March was Madness – in a good way. In addition to following the men’s and women’s NCAA national basketball tournaments, we deployed a full-court press here at Sunstone Management, Inc.
That press included an all-out effort to prepare for SEC-required audits of the eight individual funds we sponsor as well as our overall operation. Everyone pitched in on this effort, from our chief compliance officer Heather Lewis to our chief investment officer Mike Stone and his team to controller Luis Cifuentes and his finance team.
Our consultants with Hardesty came to headquarters to help personally with the audit prep. We are still wrapping up some loose ends, but the finish line is in sight.
Heather played overtime too, with submission of our ADV annual filing to the SEC by the end of the month. It’s a landmark accomplishment for Sunstone Advisors. Thanks Heather.
Renewals Flow
Our registered representatives – Lloyd Wei, Nathan Jia, Jing Sun and Wendy Zhou – executed a fast break to start renewals in the funds we sponsor. The effort is paying off (pun intended) and will continue into April.
Supporting Historic Restoration
Our support for the Fairmont Breakers Long Beach continues to ramp up, with tours of the 1926 waterfront hotel to show other potential supporters the progress being made. We have posted stories about the importance and difficulty of historic preservation and restoration of a landmark while still making it a viable business opportunity, and an in-depth profile of the man overseeing the construction, Renato Alesiani.
Running For The Fund
We launched the push for sponsors of the inaugural Irvine Tech Week 5k and FirstGen Color Run, set for April 20 – the last day of Irvine Tech Week. Sunstone Management, Inc. and American Lending Center are the title sponsors. John Shen, the founder of both companies, came up with the idea, which we have labeled the Dream Run as we pursue the American Dream.
And the sponsor drive has been a great success, topping $85,000. All the proceeds will go to support the Sunstone Community Fund, our donor-advised fund supporting entrepreneurship and innovation. All that’s left is for you to register to run. Go to Register Here!, and do it soon.
Public/Private Progress
We’ve made significant progress on creation of the Irvine Tech Accelerator thanks to our partners in the city, and Irvine Mayor Farrah Kahn featured the effort in her final State of the City address as mayor.
Our economic development team, Jayro Sandoval and Ryan Phong, worked hard on our consulting contract with Anaheim. The concept has caught on – Lakewood’s City Council approved a similar contract at the end of the month. We’ve got an announcement coming in April on this front. Stay tuned!
Ryan also has another public/private partnership on his plate – The Sunstone Economic Development Challenge @ USC Price. Ryan oversees this collaboration between five cities and teams of USC graduate students to further economic development and job creation. The climax of that effort takes place on April 11. Go to lu.ma/sunstone-usc-challenge to attend.
As I said March was Madness here at Sunstone. And here’s a secret I’ll share. April showers will bring May flowers here!
As always, be a Sunstone.
©Sunstone Management, Inc. 2024
More About Sunstone Management
Sunstone Management is a diversified private capital sponsor firm headquartered in Southern California. Identified by Financial Times as one of America’s Fastest Growing Companies three years in a row. In the latest Pitchbook rankings, Sunstone Management was #15 in the third quarter of 2023 nationally, and #18 in the fourth quarter.1
Note: Investment advisory services offered through Sunstone Advisors, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. The information does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and are not guaranteed.