Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Connolly.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
We started the business in January 2010. My partner and I had worked together at a larger firm and we wanted to start our own business. From an investing perspective, we recognized an opportunity within a niche of the High Yield market which we wanted to exploit for our investors. From a business perspective, we wanted to start a company where people were happy coming to work every day and we did this by providing people with increased opportunities and responsibility, rewarding performance, and creating a family friendly work environment. We are all working together to grow the business into something meaningful and unique which provides all of us with a sense of purpose beyond what you typically find within finance.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has not always been smooth. The markets have been volatile which can be difficult and lead to sleepless nights but also creates opportunity for us. In addition, potential investors are always reluctant to work with smaller companies because we have shorter track records and less brand name recognition which can be frustrating. We see our smaller size as an asset because we can be nimble and we are hungry.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a hedge fund that invests in small-to-mid cap High Yield companies. The High Yield market has grown to be close to $1.5 trillion and investment firms have also grown in size whether it be large mutual fund companies, mega hedge funds, insurance companies, or ETFs which has left behind this orphaned segment of the market. Many of the bond issues we own are not large enough to move the needle for these larger players.
We specialize in investing in these smaller companies. We are known for doing research others are not and recognizing opportunities overlooked by the market which enables us to find opportunities that we view as less risky but have higher return potential.
We are proud of our ability to grow assets under management over the past seven years and we have also won numerous industry awards many of which came in the early part of this year for our performance in 2016. Many of the awards were within the High Yield market which helped set us apart from our competition but we also won overall Fund of the Year from the Absolute Return Awards which was a significant accomplishment for us.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
We think Boston is a tremendous place to start a business, the larger financial firms and schools provide a large pool of talent from which to hire. In addition, there are so many other asset managers in Boston that we benefit from companies coming here while trying to raise capital as well as potential investors looking to put money to work with money managers such as ourselves. We are also located right on Boylston street so we can walk right outside of our building to see all of the duck boats driving by in the championship parades which has been a lot of fun.
Contact Info:
- Address: 399 Boylston Street
Suite 501
Boston, MA 02116 - Website: www.millstreet.com
- Phone: 617-939-0030
- Email: info@millstreet.com
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