Alan Snyder Interview with William (Bill) Atha on behalf of Family Office Magazine
BA: Hi Alan, good morning.
AS: Good morning.
BA: Thank you for joining me to discuss your new project, AShareX.
AS: My pleasure.
BA: By background, did you attend university?
AS: I went to Georgetown and then attended what I like to call the “Trade School”-Harvard Business School in Boston.
BA: Tell us about your career, please. You have started, bought, sold, and managed numerous enterprises and businesses across various disciplines.
AS: When I was just a young lad, I started a boating company. We had five locations-four on Long Island and a large one in Miami. I have to thank that boating company because it paid for my two years at Harvard. We sold a lot of boats, and after a while, I sold the business. From there, I moved to Wall Street, where I became what you might call an “intrapreneur.”
On Wall Street, I launched a variety of businesses: a listed options business, a central asset account, an insurance vertical and I served on the Board and the Executive Committee. My swan song was starting the Discover Card. with two others at the beginning. I managed to navigate through numerous mergers on Wall Street—Dean Witter, Sears, Morgan Stanley. By the time the Discover Card was established, I decided to exit the corporate scene and headed off into the wilderness, so to speak.
From there, I started Shinnecock Partners as a microfamily office. During that time, we launched several funds, including helping a friend build a preferred bond fund, which we later sold. We also created a futures fundof-funds and a private credit fund-of-funds, among other ventures.
BA: When did you form Shinnecock Family Office, and why? This was one of the first early family offices, correct?
AS: I knew that Wall Street never met a fee they didn’t like and seemed too relaxed about risk, even
back when I was a young man. So, I decided to start Shinnecock as a micro-family office with the goal of reducing fees and co-investing with other families.
BA: What year was that?
AS: That was back in 1989, I believe. A long time ago (chuckles).
BA: So, you formed this family office and began investing with other family offices in products and projects you were sourcing. Is that a fair statement?
AS: Yes, that’s accurate.
BA: For our readers, what advice would you give to the second and third generations about changing career paths? And for the first generation, what advice would you offer regarding succession planning?
AS: If I may be bold enough to give advice, I’d say this: whether it’s changing jobs or facing adversity, remain resolute and never abandon your principles. It’s a long journey, so stay true to yourself, no matter what is thrown at you. Bring intensity to everything you do. As cliché as it sounds, remember, “If it is going to be, it is up to me.”
BA: How do you think about succession planning and wealth transfer for your heirs?
AS: Well, having been in the investment business forever, I would say that many investors become enamored with the “bright shiny object.” Avoid that. Remember the eighth wonder of the world, which is compound interest. Compound returns. If you are chasing 25%, 30%, or 40% returns, you may end up in a ditch. Consistent returns win. The average pension plan’s returns are about 6%. They have all the money in the world to buy the best advice possible. Think about it, Bill—how many investors double their returns every 12 years? Be pragmatic about what you’re looking for. It’s a long ball game.
BA: How do you think about wealth transfer?
AS: As a kid, I grew up in a very comfortable environment. My father was quite successful. However, he died when I was 18, and with terrible financial planning, his estate was taxed at 80%. That’s a god-awful haircut. Then my mother died a year later, resulting in another severe hit. I went from a comfortable existence to a precarious one. I was on my own. I learned early on that financial planning matters. Be careful, be circumspect, and get the best planning advice you can.
BA: How many kids and/or grandkids do you have?
AS: I have twins, a boy and a girl, both 31 years old. No grandkids yet, but soon, I suspect.
BA: You have a new exchange for fine art, AShareX. Please tell us about the Auction, and how it works.
AS: Well, I have a fund of approximately $100 million that lends against fine art. Having worked with countless alternative investment asset classes on Wall Street and later for myself, I realized that the structures weren’t very good. They’re expensive, the investors have little control, and Regulation D of the 1940 Act requires that they be accredited or super-accredited, which limits the universe of potential investors.
I looked at it and thought, there has to be a better way. Let’s use disruptive innovation. We built it, and it works. We have created a unique auction marketplace to truly democratize ownership of art and many other alternative assets like collectibles, real estate secondaries, and other types of alternative investments.
