Sygnus, Acrecent join to expand alternative investment options for SMEs
As a result of its acquisition of Acrecent Financial Corporation last year, alternative investment firm Sygnus announced its commitment to increasing access to capital for small and medium-sized firms and expanding the alternative investment opportunities for local investors within Puerto Rico and the wider region.
During a summit, entitled “Catalyzing Growth Through Alternative Investments,” held on March 29, Sygnus officials discussed the opportunities that exist in Puerto Rico’s financial market, and how the union between Sygnus and Acrecent will further expand their value proposition in private equity, real estate, private credit, and impact capital.
“This will facilitate the deployment of critical financing to hundreds of [small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)] in underserved sectors, which are essential for the social and economic development of the island, such as health care, affordable housing construction, hospitality and renewable energy, among others,” event organizers said.
In his presentation, Sygnus CEO Beris Grey discussed the reasons why Puerto Rico represents a great opportunity for the company, and spoke the firm’s alternative investment platform, which has assets under administration exceeding $350 million and has made a significant impact on medium-sized businesses across 12 Caribbean countries.
“Our vision is to drive the velocity of economic growth across the Caribbean using innovative financial solutions. Sygnus’ vision demands of us a relentless aspiration and commitment to unlock capital for businesses that would otherwise not be available, and on the other hand, provide investors with risk-adjusted returns and exposure to alternative asset classes to diversify their portfolio and grow generational wealth,” he said.
Meanwhile, James Connor, CEO of Acrecent, also spoke about this historic alliance with Sygnus and the positive impact it will have on businesses in Puerto Rico.
“To realize the enormous economic and social potential that Puerto Rico has, Sygnus is determined to expand the available investment funds and offer attractive returns to local and foreign investors, while also doubling down on Acrecent’s genuine impact mission to address the chronic gap in access to credit and capital for over 40,000 businesses on the island,” Connor said.
“With our intention and focus of distributing millions to support numerous businesses across the region, we can expect that many dreams will come true, and we will contribute to a fairer distribution of the wealth generated by this economic activity,” said Connor.
