eFrontiers "Winding Down" Operations

In recent weeks the company had been seeking funding or a merger. Cohen said eFrontiers talked to a number of parties, but was unable to come up with an acceptable agreement. He told PLANSPONSOR.com that, barring any 11th hour bids, they were “in the process of winding down” operations. 

Cohen pointed to the current harsh investment climate as one of the reasons the firm was unable to raise sufficient additional funds to sustain operations.

The plan sponsor-geared website, which was launched in April, included an investment management search engine powered by Mobius, an electronic request for proposal function and content from Institutional Investor.

The site’s business model was predicated on making money through fees paid by money managers that won business through the site, reportedly 5% of the first year fee, 2% in year two and 1% in the third year of the assignment.  eFrontiers accepted no advertising revenues, and did not charge investment managers for representation on the site.

As of today, there were 11 searches pending on the site, with some $1.2 billion in assets at stake, according to data on the site.