Global Placement Agent · CTAs · Hedge Funds · Private Equity
CTA Capital connects institutional investors with select alternative investment managers across commodity, securities, and private equity strategies — backed by 30+ years of deep institutional relationships.
About CTA Capital
CTA Capital LLC was founded in 2018 to provide institutional-grade placement services to a select group of alternative investment managers. We work across the full alternative investment spectrum — commodity trading advisors, hedge funds, and private equity managers.
Our edge is straightforward: deep, longstanding relationships within the institutional investor community, combined with the regulatory infrastructure to operate across both commodity and securities markets compliantly and effectively.
We act as a liaison between managers and potential investors, allowing you to focus on what you do best — managing assets — while we bring the experience, relationships, and process to accelerate investor acquisition.
"Brad has raised hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide for strategies he finds most compelling. His deep experience and longstanding relationships within the institutional investment community have driven his success and recent growth."
Leadership
CTA Capital LLC is led by Bradley Stern, Managing Member and a Managing Director and Registered Representative at Pickwick Capital Partners, LLC. He is exclusively focused on raising institutional capital for alternative investment strategies — including commodity trading advisors, hedge funds, and private equity managers.
With over 30 years in the institutional investment industry, Brad has raised hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide for strategies he finds most compelling. His career includes 24 years as a Partner at AIS, an alternative asset manager that managed $800 million at its peak, where he held diverse roles spanning trading, compliance, marketing, and institutional sales.
Brad's deep institutional relationships — spanning funds of funds, endowments, foundations, and family offices — and his dual regulatory standing across both the NFA and FINRA frameworks, allow him to serve managers across the full range of alternative fund structures.
Career History
A career built entirely within the institutional alternative investment space — from managing $800M in assets to leading placement engagements across global markets.
As a boutique investment bank, fund placement advisory firm, and SEC-registered broker-dealer, Pickwick advises middle-market companies and institutional clients on private placements and related broker-dealer services across the United States and abroad. All CTA Capital securities related business is conducted through Pickwick to ensure regulatory compliance.
Founded CTA Capital to help institutional investors identify emerging, best-of-breed Commodity Trading Advisors. Primary platform for commodity interest placements, operating under NFA regulatory oversight. CTA Capital's process is focused on efficiency — reducing the time managers devote to investor acquisition through personal outreach, customized data packets, and an ongoing manager surveillance program.
GQR Securities regulated all hedge fund and private equity related placement activity including the pools and funds of CTAs represented. All securities-related business was conducted through this broker-dealer platform.
Boustead is a full-service investment bank offering investment opportunities across private equity, IPOs, and hedge fund placement across all geographic areas and industries. Led senior-level placement advisory engagements, leveraging institutional relationships built over decades.
Spent over 24 years as a Partner at AIS, a leading alternative asset manager that reached $800 million AUM at its peak. Held diverse roles including trading, compliance, marketing, and institutional sales — building the depth of institutional relationships and operational expertise that form the foundation of CTA Capital's success today.
Our Capabilities
Bradley Stern operates across two complementary regulatory platforms, enabling CTA Capital to serve managers across the full spectrum of alternative investment structures — from CTA managed futures programs to securities-based hedge funds, commodity pools, and private equity.
CTA Capital's core practice is the placement of CTA trading programs — managed futures strategies run by Commodity Trading Advisors — with institutional investors. Bradley Stern is registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) and all such activity is conducted under NFA regulatory oversight.
Note: Commodity pools, hedge funds, and private equity funds are securities offerings and are placed exclusively through Pickwick Capital Partners, LLC. This platform covers CTA trading program placements only and does not constitute an offer to buy or sell any security.
Where investment managers offer their strategies in securities form — including hedge funds, private equity funds, or commodity pools structured as securities offerings — Brad acts in his capacity as a Registered Representative of Pickwick Capital Partners, LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC.
This structure allows Brad to compliantly participate in placement fees for securities offerings, covering the full range of alternative fund structures including hedge funds and private equity — as well as the securities-form pools of the CTAs he represents.
Which platform applies to your engagement? It depends on how your strategy is legally structured. CTA trading programs (where Brad acts as placement agent for a CTA's managed accounts or funds that are not securities) are handled through CTA Capital LLC under NFA oversight — reach Brad at brad.stern@ctacapllc.com. Commodity pools, hedge funds, and private equity funds are securities offerings — all such placements are conducted through Pickwick Capital Partners, LLC — reach Brad at sternb@pickwickcapital.com. Brad will confirm the applicable framework at the outset of every engagement.
Our Process
An efficient, high-touch placement process designed to reduce time-to-capital for managers while ensuring the right institutional investors are approached in the right way.
We evaluate managers on pedigree, track record, investment process, and operational infrastructure. Our focus is on genuine alpha generation — across futures, equities, credit, or multi-strategy structures — with particular interest in emerging managers rebuilding or establishing their institutional client base.
Direct, personal phone outreach to institutional investors anchors every sales process. This is followed by analytically customized data packets built specifically around each manager's unique strengths, process, and performance record — designed to address key aspects of the manager's investment process for specific investor audiences.
We identify and engage the most appropriate institutional investors for each manager — funds of funds, endowments, foundations, and family offices — staying continuously current on strategy preferences, allocation trends, liquidity requirements, and lock-up terms across the institutional landscape.
We remain current on the continuously shifting regulatory landscape — domestically and offshore — for both NFA-governed commodity interests and FINRA-regulated securities offerings. Every engagement proceeds from a sound compliance footing, with the appropriate platform engaged from day one based on each fund's legal structure.
Contact
Whether you are a manager seeking institutional capital or an investor seeking differentiated alternative strategies, please contact us for an initial conversation.