Star Mountain Capital, a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager with ~$2.5 billion AUM announced that Dennis Duerst, former President of 3M Investment Management Corporation – the ~$25 Billion AUM pension manager for 3M Company (NYSE: MMM), has joined as a Senior Advisor.

Star Mountain Capital, LLC, a specialized investment manager, with approximately $2.5 billion in assets under management, focused exclusively on investing in established, private small and medium-sized North American businesses (lower middle-market), is pleased to announce that Dennis Duerst has joined as a Senior Advisor. Star Mountain Senior Advisors / Operating Partners are aligned with Star Mountain’s full-time team and investors through sharing in investment profits and through their personal capital invested.

“We are thrilled to have another veteran senior executive with over 40 years of investment management, portfolio allocation, risk management, and manager selection experience broadening our value-add capabilities in helping grow established smaller businesses across North America,” said Brett Hickey, Star Mountain Capital Founder & CEO. “We believe the comprehensive and diverse investment experience and insights Dennis has will be complementary to our team and further add value to our team, our investors and the portfolio companies we invest in.”

“I have known Dennis for over 15 years through his time on the board of the Committee on the Investment of Employee Benefit Assets (CIEBA) and found him to be a highly thoughtful investment professional and I look forward to working with him now at Star Mountain,” said John Ide, Star Mountain Capital Managing Director.

“Star Mountain is a distinguished investment firm that is purpose-built to capitalize on the market inefficiencies of the large, growing and fragmented lower middle-market,” said Dennis Duerst, “They have generated meaningful alpha across their portfolio and I am excited about the opportunities ahead where I can assist with my insights as Star Mountain scales its business.”

Mr. Duerst was most recently President at 3M Investment Management Corporation, the $25 billion investment fiduciary for 3M’s retirement plans on a global basis. He launched initial investments in hedge funds and private credit and focused on absolute return and private market investing. Mr. Duerst managed an innovative asset allocation and investment approach which resulted in well-funded plans and attractive risk-adjusted performance.He served in this capacity since 2003 when he was promoted from Director of Financial Risk Management where he led 3M’s global capital markets and risk management activities. Mr. Duerst started his career at 3M in 1982.

Mr. Duerst is currently a member of the Investment Advisory Council for the $130 billion Minnesota State Board of Investments as well as a member of the Board of Directors and Chairs the Finance and Investment Committees for the $90 million St. Croix Valley Foundation. Mr. Duerst is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the University of Wisconsin School of Business.

A sought-after speaker at conferences including Institutional Investor, MFA, Pension & Investments, aiCIO Magazine, Global ARC and CIEBA, Mr. Duerst has received industry recognition numerous times for innovation and thought leadership by organizations that include Institutional Investor and aiCIO.

Mr. Duerst, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder, received a BBA in Finance and Management from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.

Since 2010 through 2021, Star Mountain has made over 140 direct investments in U.S. small and medium-sized businesses and over 25 secondary / fund investments within its Collaborative Ecosystem®, exclusively focused on the North American lower middle-market. One of Star Mountain’s specialties is seeking current cash income and yield for investors that is materially above the typical yields found in the public markets through its distinctive origination, underwriting and value-added lending capabilities.

For the third straight year, Star Mountain was again named one of the 2021 Best Places to Work by Crain’s New York Business as well as once again one of the 2021 Best Places to Work by Pensions & Investments.

Read the full press release on BusinessWire.

ABOUT STAR MOUNTAIN

With ~$2.5 billion in assets under management (as of December 31, 2021), Star Mountain takes a data-driven approach to investing into the North American lower middle-market through two complementary investment strategies: (i) direct debt and equity investing and (ii) secondaries (acquiring LP interests and direct assets).  Star Mountain believes these complementary strategies provide scalable and diversified access for its institutional and high-net-worth investors to established small and medium-sized businesses that generally have at least $15 million in annual revenues. Star Mountain’s 100% employee-owned team and Collaborative Ecosystem ® provides distinctive value to lower middle-market businesses as a flexible capital solution partner.

Star Mountain believes its focus and dedication has been productive for job creation and economic development. Star Mountain is dedicated to this large market of underserved businesses purpose-built to address the challenges and opportunities of these companies. As part of its commitment, Star Mountain has trademarked Investing in the Growth Engine of America ®.

As part of its ESG program (Environmental, Social and Governance), Star Mountain’s Charitable Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 focuses on improving lives through economic development, including job creation, health & wellness and cancer research. Notable missions include helping match veterans and women with high quality small and medium-sized business career opportunities across the country, including within Star Mountain’s portfolio.

Note: This does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase interests in any investment product. Awards and recognitions by unaffiliated rating services, companies and/or publications should not be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he / she / it will experience a certain level of results if Star Mountain is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services; nor should they be construed as a current or past endorsement, testimonial endorsement, recommendation or referral of Star Mountain or its representatives by any of its clients or any other third party.  Rankings published by magazines and others are generally based exclusively on information prepared and / or submitted by the recognized advisor.  Moreover, with regard to all performance information contained herein, directly or indirectly, if any, readers should note that past results are not indicative of future results. The description and the selection methodologies of each award and recognition are subjective and will vary.

Awards and recognitions by unaffiliated rating services, companies, and/or publications should not be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she/it will experience a certain level of results if SMFM is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services; nor should they be construed as a current or past endorsement, testimonial endorsement, recommendation or referral of SMFM or its representatives by any of its clients or any other third party. Rankings published by magazines and others are generally based exclusively on information prepared and/or submitted by the recognized advisor.

Crain’s two-part survey process consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part involved an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Star Mountain must pay a fee to Crain’s only for survey collection purposes. Detailed eligibility criteria can be found here: https://www.bestplacestoworknyc.com/eligibility-criteria

To be named to P&I‘s Best Places list, all firms met Best Companies’ high threshold for inclusion and were evaluated against others of similar size. Individual firm profiles, which were compiled based on survey results, reflect U.S. employment numbers and were confirmed by Best Companies in the summer. Company and employee comments were edited for space, style and clarity.  Assets under management or advisement are as of June 30, unless otherwise noted. To participate, companies had to have at least 20 employees in the U.S., at least $100 million of discretionary assets under management or advisement and be in business for at least one year. An anonymous employee survey, which aimed to evaluate employee engagement and satisfaction, accounted for 75% of a firm’s score; an employer survey, which evaluated workplace policies, practices, benefits and demographics, made up 25%. https://www.bestplacestoworkmm.com/eligibility-criteria