Capricorn Investment Group LLC (Palo Alto)


Capricorn Investment Group LLC is a large advisory firm based in Palo Alto. It manages $4.54 billion of regulatory assets for 21 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2008 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California and New York.

Capricorn Investment Group provides portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and selection of other advisers. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Capricorn Investment Group: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Capricorn Investment Group LLC is $4.54 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 25% since the beginning of its operation, and $181.69 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $2.07 billion in discretionary accounts and $2.47 billion in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $103.73 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $2.47 billion.
Capricorn Investment Group has custody of $2.07 billion in cash and securities for 20 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in non-exchange traded securities the most. They account for 66% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is pooled investment vehicles, which make up 12% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 10% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Capricorn Investment Group LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and performance-based fees. The adviser charges an additional fee when a set benchmark is outperformed. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Capricorn Investment Group serves?

The firm provides services to charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, and pooled investment vehicles. The largest group of clients of Capricorn Investment Group is high net worth individuals with 8 clients and $2.7 billion of assets under management. Among the 8 most similar advisory firms, Capricorn Investment Group has the highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $4.54 billion for 21 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. 43% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Capricorn Investment Group also advises several private funds. Namely, one other private fund, two private equity funds, and two venture capital funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $1,000,000 for each fund.

Careers at Capricorn Investment Group LLC

The company employs 27 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 41 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. No employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There are 2 people with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Stephen Joseph George has served as the Chief Investment Officer since 1 Apr 2007. Dipender (Nmn) Saluja joined the executive team most recently as the Member (Tif Partners, Llc).

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Pine Llc Member 1 Apr 2007 50% - 75% 26-2331707
Barry Jay Uphoff Member 1 Apr 2007 Other 5574866
Ion Alexis Yadigaroglu Member/managing principal 1 Apr 2007 Other 5574869
Capricorn Investment Group Llc Sole member (capricorn advisors) 1 Apr 2007 75% - 100% 147417
Ion Yadigaroglu Member/managing principal 1 Apr 2007 Other 5574869
John V Jonson Member/chief operating officer/managing principal 1 Apr 2007 Other 5574859
Barry J Uphoff Member/managing principal 1 Apr 2007 Other 5574866
Ion Alexis G Yadigaroglu Member/managing principal 1 Apr 2007 Other 5574869
Stephen Joseph George Member/chief investment officer/managing principal 1 Apr 2007 Other 2275480
Basil James Demeroutis Member / managing principal 1 Apr 2007 Other 2576576
Fernando Sucre Director of finance / chief compliance officer 1 Apr 2007 Other 2961782
John Varlas Jonson Member/chief operating officer/managing principal 1 Apr 2007 Other 5574859
Fernando Rafael Sucre Director of finance / chief compliance officer 1 Apr 2007 Other 2961782
Reuben Samuels Munger Manager (vision ridge partners, llc) 1 Apr 2008 75% - 100% 2786398
Dipender (Nmn) Saluja Sole member (capricorn-libra partners, llc) 1 Jan 2009 75% - 100% 6178807
Capricorn Investment Group Llc Member (chso partners, llc) 1 May 2011 25% - 50% 147417
Shahab Omid Vagefi Settlor and trustee (chso partners, llc) 1 Jun 2011 75% - 100% 3252082
Barry Jay Uphoff Member (chso partners, llc) 1 Jun 2011 50% - 75% 5574866
Michael John Mccullough Member (chso partners, llc) 1 Jun 2011 Other 6178803
Eric John Techel Managing director / chief compliance officer 1 Jun 2011 Other 5941174
William Bernard Orum Member 1 Jan 2012 Other 4567370
Eric John Techel Member / chief financial officer 1 Jan 2013 Other 5941174
Dipender (Nmn) Saluja Member 1 Jan 2013 Other 6178807
Shahab Vagefi Trust Member (chso partners, llc) 1 Jul 2013 Other xxx-xx-xxxx
Yiu Bong Alan (Nmn) Chang Member 1 Jan 2014 Other 6317054
Dawnae Marie Dodds Chief compliance officer 1 Jan 2015 Other 6436228
Shahab Omid Vagefi Member (chso management, llc) 1 Jul 2015 Other 3252082
Barry Jay Uphoff Member (chso management, llc) 1 Jul 2015 50% - 75% 5574866
Michael John Mccullough Member (chso management llc) 1 Jul 2015 Other 6178803
Capricorn Investment Group Llc Member (chso partners ii, llc) 1 Jul 2015 25% - 50% 147417
Dipender (Nmn) Saluja Member (tif partners, llc) 1 Nov 2016 50% - 75% 6178807
Ion Yadigaroglu Member (tif partners, llc) 1 Nov 2016 50% - 75% 5574869

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 4 indirect owners.

Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Jeffrey Stuart Skoll Settlor and trustee 1 Aug 1999 75% - 100% 5582101
Jeffrey S Skoll Settlor and trustee 1 Aug 1999 75% - 100% 5582101
Jeffrey S. Skoll Revocable Trust Sole member 1 Sep 2007 75% - 100% xxx-xx-xxxx
Jeffrey S. Skoll Revoable Trust Owner 1 Sep 2007 75% - 100% xxx-xx-xxxx

Based in Palo Alto

The principal office where Capricorn Investment Group LLC performs its advisory services is located at 250 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in New York, NY. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 650-331-8800 or by fax 650-331-8802. The normal business hours are 9 am - 5 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at capricornllc.com.