Investing across the spectrum of alternative assets

Hedge Funds

Concentrated portfolios of renowned hedge fund managers who have consistently produced attractive risk-adjusted returns over long periods of time. Strategies include, but are not limited to, distressed and stressed credit, event-driven credit, activist equity and healthcare/biotech. Sandalwood has the ability to create bespoke portfolios for larger allocations.

Senior Direct Lending – Three examples

A fund paying fixed distributions from a qualified REIT for tax purposes, substantial guarantors on the fund, low (50%-60%) LTV

Healthcare-focused fund; loans with warrants

New England-focused fund of primarily first lien real estate loans targeting current income

Venture Lending

In the e-commerce space, an opportunity for periodic equity investment into the borrowers; loans with warrants

Litigation Finance

A fund purchasing litigation claims in European market. Invested via a joint venture with a $30 Billion hedge fund

Early Stage Biotech

From early-stage through cross-over rounds, three funds with significant institutional sponsorship

Specialty Real Estate

A hotel fund with an established firm and significant institutional participation

Local Real Estate – Two examples

An institutional quality, 300-unit multi-family asset in Gaithersburg, MD

An apartment construction project in Austin, TX

Distressed Debt

A fund which purchases defaulted commercial mortgages in New York City

Private Equity/Venture Capital – Three examples

An early-stage venture capital fund with significant institutional backing leading to two co-investments with the sponsor

A co-investment fund with a leading venture fund in the Middle East

An eighth fund from an established private equity manager focused on the consumer sector and healthcare

Kenneth M. Chapple, CPA
Managing Director, CFO, Operational Due Diligence Director

As Sandalwood’s Chief Financial Officer since 2006, Ken oversees all financial aspects of Sandalwood’s funds.  He is also Head of Operational Due Diligence. In this capacity, Ken is the only member of the Investment Committee that has an absolute veto due to operational factors. In addition to supervising the firm’s operational due diligence, Ken works very closely with the manager research team to provide an additional layer of scrutiny. He is also a member of Sandalwood’s senior management team.

Ken began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers where his exclusive focus was on audits and agreed-upon procedures for hedge funds.  Prior to his departure in 2001, he was the senior in-charge of one of the largest hedge fund clients of PwC with an AUM exceeding $7 billion. The majority of Ken’s engagements were hedge funds specializing in distressed debt investing. The experience gave him exposure to a variety of products used among distressed managers, and a large portion of his audits were dedicated to the infrastructure and internal controls of these hedge funds.

In the fall of 2001, Ken joined Appaloosa Management, LP as Controller. In this position he performed much of the accounting and tax functions for funds under the firm’s purview, gaining experience with a number of exotic financial instruments, and the accounting and tax implications particular to them.  In particular, Ken has significant experience with the settlement of and accounting treatment of credit default swaps, bank debt (both Par and Distressed), total return swaps, CFD’s, trade claims and other financial instruments.

In 2005, he was named Chief Financial Officer of Loxias Fund Management, LLC, a startup distressed hedge fund that liquidated later that same year. Ken went on to serve as a Client Services Manager/Director at Bisys-RK Alternative Investment Services, Inc.

Ken graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Accounting from the University of Scranton.  He also studied at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia with a focus on International Business. Ken is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Eric C. Taubenheim
Managing Director, Head of Manager Research

Eric joined Sandalwood’s investment team in 2017, and leads the manager research effort. He is responsible for sourcing new managers, conducting manager due diligence for potential allocations and monitoring the investments and relationships with existing fund managers. Additionally, Eric focuses on investment strategy and markets research.

Eric was previously with Pine Grove / Man FRM for six years, where he focused on Credit, Event, and Long/Short strategies in a senior research function, initially as a Partner and Managing Director on the Pine Grove investment team (acquired by Man in 2014). Prior  to that he spent six years as a Senior Research Analyst with Susquehanna International Group in several roles focused on fundamental strategies.  Eric began his career in the Goldman Sachs Analyst Program (Credit). He spent almost seven years at Goldman in New York and London, most recently serving as a Vice President in High Yield Research covering the Wireless and Entertainment sectors.

Eric earned a BA in English from Trinity College.

Richard W. Stockton, Jr.
Managing Director, Investor Relations/Marketing

Rick Stockton is the Director of Marketing at Sandalwood Securities, and is responsible for sourcing, cultivating and managing new relationships and distributing the firm’s investment offerings. Prior to Sandalwood, Mr. Stockton was Managing Director of Investor Relations at a privately owned Registered Investment Advisor in New York City where he spent the previous six years. Mr. Stockton worked with high net worth individuals, family offices, and institutions from both an allocation and an investment management perspective across all asset classes.

Prior to that, he was a Director in the Private Wealth Management division of Deutsche Bank, where he worked for eight years as a Relationship Manager where he was the point person for high net worth and institutional Private Banking and Investment Management relationships. Prior to Deutsche Bank, he worked in the Private Bank at UBS, and he began his career at the Investor Relations firm of Abernathy MacGregor.

Rick earned a BA in History from Trinity College.

