SAN FRANCISCO and NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — The Conifer Group, LLC (“Conifer”), and Vastardis Capital Services Holdings LP (“Vastardis”) announced today they have signed a definitive merger agreement to combine their respective businesses. The newly formed company, to be called Conifer Financial Services, LLC, will be one of the largest independent alternative asset services firms offering expanded capabilities to clients on a global scale. At inception, Conifer Financial Services will have combined assets under administration (AUA) of more than $70 billion and offer trade execution services to over 200 clients worldwide.

Jack McDonald, currently CEO of Conifer Group, will become President and CEO. William Vastardis, Founder and President of Vastardis, will be named Chairman.

The merger brings together Conifer’s clients in the hedge fund industry with Vastardis’ clients in the fund of fund, endowment/foundation, private equity, and venture capital spaces. It also dramatically increases the scale and scope of services that both Conifer and Vastardis will be able to provide their clients, creating a larger global footprint with offices in San Francisco, New York, the British Virgin Islands, Singapore, and Toronto.

“Combining our two firms will yield significant benefits for our clients and employees and allows us to realize scale in an industry that increasingly demands it,” said Mr. McDonald. “The Conifer and Vastardis teams will continue to serve their clients seamlessly while augmenting our sophisticated technology and service offerings.”

Conifer Financial Services will be headquartered in San Francisco, with plans underway to combine their respective New York and San Francisco locations. Clients will continue to be served by their current client service teams, and there will be no immediate change to the respective “front end” reporting systems.

The combination of the Conifer and Vastardis businesses, people, and technologies creates a firm that can provide portfolio accounting, reporting, investor services, tax services, data warehousing, trade execution, prime brokerage, and customized technology solutions. The new Conifer Financial Services will be able to deploy these capabilities across the asset class and strategy spectrum to pensions, endowments, family offices, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital managers, RIAs, and traditional asset managers.

The merger is expected to close at the end of the first quarter of 2014, following regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

“We are extremely excited to be joining with Jack and the Conifer team to create a larger and more global, independent fund administrator that will serve a variety of alternative asset management clients and institutional investors,” said Mr. Vastardis. “The newly formed firm will provide us with a tremendous platform to grow our business around the world, as well as give employees more opportunities for professional development and cross-training into new product areas.”

About The Conifer Group, LLC

The Conifer Group, LLC is a leading provider of services to the hedge fund industry that includes global fund accounting and administration, middle- and back-office operations, prime brokerage and trade execution services. Conifer’s comprehensive platform of business and operations solutions appeals to both start-up and established managers by allowing them to focus exclusively on asset gathering and investing. Headquartered in San Francisco and with offices in New York, the British Virgin Islands, and Nova Scotia, Conifer has been in business since 1989. For more information, please visit www.conifer.com.

About Vastardis Capital Services, LLC

Founded in 2003, Vastardis Capital Services is an independent fund administration firm serving institutions and alternative asset managers. Providing full-service, outsourced investment administration, portfolio accounting, performance measurement and reporting, investor and tax services are the cornerstone of its business. Since its founding Vastardis has become a global organization with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Singapore and Toronto. For more information, please visit www.vastcap.com.

SOURCE The Conifer Group, LLC; Vastardis Capital Services Holdings LP