LAS VEGAS, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hybrid Advisors LLC and Faithstone Capital Partners LLC have executed a binding proposal establishing Hybrid Faithstone — a master joint venture designed to scale the Hybrid Advisors platform into a $3 billion Fund of Funds over the next 18 months. The agreement, signed March 6–7, 2026, creates a 50/50 partnership in which Faithstone contributes merchant banking infrastructure, M&A execution capability, and institutional capital markets distribution, while Hybrid Advisors contributes its fund of funds investment platform services.

Under the joint venture, Faithstone serves as exclusive broker-dealer of record, placement agent, and debt and equity syndicate lead for all JV securities activities. The team leading the program is:

Dion Pouncil— A former independent league professional baseball player turned financial engineer. He holds a FINRA Series 3 and specializes in structured finance and relative value arbitrage with a concentration in debt and commodities. As a way to give back he has helped over 30,000 people learn financial education through his 501(c)(3) public charity, Hybrid Foundation.

Dan Fleyshman — The youngest founder of a publicly traded company in history, going public at 23. He went on to build Elevator Studio into one of the world's largest social media influencer agencies, deploying over $60 million with influencers across hundreds of brand campaigns, and has since angel-invested in more than 43 companies while raising over $44 million for his charitable initiatives.

Granger Whitelaw — A top-tier global banker & executive with deep relationships at the highest levels of finance and government across Asia, the Middle East, and the United States. His career spans leadership positions with a consistent focus on bridging Western and Eastern capital markets and executing complex cross-border growth strategies. Granger has completed more than $50 Billion in transactions over his 35 year career and is a faith-driven executive.

Insights of the global investment management industry.

Of those roughly 190,000+ investment vehicles worldwide, the public fund universe — mutual funds, ETFs, and institutional funds — accounts for approximately 140,000. Private structures including hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, private credit, and real assets funds account for an additional estimated 30,000–50,000 vehicles globally. The United States remains the dominant capital market, holding 53% of global regulated fund AUM at year-end 2024.

The Reality of Fund Ownership
Despite managing trillions of dollars on behalf of pension funds, endowments, and millions of individual investors, the asset management industry remains one of the least diverse sectors in American finance. The data is stark:

According to the Knight Foundation's most comprehensive analysis of U.S. asset management, minority-owned firms represent approximately 6.1% of U.S.-based fund management companies — yet manage only 0.7% of total AUM. The gap between representation and capital command is staggering. White male-owned firms control 98.6% of the assets managed across mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity, and real estate in America.

In the public fund space, approximately 9.2% of mutual fund firms and 9.3% of hedge fund firms are minority-owned — but again, these firms oversee only a fraction of total AUM. McKinsey's 2023 State of Diversity in Global Private Markets found that ethnic and racial minorities represent just 20% of managing director-level investing professionals in private equity across the U.S. and Canada — in a country where minorities represent 41% of the total population.

For Black-owned firms specifically, the data is even more concentrated. The 89 Black-owned NAIC member firms in alternative asset management collectively manage approximately $253 billion — a figure the NAIC estimates represents roughly one-third of all Black-owned alternative managers in existence. Africa-American owned asset managers account for approximately 0.2% of global AUM, compared to the top 10 non-Black firms alone, which manage nearly $22 trillion, or 20% of the global total.

Among minority-owned firms managing over $1 billion in AUM, the list is extraordinarily short. In the public fund space, Ariel Investments stands as the longest-tenured — founded in 1983 as the first Black-owned mutual fund firm, now managing approximately $16.2 billion. In private markets: Vista Equity Partners (Robert F. Smith) leads at approximately $103.8 billion; Verdun Perry raised $25 billion for Blackstone's Strategic Partners; José Feliciano's Clearlake Capital approaches $70 billion; and Ariel Alternatives closed a $1.45 billion inaugural private equity fund in 2023 — one of the largest first-time fund closes ever globally. The total list of Black-owned or Black-led firms managing more than $1 billion across both public and private strategies numbers fewer than 20.

The Hybrid Faithstone model is simple. Constructive capitalism. Their belief is that you can help people and still run profitable businesses. In this case, they serve that mission through their Fund of Funds.

DISCLAIMER: This document is for informational and investor relations purposes only. It does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. All financial projections are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This document is distributed on a confidential basis to qualified parties only. Securities offerings, if any, will be made only pursuant to applicable registration exemptions and in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws.

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SOURCE Hybrid Advisors