TIGER 21 looks back at 2013 and out to 2014

By Dian Vujovich

TIGER 21 members were pretty much pleased with the growth in their portfolios last year. Looking ahead, however, this group of peer-to-peer ultra high net worth investors isn’t expecting a repeat performance.

According to Michael Sonnenfeldt, founder and chairman of TIGER 21, 91 percent of TIGER 21 respondents considered last year’s market performance better than expected, eight percent got the returns they expected while one percent felt it underperformed. Looking ahead, however, the picture is not quite as rosy: 66% of respondents think that the overall markets’ performance will be worse, 26% expect it to be about the same while only 8% think 2014 will outperform 2013’s returns.

Given those expectations one change some members plan to make this year in their portfolios is to  hold  more cash so that they’ll be in the position to take advantage of market cycle opportunities.

South Florida Chapter chair Charles Garcia leads the Palm Beach TIGER 21 group.  He says, “The Palm Beach group is focused on what we see as an American manufacturing renaissance that is boosting exports and bringing overseas production to the U.S. as it becomes more cost-competitive, due to growing supplies of oil and natural gas.”

Optimistic about those trends, Garcia points out that investors can’t overlook the continued dysfunction in Washington D.C., and our nation’s fiscal uncertainty. All of which can impact the markets.

That said, when TIGER 21 members were asked “What asset class gives you the most hope in 2014?” the top four responses were Public Equities (27%), Private Equity (22%), Real Estate (18%), and Hedge Funds (11%). All other asset classes received less than 10% of votes.