14 February 2024

Wealthy Californians are ditching the state for the 'Beverly Hills of Arizona'

Overview

Saints is an investment firm dedicated to providing liquidity to investors in private companies. Saints formed its first fund in 2000, and was a pioneer as a direct secondary fund. Since 2000, Saints has provided liquidity to General Partners and their Limited Partners in Venture Capital and Private Equity funds, to founders and early employees of venture-capital backed companies, and to financial institutions (banks, hedge funds and corporations) who have portfolios of private investments that they have wanted to sell. Saints prides itself on being honest with sellers about pricing and ability to close as well as being flexible in structuring a transaction to meet the needs of a seller—our deals are often structured and can include loans, deferred payments and upside sharing.

About The Direct Secondary Market

A direct secondary refers to the buying and selling of an investor’s ownership in a privately held, frequently venture capital or private equity backed company. Distinct from the limited partner secondary market, the direct secondary market is characterized by a transfer of a directly held ownership interest in a company rather than a transfer of a fund interest or indirect ownership stake. The direct secondary market creates an option for management and investors to sell their stock when the entire company is not being sold. Investment stakes can be sold in a single company or across an entire portfolio of companies. A secondary transaction can be an important source of liquidity in a variety of situations, including:

Venture capital funds that are at the end of their fund life
Venture funds with insufficient reserve capital to support their portfolio
Providing liquidity to founders and early employees in companies whose exit timelines have been extended
Hedge funds seeking liquidity for side-pocket funds

With nearly 20 years of experience and a track record of investing in over 200 companies, Saints is the oldest and one of the largest direct secondary investors.

Greater Phoenix Economic Council

Ken Sawyer | GPEC

Signal NFX

Ken Sawyer's Investing Profile - Saints Capital Managing Director | Signal

Paradise Valley, dubbed by some the "Beverly Hills of Arizona," has seen an influx of wealthy Californians.
Movers come for the privacy, luxurious lifestyle, lower taxes, and quality of life.
The movers are coming from across the state, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

Ken Sawyer didn’t initially plan to leave California.

The cofounder of Saints Capital previously lived in San Francisco with his wife, who also works in venture capital, and had a second home in Napa. But when the Napa home burned in the 2017 wildfires, they decided to get a home in Colorado instead of rebuilding.

“After being there and realizing some of the dynamics and quality of life and the benefits that were there, we decided maybe we didn’t need to be in California,” he told Business Insider.