Fund Finance Partners

What Fund Finance Partners does

Fund Finance Partners (FFP) is an independent debt advisory firm founded in October 2019 by Zac Barnett and Richard Wheelahan III, headquartered in Chicago with a second office in Charlotte. The firm specializes in advising alternative investment managers and fund sponsors on optimal fund financing solutions, covering subscription facilities, NAV facilities, hybrid facilities, management company lines, GP commitment facilities, and umbrella facilities. FFP's principals have collectively executed over 1,000 unique fund financing transactions representing more than $150 billion in lender commitments, serving a sector-agnostic client base spanning private equity, private credit, real estate, secondaries, energy, infrastructure, and hedge funds. The firm is positioned as the first dedicated debt advisor in the U.S. focused on fund sponsors' fund and management company-level debt arrangements.

FFP's core offering is a three-stage advisory engagement — tailoring fund finance strategy, procuring financing proposals through a structured go-to-market, and installing the optimal financing solution through lender evaluation, negotiation, and execution. Beyond pure advisory, FFP has launched a Private Credit practice offering Private CLO capital solutions and publishes the NAV Lending Index (NLI), described as the first and only systematic index tracking NAV loan utilization, transaction terms, and qualitative and quantitative data points in the private equity NAV lending market. The firm has invested in thought leadership distribution across Bloomberg, Private Equity Wire, Private Debt Investor, and Private Funds CFO, plus conference and podcast presence.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model with engagement-specific advisory fees. GTM is sales-led and direct, targeting enterprise alternative asset managers through partner-led relationship development. FFP has won Private Equity Wire's U.S. Award for Best Fund Financing Solution in 2022, 2023, and 2024, received four consecutive Private Debt Investor Americas Fund Financier of the Year nominations (2020-2023), and had Managing Director Anastasia Kaup receive the Fund Finance Association's 2023 Diversity in Fund Finance Award. The firm is privately held by its co-founders with no disclosed external institutional ownership or funding rounds.

Name

Fund Finance Partners

Legal name

Fund Finance Partners

Website

https://fundfinancepartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fund Finance Partners is an independent debt advisory firm founded in 2019 that helps alternative investment managers and fund sponsors optimize fund and management company-level financing solutions, having collectively executed over 1,000 transactions representing $150 billion+ in lender commitments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Debt Advisory Services for Fund Finance

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Debt Advisory & Financing Advisory (FSAEAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Credit & Direct Lending Fundraising Placement (FSAEALAE)

Keywords

• Fund finance advisory
• NAV lending index
• Subscription credit facilities
• Management company lines
• Private credit capital solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advisory Fees: FFP provides advisory services to fund sponsors and asset managers for structuring and arranging fund financing solutions. Revenue is generated through professional advisory fees for optimizing fund and sponsor debt strategies, from concept through execution and after closing.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fund Finance Partners is an independent debt advisory firm that helps fund sponsors optimize fund financing solutions. The firm tailors fund finance strategy, procures financing proposals from lenders on behalf of clients, and installs optimal financing solutions covering subscription facilities, NAV facilities, hybrid facilities, management company lines, GP commitment facilities, and umbrella facilities. The firm also offers Private Credit capital solutions (including Private CLO solutions) and is the publisher of the NAV Lending Index (NLI), the first and only industry index tracking trends in the private equity NAV lending market.

Product overview

Fund Finance Partners (FFP) is an independent debt advisory firm that offers a unified advisory service helping fund sponsors optimize fund financing solutions. The firm's core offering consists of advisory services that help asset managers tailor fund finance strategy, procure financing proposals, and install optimal financing solutions. FFP also provides Private Credit capital solutions and publishes the NAV Lending Index (NLI), the first and only industry index for NAV loan data. FFP's team collectively has led execution of over 1,000 unique fund financing transactions and specializes in subscription facilities, NAV facilities, hybrid facilities, management company lines, and umbrella facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NAV Lending Index (NLI): The first and only NAV Lending Index published by FFP to identify and monitor trends in the private equity NAV lending market.

Products and services

• Fund Finance Advisory Services End-to-end debt advisory service for alternative investment managers and fund sponsors covering capital structure formulation, lender proposal procurement, evaluation and negotiation, and execution of fund-level and management company-level debt facilities; designed for fund sponsors across private equity, private credit, real estate, secondaries, energy, infrastructure, and hedge fund strategies.
• Private Credit Capital Solutions Advisory and arranging services for private credit fund managers, including Private CLO solutions, structuring and arranging financing arrangements for alternative asset managers across credit-focused strategies.
• NAV Lending Index (NLI) The first and only NAV Lending Index, collecting over a dozen critical data points per NAV loan to track NAV loan utilization, transaction terms, and qualitative and quantitative trends in the private equity NAV lending market; published for fund sponsors, limited partners, and NAV lenders as a market intelligence resource.

Quantifiable outcome

• Collectively led execution of over 1,000 unique fund financing transactions
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Latham & Watkins: Global law firm with a top-tier fund finance practice advising borrowers and lenders on subscription lines, NAV facilities, and GP financings. Competes for the same sponsor mandates and is a logical alternative 'advisor-plus-counsel' package versus FFP.
• Cadence Capital Group: Independent debt advisory firm focused on fund finance and GP financing solutions for alternative asset managers. Direct competitor to FFP with overlapping product coverage (subscription lines, NAV facilities, hybrid facilities) and similar client base of PE sponsors and lenders.
• Mayer Brown: Global law firm where co-founder Zac Barnett previously led the Fund Finance practice. Competes with FFP's arranging/strategic role on the lender- or sponsor-side, often serving as legal counsel on the same mandates FFP runs.
• Crestline Advisers: Boutique fund finance advisory firm serving alternative investment managers with structuring and arranging services for subscription and NAV facilities. Closely comparable in scale, product mix, and target client type to FFP.

Broad incumbents

• Lincoln International: Global investment bank advising sponsors and lenders in fund finance and structured finance mandates. Overlaps with FFP on subscription and NAV facility advisory for alternative asset managers, though it is diversified across M&A and capital markets.
• Jefferies Group: Diversified capital markets and advisory firm with a fund finance / leveraged finance practice that supports alternative asset managers on subscription, NAV, and GP financings. Both competes with FFP and serves as a likely counterparty/lender on mandates FFP arranges.
• Houlihan Lokey: Global investment bank with an active financial sponsors / fund financing advisory practice that competes for sponsor-side fund finance mandates. Significantly larger scale than FFP and serves multiple sectors, but overlaps on subscription line and NAV facility advisory work.
• PJ Solomon / Solomon Partners: Independent advisory firm with a dedicated financial sponsors group advising alternative asset managers on fund-level financings. Comparable to FFP on the sponsor-side fund finance mandate but with a much broader sector-agnostic advisory platform.
• Sidley Austin LLP: Global law firm with one of the largest dedicated fund finance practices, advising lenders and sponsors on subscription facilities, NAV facilities, and hybrid products. Adjacent participant to FFP — often engaged as deal counsel on mandates FFP arranges — and a frequent point of comparison for sponsors weighing advisor versus counsel-led solutions.
• Evercore: Independent investment bank with a financial sponsors advisory practice that provides fund-level and GP-level financing advice. A broader incumbent that competes for the same sponsor advisory budgets as FFP when mandates expand beyond pure fund finance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fund-finance-partners
• Xx.com/fund_finance
• Facebookfacebook.com/fundfinancepartners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fund Finance Partners