Golconda Partners, LLC is an independent firm that serves as a guide and service platform
for ultra-affluent clients who are seeking to effectively navigate the sophisticated and financially powerful applications of
life insurance and annuity investment account policies.

We focus on two value-creating activities:

Traditional Life Insurance

Providing liquidity for estates through the acquisition of traditional life insurance

Private Placement

Enhancing investment account returns through the acquisition of private placement life insurance and annuity investment accounts

noun | gol·​con·​da | gäl-ˈkän-də
a source of wealth, advantages, or happiness

About Our Name

We believe that material wealth is a golconda that should be systematically preserved, protected, and grown over time in order to enable multi-generational financial security
for family members and for charitable organizations the family chooses to support.

We also believe that the ultimate golconda is the way we orient our minds, the values we hold dear, and the relationships we have the opportunity and privilege to cultivate.

noun | gol·​con·​da | gäl-ˈkän-də
a source of wealth, advantages, or happiness

About Our Name

We believe that material wealth is a golconda that should be systematically preserved, protected, and grown over time in order to enable multi-generational financial security for family members and for charitable organizations the family chooses to support.

We also believe that the ultimate golconda is the way we orient our minds, the values we hold dear, and the relationships we have the opportunity and privilege to cultivate.

Leadership Team

We are very proud of our leadership team. 
We have worked with one another for a number of years, and we have a solid foundation of trust, respect, and shared values.

Director, Underwriting

Denise Andl
Director, Private Client Services

Kolja Dobrindt
Client Relationship Manager

John Gatesman
Managing Director

Jeff Greenfield
Client Relationship Manager

Matt Lerner
Principal

Michael Liebeskind
Director, Office Management

Theresa Vanda
Director, Private Client Services

Jimmy Vu

Director, Underwriting

Denise Andl

Denise is the Director of Underwriting at Golconda, managing the underwriting team and ensuring that clients and their advisors receive first-rate service.  In support of her goal to maintain the highest level of service, she collaborates with client advisors and industry professionals to improve or develop new policies and procedures that maximize client outcomes and streamline the overall implementation process.  She has extensive experience in underwriting Term, Whole Life, Universal Life, Annuities, and Private Placement Life Insurance.  

She has worked in the insurance industry for the past 20+ years for large and boutique firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Alliant Insurance Agency, and Covala Group, where she managed underwriting and client service teams and back-office operations. 

Denise earned her Master of Business Administration in Management from Adelphi University.  She resides in Manhattan with her husband and son.  She enjoys running marathons, and can be found running in Central Park.

Director, Private Client Services

Kolja Dobrindt

Kolja is responsible for translating the financial and planning needs of Golconda’s clients into economic models to measure the incremental value of life insurance and annuity policies when applied to personal estate planning, intergenerational wealth transfer, and/or charitable planning.  Under Kolja’s leadership, the Golconda Design Department develops tailored and sophisticated life insurance and annuity portfolio designs that meet the goals of our clients and incorporate both quantitative and qualitative measures of success.

Beyond design, Kolja serves Golconda’s clients along the journey of implementing the right life insurance and annuity portfolios, from medical underwriting, financial underwriting, to ownership structuring and understanding investment options within the policies.  He also supports Golconda’s design and underwriting departments in developing tools, methods, and systematic and automated processes.

Prior to joining Golconda, Kolja was the Vice President and Head of Analytics at Lidl International, where he built and led a strategic Center of Excellence for Advanced Analytics.  In this role, he worked closely with the CEO and his team on a data-driven transformation of the business, ranging from procurement to supply chain, sales, and customer service.  Prior to Lidl, Kolja spent over 10 years at IBM in leadership roles across Corporate Strategy, IBM’s Chief Analytics Office and Consulting.  In these roles, Kolja was responsible for leading business transformation efforts across Enterprise Sales, Financial Planning and Human Resources, working closely with the CFO and other senior members of the IBM leadership team.

