"Building An Alliance"

Heather Fernstrom Border & Jennifer Stevens’ collective experience working in the consultant and investment management community was the driving force for launching Alliance Global Advisors. The Co-Founders & Managing Partners saw the void in the marketplace for a truly independent third party to advise the investment managers on best practices in the real assets industry. Alliance bridges the gap between the investor and investment management community. “We partner with our clients to provide strategic growth solutions, an informed, independent perspective, continued education and an innovative approach to attract capital in a competitive market,” says Heather.

Heather & Jennifer both started their careers in institutional real estate consulting in the early 2000s. “What we learned was that our journey provided direct access to the world’s premier thought leaders and investors in our industry. Consultants are under tremendous pressure to be a source of knowledge and expertise,” says Jennifer. “We were expected to provide independent recommendations backed by research, always creating unique investment opportunities for investors while managing downside risk. It took years of training, mentorship and “lessons learned” to develop the right dose of confidence in that role.”

The dynamic duo cultivated that confidence and created Alliance Global Advisors in April 2020. At Alliance, they help their clients accelerate organizational growth and are motivated by their clients’ success. Alliance clients continue to successfully land new investors, gain brand recognition and market share, develop a creative investment solution that resonates with the market, or reenergize their team due to their strategic guidance.

Being a female-owned firm, Heather & Jennifer’s mentors played a critical role in developing their careers. Because of this, giving back and paying it forward is at the core of everything they do. They are committed to giving back through education, professional development and mentorship.

“As part of our Alliance Gives Back initiative, we work with organizations such as Wellfit Girls whose mission is to empower and mentor teen girls through transformational leadership programs and the PREA Foundation,” adds Jennifer. “We are committed to empower each team member, while empowering the collective team.” Alliance provides resources to the team members in the forms of personal, professional and educational development. They foster a flexible learning environment, robust onboarding training, personal and professional coaching opportunities and team-building retreats. The steadfast leaders are committed to investing in their team so they have the opportunity to reach their potential.

Today, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) continue to be a primary area of focus for Alliance’s clients and the organization. Alliance spends approximately 25-30% of their time advising their clients on enhancing their ESG/DEI practices. “We developed our business with ESG in mind (our team includes individuals who have covered ESG as an area of expertise since 2007), and we recently expanded our resources in this area to better serve the needs of our client base,” says Heather. “This expansion of resources came by way of an exclusive real asset partnership with another female-led business focused on corporate ESG and Impact Advisory work.” In the same way they hope to bring brand recognition to their clients, one of their most significant achievements to date is the recognition of Alliance Global Advisors as a leading brand and thought leader in the industry. “Since launching the business, we led and participated in conversations on important topics at PREA, IREI, RELPI and NCREIF. We are active in the market and stay current on discussions with investors and investment managers, offering a differentiated suite of services and continuing to fill a void in today’s marketplace.”

The mission of Alliance Global Advisors is to expedite the growth of real asset investment managers through empowerment and the elevation of best practices. The firm-wide goal is to positively impact the institutional real estate industry by providing services that help their clients become best-in-class investment partners. Heather and Jen entered this partnership as friends based on their tremendous respect for each other. They look forward to growing the firm together, celebrating the successes of their client base and providing additional growth opportunities to their team. By doing this, they hope to make their mentors and families proud as well as leave a lasting impact on the industry. WL