Millionaire investors club Tiger 21 pounces on Calgary

Millionaire investors club Tiger 21 pounces on CalgarySeptember 15, 2011 3:08 PM MTYou could say money talks.Tiger 21, a networking organization for the wealthy thatstarted up a decade ago in the U.S., has had its first meetingin Calgary.The Investment Group for Enhanced Results in the 21stCentury – known by the acronym Tiger 21 – was foundedin 1999 by Michael Sonnenfeldt, and is headquartered in NewYork City.The group says it harnesses the collective intelligence of thesuper-affluent, who meet monthly in groups of 10 to 14 peopleto exchange investment ideas and share personal experienceson a broad range of wealth-related issues.Quite a thirstCanada’s first chapter launched in Vancouver last yearand a new chapter in Calgary had its inaugural meeting overthe summer.”There seems to be quite a thirst for a peer-to-peer social learning, group, and wealth stewartship issues,” said ThaneStenner, who brought the idea to Calgary. “A lot of wealth has been created in Canada especially because of thecommodity boom and especially in Calgary,” he said.The Calgary chapter is scheduled to meet 10 times a year in a privatesetting, such as a club or restaurant.Among other criteria, individuals require $10-million in investable assetsto qualify for membership and must be willing to cough up a $30,000annual membership fee.Better accessInvestor and real estate developer Hal Walker chairsCalgary’s chapter. “It gives you an opportunity to relatewith other people that have some of the same business challenges,” said Walker. “There’s no way to have a betteraccess to people than in a confidential group.”Walker said as much as members discuss business, it’s also a chance to discuss personal issues that arise frombeing rich.”We do talk about family issues, we talk about personal issues and it’s nice to have a confidential private settingwith a number of other people that you know and respect,” he said.Walker says the seven member Calgary chapter is diverse with interests in real estate, oil and gas andmanufacturing.He said chapters have a cap of 15 members, but noted there will likely be two or three chapters opening in the cityin the next few years.Tiger 21 chapters in Ottawa and Edmonton are also expected to launch later this year.It is estimated there are 30,000 Canadians who can boast of having over $10-million in assets, including 4,000 withover $30-million.