Kolja grew up in Germany, where he obtained a B.S. in Information Technology from Mannheim Cooperative University as well as a B.A. in Business Administration from the Open University London.  He resides in Miami, Florida with his wife and two boys.  In his free time, he enjoys traveling, soccer, good food, cars, and the occasional home improvement project.

Client Relationship Manager

John Gatesman

John’s focus is on structuring, implementing, and servicing customized life insurance portfolios for affluent and ultra-affluent families.  This includes both Traditional Life Insurance as well as Private Placement Life Insurance and Private Placement Annuities that are used as part of an inter-generational estate and investment plan.

John brings vast industry knowledge and experience to the firm.  Prior to joining Golconda, John spent five years working directly with clients on complex solutions involving life insurance and annuities, first at SWBC and most recently at Sanctuary Wealth, a platform for entrepreneurial wealth advisors.  John spent over 6 years with AIG, first as President of the Affluent & Corporate Market’s Group (an operating division that was responsible for providing custom solutions through private placement life insurance and annuities for ultra-high-net worth families, financial institutions, and large companies) and then as Managing Director, Institutional Markets at AIG, where he had full P&L responsibility for five business segments.  John also served as President of AIG Bermuda and AIG’s broker-dealer.  Prior to AIG, John spent 15 years at MetLife leading the Case Design, Marketing and Distribution departments as Vice President of MetLife’s Executive Benefits business.

John obtained a B.S. in Marketing and Economics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  John also received the Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant designations from the American College and The Certified Exit Planning Advisor designation from the Exit Planning Institute.  John maintains the following securities licenses:  Series 6, Series 7, Series 24, Series 26, and Series 66.

John and his wife, Terry, reside in The Woodlands, Texas, and have three adult children and three grandchildren.  In his free time, John enjoys following his favorite sports teams and most outdoor activities including golf, cycling, and spending time with family and friends.

Managing Director

Jeff Greenfield

Jeff has 35 years of experience as a successful investment professional, private investor, consultant, family office executive and CEO.  He was most recently a Partner at Tallwoods Partners, a multi-family office that provides tailored financial counsel and investment and portfolio management to a select group of families and family offices.  Jeff previously served as the New York Partner for Cherry Creek Family Office which provided the same services.  He is also the Founding Partner of two asset management companies, Armonk Capital Partners, a fund of hedge funds that specializes in fundamental long-short equity and Sonar Asset Management, a distressed investing firm.  Before founding these firms, Jeff was a Principal at Sire Management, a highly regarded fund of hedge funds.

Prior to joining Sire, Jeff was President and Chief Executive Officer of Credit Clearing House (CCH), an accounts receivable, consulting, and outsourcing business.  At CCH, Jeff joined a mature family-owned business with 35 employees and succeeded in growing the company into an industry leader with approximately 100 employees assuming responsibility for all aspects of the company, including sales, marketing, operations, and finance.  His significant accomplishments included increasing gross revenues by over 400% and improving EBITDA by approximately 500% and effected the sale of the company to an industry consolidator that was financed by private equity and a consortium of banks.

He began his professional career at Morgan Stanley as an investment banking analyst spending time in both Real Estate Finance and Investment Management.  After graduating from business school, Jeff was employed by Goldman Sachs, where he managed capital for ultra-high net worth individuals and family offices, and covered money managers and hedge funds.

Jeff graduated from Northwestern University in 1986.  Jeff earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in 1990 from Columbia Business School with a concentration in finance.  He is married with three sons and he and his family reside in Armonk, New York.  He is active in a variety of sports including snowboarding, tennis, golf, cycling, and exercising.  He is also an avid fan of the Jets, Mets, Knicks and Northwestern Wildcats.  Jeff is also a guest lecturer in the family business curriculum at Columbia Business School and a consultant to founder run companies.

