It’s hard to sell a business that you don’t fully understand. The title insurance and proptech industries are highly unique. Clients shouldn’t have to spend time educating their bankers on how their industries work. Our sector knowledge enables us to better position your business with the right investors.
We go to market with a highly targeted list of prospective investors. By focusing on just two verticals, we have relationships with a wide swath of strategic and private equity investors interested in your industry.
Using a boutique financial advisor ensures you get the attention of the most senior bankers at the firm. Every client is of the utmost important to us and are treated as such.
We often run into competitors who are not affiliated with broker dealers and/or have non-FINRA licensed people work on M&A or Capital Raising transactions. For our clients’ protection (as well as our own) we take SEC compliance very seriously. Frankly, it costs us more to do business the right way, but we believe it’s worth every penny.
I started my career as an investment banker working for a couple of global firms. After graduating from business school, I spent 12 years as a private equity investor focusing on financial services and fintech companies. In 2014, I was given the opportunity to lead a company seeking to disrupt the title insurance industry. I spent the next four years discovering just how hard it is to operate a disruptive business. In 2018, after leading the sale of that company to Radian Group, I realized that I had developed a vast network within the mortgage ecosystem comprised of lender, underwriter, private equity investor, and other strategic contacts.
I formed Draycott Place in 2018 initially as a strategy consulting firm for the mortgage and insurance verticals and completed several impactful engagements. Through those projects, I identified a void in the marketplace for investment banking services available to smaller independent mortgage and insurance companies (“Draycott Target Clients”). Draycott Target Clients seeking to sell their businesses or raise growth capital are often forced to work with people who don’t understand (i) their business; (ii) what it takes to operate any business; or (iii) how to execute capital markets engagements effectively. I wanted to remedy that.
After some soul-searching, I decided to go back on a promise I made to myself years earlier which was to never be an investment banker again! I repositioned my firm to become affiliated with Weild & Company (“Weild”), a FINRA licensed broker dealer, and I became a Registered Representative of Weild. Weild allowed me to operate compliantly as part of a broker dealer, while enabling me to maintain full control of my firm on Weild’s platform.
Since pivoting to investment banking in 2020, we have become engaged in transactions in the title insurance, mortgage-tech, insurtech, and insurance subverticals. It’s been great partnering with clients to not only help them optimize the valuation of their businesses, but also benefit from Draycott’s extensive network.
Business has been brisk and my team has been expanding. So far, I’ve been able to attract people with operating experience along with the necessary financial technical skills.
We’d welcome the opportunity to chat about how we might help you maximize the value of your business over the long-term.
Steven Palmer, Founder & President
Please see Weild & Co.’s Regulation Best Interest, Form CRS Disclosure Here. Securities transactions effected through Weild & Co., member FINRA | SIPC
We are subject matter experts in the title insurance and proptech industries
Steve founded Draycott Place Consulting in 2018 to assist companies to take advantage of growth opportunities and manage risk. Prior to launching Draycott Place, he was the CEO of Entitle Direct Group, Inc., the holding company of EnTitle Insurance Company, a nationally licensed Title Insurance Company for four years. Steve was responsible for setting strategy, and all aspects of the company’s operations including interfacing with the company’s clients, rating agencies, and regulators. He led the company to a sale to Radian Group (RDN:NYSE) in 2018.
Prior to leading Entitle Direct, Steve headed up the private equity group at PartnerRe Ltd, a global reinsurance company with $8 billion of total capital. While at PartnerRe, Steve originated, negotiated, structured, and monitored a portfolio of direct and fund investments. Steve also assisted PartnerRe’s executive team make strategic acquisitions of (re)insurance companies. Prior to joining PartnerRe, Steve spent three years working at an insurance focused private equity firm called CCP Equity Partners.
Prior to attending business school in 2000, Steve spent four years as an investment banker in Canada and the United Kingdom with RBC Capital Markets and UBS Securities.
Steve has an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College, and a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is Chartered Financial Analyst. Steve maintains the Series 7, 63, and 79 FINRA Registrations through Weild & Co. Weild’s platform strategy is to enable its registered professionals to provide a broader spectrum of corporate finance services.
In addition to being a father of two young(er) children, he also volunteers with Hire Heroes USA, which provides job search assistance to US military veterans and their spouses and helps companies connect with opportunities to hire them.
Jerrod is a Vice President at Draycott Place Partners, where he joined in 2021 to help the firm expand its SaaS and fintech capabilities.
Prior to joining Draycott Place, Jerrod founded a management consulting firm that specialized in delivering high-quality services to growth-stage companies, with a particular focus on SaaS and fintech verticals. During his time in consulting, Jerrod worked with over 50 companies, providing expert guidance on the capital raising process, refining financial models, developing KPIs to showcase to potential investors, and forging relationships with key capital partners. Jerrod believes that every client is unique, and he prides himself on gaining a deep understanding of each client’s revenue and expense drivers to create tailored offering materials that deliver successful transactions.
Before launching his consulting business, Jerrod served as an Associate in the U.S. Equity Sales & Trading Division at Evercore, where he was involved in several IPOs and secondary offerings and developed strong trading relationships with large hedge funds and institutional money managers.
Jerrod began his career at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in the U.S. Equity Division, where he worked on a $60bn value-oriented U.S. equity portfolio. His experience included bottom-up equity analysis, macro research, and investor relations.
Jerrod holds a degree in Finance & Accounting from Kansas State University and maintains the Series 7, 63, and 79 FINRA registrations. He currently resides in the Bay Area and remains involved with Kansas State through participation in the executive mentorship and young alumni leaders’ programs.
Michael has spent his 30-year career in financial services and has been a senior executive at large institutions such as E*TRADE and TD Bank. Additionally, he has been regional CEO for several capital markets and wealth management firms that have ranged from start up to mature businesses.
While at E*TRADE and TD Bank subsidiaries, Michael was the business lead for M&A and strategic investment activities. During his E*TRADE tenure, he was on the board of E*TRADE Asset Management and was a key leader of E*TRADE’s Venture Capital arm.
Over his career, Michael has been involved in over one hundred due diligence processes and more than 20 successful M&A transactions that have ranged in value from $10 million to $1.5 billion. Michael has also been involved in over 40 capital raise transactions of public and private entities of all sizes. Additionally, he was the co-manager of Google’s initial public offering.
Michael has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan and maintains the Series 7, 63, and 79 registrations with FINRA through Weild & Co.
Elliot is Founder and Team Lead of Emergents, strategic partners for companies embracing or considering how to apply Emerging Technologies (Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things) to keep pace with today’s velocity of innovation. Leading into 2021, current events have brought emerging technology applications to the forefront of traditional industries like mortgage and insurance that must meet customer demands for more efficient and timely processes (e.g., the move from paper to digital).
Elliot combines this emerging technology passion with 20+ years on Wall Street and Capital Markets. Elliot brings a wide range of experience across asset classes (Digital Asset Markets, Equities, FX, Real Estate), across functions (Buy-Side, Consulting, Sell-Side), and across company sizes (Bank of America, Perella Weinberg Partners and start-ups).
Prior to leading Emergents, Elliot founded and collaborated on a few ventures in Blockchain and other emerging technologies, built an Alternative Asset Management Platform for a leading boutique investment bank, consulted on various initiatives for major investment banks, and started in Cash Equity Sales & Trading.
Elliot has his Series 82 license and is a Registered Representative of Weild & Co.
Please see Weild & Co.’s Regulation Best Interest, Form CRS Disclosure Here. Securities transactions effected through Weild & Co., member FINRA | SIPC