Meet Arshad Azim, the Managing Principal of Crescentem

Arshad Azim is the Managing Principal of Crescentem, an alternative investment management consulting firm.

Crescentem provides institutional investors with private equity, hedge fund and esoteric investment allocation guidance. They also provide alternative investment managers with capital raising expertise.

Arshad Azim’s journey through the world of finance and investments has been filled with experiences and lessons along the way. He says all his prior experiences in the field of institutional investing  helped him develop Crescentem into the successful firm it is today.

“At the onset of my career in institutional investment management, I worked for a prominent investment consulting firm that had roughly $450 billion in institutional assets,” says Azim.

Managing large investment funds was no easy task, but Azim’s passion for investments  and helping clients led him to ascend in his career.

His clients included major U.S. corporations, endowments, foundations, government-sponsored retirement programs and sovereign wealth funds.

“As an investment analyst and consultant, I had direct oversight responsibilities of over $18 billion in institutional assets across asset classes,” says Arshad Azim.

He goes on to say that the few years he spent at EnnisKnupp & Associates allowed him the opportunity to develop a keen understanding of different asset classes.

Learning from unique sources and in-depth empirical evidence, Arshad Azim began developing his skills as an expert in alternative investments and management consulting.

Aside from developing skills in investment analysis, portfolio management, asset allocation, performance monitoring and client relationship management, Arshad Azim has developed a knack for long-term pattern recognition in the investmentmanagement industry.

When we asked Arshad Azim why he decided to specialize in alternative investments, he said that his inspiration came from an appreciation of reality.

“The reality that investment markets are irrationally exuberant in the short-run and that the efficient-market hypothesis holds true in the long-term.”

The efficient-market hypothesis states that asset prices reflect all available information. It’s a direct implication that it’s impossible to beat the market consistently on simply a risk-adjusted basis since market prices are primarily reacting to new and available information.

Arshad Azim maintains that alternative investments offer the most opportune long-term risk-minimized growth prospects, which further encouraged him to get involved in sourcing and managing them.

At Crescentem, Arshad Azim says his experience shapes his approach to advising clients.

“We demystify the alternative investment asset class.”

Azim says that alternative investments are misunderstood and misaligned in most institutional investment programs with an inadvertent focus on hype and fad, and it’s important to make sure they are fully understood and aligned to propel institutional values and goals.

“Alternative investments will continue to grow from a misunderstood investment option into a defined asset class, rewarding investors who invest for the long haul with a keen eye for selecting the right alternative investment managers with the ability to deliver alpha (the ability to beat the market) and mitigate volatility,” says Azim.

When asked about Crescentem, Arshad Azim said, “The decision to provide consulting services to institutional investors was a considered one.”

“Our job at Crescentem is to provide guidance towards capital preservation and growth for institutions while concurrently raising significant capital for deserving investment managers.”

To learn more about Crescentem, Arshad Azim says to visit the Crescentem Official Website.