Thomas R. Oswald
Managing Director, Compliance

Mr. Oswald is the Chief Compliance Officer for Sandalwood. Mr. Oswald has 40 years of experience managing assets for high net worth individuals. He began his career as a Certified Public Accountant with Coopers and Lybrand concentrating in stock brokerage, mutual funds, and other financial institutions. He later became a partner in a New York Stock Exchange broker/dealer specializing in institutional sales, underwriting, and private placements.

Tom then joined Train Cabot Counsel and Accounting Management Company, a full-service financial institution providing investment advice, broker/dealer, and tax and accounting services for high net worth individuals and families. In his role as President of Accounting Management Company he worked with clients to develop overall financial and tax strategies including a review of asset allocation and the selection of appropriate portfolio managers. He was also responsible for their broker dealer and investment advisor compliance.

Mr. Oswald received his B.S. in business from St. Peter’s College.

Laura R. Moore
Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing

Laura joined Sandalwood in 2016 as Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing responsible for marketing Sandalwood’s multi-manager investment offerings to high net worth individuals, family offices, and institutions. Her career in finance has spanned over 35 years with a focus on global trading of futures and alternative investments. She began her career in the early 1980’s as a trader of soft commodities in Brazil hedging for clients. She is fluent in Portuguese. Returning to the US in the mid 80’s she continued to trade commodities and financial futures building a team of 15 people based in the US and London. This team was among the top producers at Dean Witter. Laura was the first woman appointed to the Dean Witter Chairman’s club. Her career path changed in the 90’s when she began trading for hedge funds and was involved in relationship management for 4 multi-billion hedge funds. The past 5 years she has been the Director of Capital Introductions for Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking (FKA Newedge). Laura worked with a team of 150 prime brokerage professionals globally to increase the group’s trading/clearing profits, brand awareness and relationships with institutional hedge fund allocators. She advised hedge fund clients on key features of asset-raising strategies, including target market sector/region, fund and fee structure offerings, IR staffing, seed opportunities, and market trends. Her team produced educational events and customized road shows to highlight manager capabilities to investors.

Laura earned a BA in Political Science and Mass Communication from Denver University.

Laura carries her series 3, 7 and 63 licenses. Laura is involved with a number of philanthropic endeavors focused on animals, health and education.

Stephanie M. Salen, CPA
Operational Due Diligence Manager

Stephanie joined Sandalwood’s Fund Accounting group in May 2010. As Director of Accounting she oversees accounting of Sandalwood’s funds which includes reviewing the monthly NAV, financial statements, reports and allocations. Stephanie also works to develop and enhance procedures, process work flows, and the infrastructure of accounting functions for the firm. She works closely with the CFO on initial operational due diligence evaluation of potential managers and ongoing monitoring of existing invested managers.

Prior to Sandalwood, Stephanie was a Senior Accountant at Rotenberg Meril Solomon Bertiger and Guttilla, P.C. (RMSBG) where she worked on the audit for RMSBG’s largest fund of hedge funds client with $8.5B in assets under management. Previously, Stephanie was a Fund Accountant at UBP Asset Management where she performed the monthly accounting functions for multiple fund of hedge funds and assisted in the NAV approval process. She regularly analyzed fees and projected quarterly expenses while working closely with fund administrators. Additionally, Stephanie worked with a team of fund accountants on special projects related to financial statement production and FASB 157 compliance of investment managers. Stephanie began her career at Rothstein Kass and Company, where she was a Senior Associate focusing on audits and agreed-upon procedures for hedge funds. She specialized in master feeder structures with expertise in several investment strategies including global macro, multi-strategy, emerging markets, fixed income, and hard money lending.

Stephanie received a BS in Accounting from Montclair State University. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New Jersey and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Dana Colon
Research Assistant

Dana joined Sandalwood in May 2008. As Research Assistant her responsibilities include administrative coordination of new hedge fund managers, monitoring existing relationships, preparing fund subscriptions and redemptions, and ensuring proper documentation for time-sensitive tracking and transactions.

Dana’s professional career spans 35 years with a concentration in senior project management. She received a BS from the University of Delaware.

Nicole M. Fresolone
Fund Controller

Nicole joined Sandalwood’s Fund Accounting Group in January 2012, where she assisted in all aspects of fund accounting and NAV preparation. As Fund Controller, she oversees the accounting of Sandalwood’s funds, which includes reviewing the monthly NAV, financial statements, and allocations. She works closely with the CFO to develop, enhance and improve fund accounting procedures and workflows. Nicole acts as a liaison between Sandalwood’s Fund Accounting and Investor Services teams.

Nicole received a BS in Accounting from Montclair State University.

Vichi Hung
Investor Administration

Vichi Hung joined Sandalwood in 2003 and is in charge of investor administration. Her responsibilities include communication and correspondence with investors, third party advisors, and various offshore administrators and custodians. She oversees and coordinates transfers, redemptions and subscriptions and ensures prompt and proper documentation and funding.

Vichi has been in financial services for almost 20 years, beginning her career at NorCrown Bank as customer service representative in 1998. Within several months she transferred to the accounting department where she was responsible for account reconciliations and wire transfers. In this capacity she serviced Sandalwood accounts. She was then promoted to ATM Manager and was responsible for overseeing installation of automated teller machines, reconciliation of daily transactions related to electronic funds and fraudulent electronic transactions.