FourSixThree Capital is a long/short opportunistic credit hedge fund, pursuing distressed and special situations. The internship offered hands-on learning using various applications, including Bloomberg Terminal, Excel, and PowerPoint. I completed assignments and joined calls with senior executives, which proved beneficial in retaining knowledge on corporate restructuring, bankruptcy processes, and long/short strategies. -Read credit agreements and prospectuses to identify creditors’ rights and limitations in distressed situations -Analyzed company’s capital structure for mispricings using 10-Ks and 10-Qs, which included companies like Million Air, Hertz, and Madrid Xanadú