Leading High-Net-Worth Investor Group TIGER 21 Doing it Big in Texas; Plans First Lone Star Chapter in Dallas

Peer-based learning/networking group for affluent investors draws on collective intelligence to maximize long-term returns and preserve wealth; TIGER 21 draws big-name presenters: T. Boone Pickens, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman and Carlyle’s David Rubenstein; Initial member meetings to convene at Crescent Club
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DALLAS, TX (May 14, 2007) — The projected growth rate over the next four years of millionaires in the Dallas/Fort Worth region is the second highest in the US, according to a 2006 World Wealth Report issued by Merrill Lynch, so it is fitting that now Dallas welcomes the nation’s premier peer-to-peer learning group for high-net-worth investors, TIGER 21.  New York-based TIGER 21 has just expanded into the Lone Star State, holding its first member meetings in the Crescent Club in downtown Dallas.

Founded in 1999 with six original members, TIGER 21 (The Investment Group for Enhanced Returns in the 21st Century) now counts 130 members nationally, representing more than $7 billion of combined investable assets. Individual members must have a minimum investible net worth of at least $10 million for membership. Late last year, three new chapters were added in California, serving Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. Earlier this year chapters were introduced in Miami and Palm Beach, Florida. TIGER 21 is exploring further expansion into Arizona, Las Vegas and Seattle.

The new Dallas group will follow TIGER 21’s successful model of pooling collective intelligence for the ultra-high-net-worth investors, who meet monthly to exchange investment ideas and share personal experiences on a broad range of issues. In addition to serving as a social networking and educational platform, TIGER 21 offers members access to investment opportunities, including private equity, real estate and hedge funds, as well as participation in a host of other alternative investments.

TIGER 21 also has its sights set on Houston, which ranked righted behind Dallas in the Merrill Lynch study, and Austin.

“We have had a tremendous response to our new groups in South Florida and California and we expect the same level of interest in Dallas,” said Tommy Gallagher, a TIGER 21 member and the organization’s CEO, who is a former Vice-Chairman of CIBC Oppenheimer. “We already have more than a dozen potential members lined up and expect a full group to be up and running by the summer.”

“Evidence of wealth in Dallas is legendary, but it has become even more diverse than represented on the television show that bore the city’s name more than a generation ago. Numerous luxury high-rise condominiums line the uptown avenues; million-dollar mansions dot the northern suburban landscape and high-end auto dealerships are thriving in the city,” Mr. Gallagher added.

Leading TIGER 21’s charge into Dallas is long-time serial entrepreneur William N. Case. Mr. Case has more than 25 years of experience working with other entrepreneurs as well as Fortune 100 companies. He has become a trusted advisor to executives and an authority on the effective transition management of merger and acquisition transactions. He has also conducted lectures and seminars on various business topics throughout the world.

“Having been involved in approximately 300 M&A transactions in the last 10 years, I have helped many entrepreneurs and executives achieve high-net-wealth status,” said Mr. Case. “I have witnessed how this newfound wealth is often difficult to handle – both financially as well as personally. The number of newly-minted multi-millionaires continues to increase in Dallas and the time is right for a group like TIGER 21.”

TIGER 21 members include successful entrepreneurs and business-owners, senior Wall Street executives and professional money managers.  TIGER 21 founder Michael Sonnenfeldt is a former Goldman Sachs banker and real estate developer, who now runs a private investment firm.  In addition to examining wealth issues and investment decisions, the group also marshals member investments in deal opportunities leveraging TIGER 21 world-class connections. “Dallas has its share of old money and we welcome long-established families. We suspect that a great deal of our Dallas membership will be successful entrepreneurs and executives that have worked their way up the ladder and have been fortunate enough to cash out,” explained Sonnenfeldt.

“TIGER 21 members understand that becoming a smarter investor is a lifelong learning process,” Mr. Sonnenfeldt explained.   “Through our meetings, we continually challenge our conventional assumptions, our investment choices and our strategic view of the financial world.  Members know they are getting honest and credible advice on wealth preservation from their peers, something they typically do not receive from even the most trusted financial advisor.” One of the benefits of TIGER 21 is the access to leading financial experts. Some of the country’s most renowned financial writers, private equity investors, portfolio managers, and hedge fund principals regularly make presentations on a broad host of investment issues, including potential opportunities for well-vetted investments.

In April, TIGER 21 welcomed T. Boone Pickens to its New York Townhouse to discuss oil, investments and philanthropy. The event, open to all TIGER 21 members, attracted an overflow crowd. Mr. Pickens has previously spoke to TIGER 21 in 2005. Other TIGER 21 presenters have included Stephen Schwarzman, cofounder of Blackstone Group; David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group; Alan “Ace” Greenberg, chairman of the executive committee for Bear Stearns; and best-selling financial writers, including Ron Chernow, James Stewart and James Surowiecki.   For a full list of TIGER 21 presenters, see www.tiger21.com.

TIGER 21 group members convene for monthly, day-long professionally facilitated meetings. Meetings consists of several distinct sessions, each designed to broaden members’ knowledge of investing and to show how world events and personal issues can impact investment portfolios.

Central to this model is the portfolio defense, where one member is required to present their personal balance sheet, income statement and financial goals in context with the larger events in their lives for review and analysis by the group’s members. Members give advice based on their knowledge of the presenting member’s likes and propensities, a knowledge that is built upon through regular contact and discussion of issues with each other. The process can be extremely personal and sometimes confessional – members are encouraged to be as candid as possible about individual and family issues that might weigh heavily on their investment choices. Members who experience the portfolio defense say that TIGER 21 has no equivalent for getting to the core of their investment strategies.

“Our model for peer-based learning has no borders, but in the end nothing works like the intimate sharing of information that comes from a group meeting. We welcome our new Texas members and hope we can help them tackle some of the thornier issues surrounding extreme wealth, while gaining a new level of camaraderie with other investors who truly understand their station,” said Mr. Sonnenfeldt.

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