By having an auction system that allows fractional bidders to compete amongst themselves and against a 100% bidder, we have sharply expanded ownership access—from a $10 million Picasso to a $100 million office building. Traditionally, a real estate professional might give an opinion on the value of a building, but who knows if it’s accurate? Let’s use an auction for true price discovery, so you’re buying in at the actual market price—not what an intermediary tells you the price is.
This auction system will have many uses. For instance, a group of fractional bidders can compete against a single 100% bidder, even if that bidder is a billionaire.
BA: If the fractional bidders win, how is ownership evidenced?
AS: We created an SEC-qualified stock offering and went through the SEC’s full examination process—twice. We built a system that is in full regulatory compliance and have integrated 14 service providers. We’ve also partnered with a credit provider to verify if a potential bidder has the financial capacity to pay what they bid prior to the auction. As part of our onboarding process, we perform Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) verifications. We have all the necessary post-auction payment rails in place as well.
We are providing broad investor access under Regulation A. We empower investors by ensuring they control their assets. This means the investor who ends up with stock can sell it on the secondary market. Whether it’s a single investor or an institutional one, they will have the ability to liquidate the underlying asset. A pool of investors needs only 51% of the shareholders to vote to sell, and the asset will go to auction. There are no annual management fees; the investors manage the asset. This structure lowers ownership expenses and increases the potential for better returns.
We currently have four patents pending on our system. Nothing like what we’ve built exists today. It’s a complete trading system with pre-bidding options, market and limit orders, and it can be done online, over the phone, or in person. An auctioneer or a computer can determine the acceptance of bids, providing transparency and a record of the time of the bid. We can even auction multiple art pieces simultaneously, for example. We’ve tested it with 5,000 concurrent bidders without a single flaw.
I believe this structure surpasses most Reg D offerings and resolves many of the flaws found in REITs. It has multiple use cases. Imagine venture capital and private equity owners seeking liquidity—they can now tender shares at auction, instead of accepting the often steep discounts in the secondaries market. You can do large block trades—something most firms today won’t handle. Essentially, any asset with a fixed contract can be auctioned through our system.
BA: What about the collectibles space—cars, coins, or other items?
AS: AShareX will definitely participate in the collectibles space. There’s $1.7 trillion in fine art, $40 billion in jewels and gems, $37 billion in collectible cars, $26 billion in sports memorabilia, and comic book collectibles represent a $15 billion market.
We recently held our second auction for a group of eight paintings from six up-and-coming artists. The minimum bid on aShareX was $500. The pre-auction estimate was $120,000, and the entire auction was completed above the asking price within 14 minutes. It went to a collective of bidders without a hitch. This was primary art, coming directly from the artists, with no middlemen. We even convinced the artists to provide each fractional owner a digital high-resolution image of their painting for use during their ownership. Each artwork can be displayed on your TV, phone, or PC, or you can make a high-quality print to hang on your wall.
BA: You are currently raising institutional capital to expand and roll out your platform. How is that going?
AS: The launch has been successful and battletested. We’ve attracted interest from a major stock exchange and a large real estate firm. We continue to meet with other parties interested in using our technology stack. Private equity firms have approached us about using our platform for equity raises at auction. Our current funding round is at a $25 million valuation, using a SAFE structure, and we are offering new shareholders a valuation price 15% below that $25 million valuation.
BA: Tell me about your team, please.
AS: aShareX is comprised of an intensely dedicated team. They have all been very successful in their respective fields. The last major company I started was an insurance exchange—the first of its kind in the U.S. It became the largest seller of home and auto insurance in the country and I sold it to Allstate. It still exists today. This team was hand-selected for their specific disciplines and expertise. We are also affiliated with a broker-dealer to ensure smooth operations.
BA: Alan, thank you so much for your time and for sharing your experience with the readers of Family Office Magazine. We wish you and your team success and look forward to seeing the rollout of aShareX. Best wishes to you and the Shinnecock Family Office as well.
“William Atha (BA) has been featured in Family Office Magazine, previously. He works with Family
Offices, High Net Worth individuals and institutional clients. He is advisor to industry and business while working with both start ups and Venture Capital entrepreneurs, as well as Banking and Investment Banking requirements.” He can be found on LinkedIn and X.”
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