TIGER 21

TIGER 21 is a peer-advisory network for individuals with substantial personal capital rather than for operators of qualifying companies. Michael Sonnenfeldt founded it in 1999 with one group of six New York entrepreneurs who had recently sold their businesses, and it now reports more than 1,900 members in 162 groups across 54 cities. Members join a group of 12 to 15 peers that meets monthly, eleven times a year, in day-long sessions. The signature format is Portfolio Defense: each member presents a confidential account of their own investment portfolio and defends its construction to the group, and in later years may present on other subjects such as real estate, philanthropy, health, or life and legacy. Admission is tested against a published minimum of US$20 million in verifiable investable assets or qualifying net worth, and against four qualitative tests TIGER 21 calls the 5Cs. Dues are published and are the highest of any organisation in this batch: US$34,000 a year in North America, or US$51,500 for Family Office Groups.

How it works

Members are placed in a group that begins with five founding members and grows selectively to a maximum of fifteen. Groups meet monthly, eleven times a year, and each member presents a Portfolio Defense roughly annually. Annual dues cover the eleven regular meetings; there is also a national and global events programme.

Typical member

Members are wealth creators rather than salaried executives: current and former entrepreneurs, investment managers and senior executives, typically after a liquidity event, whose central problem has shifted from building a business to preserving and allocating capital.

TIGER 21 is unusual among the organisations in this set for publishing both its financial bar and its dues, which makes it easy to price and easy to disqualify yourself from. Its orientation is the reverse of the CEO peer groups: the subject matter is the member's own balance sheet, not the company's operations, and the non-solicitation rule matters because a room of that composition is otherwise a sales target. The screening is more intrusive than most, with background checks and interviews, and the organisation states that clearing US$20 million does not guarantee admission. The commitment is real: eleven full-day meetings a year plus an annual portfolio presentation is a heavier load than a monthly forum. The published minimum was reportedly US$10 million before being raised to US$20 million, but TIGER 21 does not document when the change occurred.

Editorial analysis by Peer Group Guide editors. It is separated from the record above and follows the editorial policy.