Memberships:
  –  Columbia Business School Family Enterprise Alumni Circle Board Member
  –  Leadership Council of the Ultra High Net Worth Institute
  –  Family Office Exchange (FOX), the industry’s leading membership organization for families, family office executives and their trusted advisors in supporting Ultra High Net Worth families with their financial management and intergenerational wealth planning.
  –  3i, an invitation-only community of private investors who share deal flow and exchange knowledge.
  –  Founding Co-Chair of R360 New York Chapter

Client Relationship Manager

Matt Lerner

Matt is responsible for coordinating the efforts of the Golconda team in the structuring, implementation, and servicing of life insurance and annuity portfolios for affluent and ultra-affluent families.  Matt’s objective is to make it as easy as possible for clients to navigate the complex applications of life insurance and annuities to optimize their intergenerational wealth planning.  This includes traditional life insurance, as well as private placement life insurance and annuities.

Prior to joining Golconda, Matt spent nine years at BlackRock, within the Aladdin business division.  He led relationships for Aladdin’s institutional clients across the insurance and asset management industries.  He served as a strategic partner to his clients with a focus on designing and executing transformational projects targeted at increased operational efficiency.

Matt graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics.  He maintains the following securities and insurance licenses:  Series 7, Series 66, Life Accident & Health.  He resides in New York with his wife and daughter.  In his free time, Matt enjoys snowboarding, golf, and spending time with family and friends.

Principal

Michael Liebeskind

Michael graduated from Princeton University.  He began his professional career with the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand, where he became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).  He earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from New York University and is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs, the Estate Planning Council of New York City, The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), and the Yale Insurance Study Group.  Michael lives in Manhattan.  He has four adult children, and he is committed to a fitness routine that includes golf, yoga, rowing, and cycling.

Michael is a founder of three independent operating businesses, all of which have a deep infrastructure:

SALI Fund Services:  Founded in 2002.  A Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and the leading platform for the creation and administration of Insurance-Dedicated Funds (IDFs) and Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs), the structural formats for investment vehicles that can be attached to private placement life insurance and annuity platforms.  SALI currently administers approximately $26.5 billion of assets.  SALI was acquired in 2021 by JTC Group.  www.sali.com

Covala Group:  Founded in 1993.  Developed the first large-scale multi-life offering of supplemental long-term disability insurance (for the senior executives of Salomon Brothers) in 1993 and is now the leading enrollment/administrative firm in the U.S. for such programs.  Michael led the firm’s sales effort from inception and created the firm’s enrollment and administrative processes.  A majority interest in Covala was acquired in 2008 by NFP, which was privatized by Madison Dearborn in 2013.  Michael remains an owner but is no longer an Active Member.  www.covalagroup.com

Winged Keel Group:  Founded in 1989.  A leader in the traditional life insurance brokerage industry and in the private placement life insurance and annuity brokerage industry.  Throughout his tenure with the firm, Michael was the leading producer and the primary technical expert and developer of the analytical tools, presentation/communication templates, and administrative processes that the firm continues to leverage.  Michael remains an owner but is no longer an Active Member.  www.wingedkeel.com

Director, Office Management

Theresa Vanda

As the Director of Office Management, Theresa is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the office, ensuring that the office operates efficiently and smoothly, and policies and procedures are followed appropriately.  Theresa liaises with HR and other departments in the development and implementation of organizational policies.

Theresa has worked in the life insurance industry in various roles for well over twenty years, including in the underwriting and client service fields.  Most recently, she worked at Winged Keel Group as the Executive Assistant to Michael Liebeskind, the firm’s founder and CEO, and she served as the Director of the Executive Assistants team.

Theresa’s experience allows her to effectively act as a liaison with insurance company representatives, anticipate the specific needs of both clients and professional advisors, as well as serve as a valued resource and mentor to the Golconda team members.

Theresa attended Taylor Business Institute.  She loves to travel (and has visited many countries), is fluent in the Slovak and Czech languages, and has a working knowledge of all the Slavic languages.

Director, Private Client Services

Jimmy Vu

Jimmy is responsible for developing economic models that enable Golconda clients and their professional advisors to quantify the incremental value that life insurance and annuity polices can create for intergenerational wealth transfers and/or charitable contributions.  Jimmy also helps the Golconda team develop specific life insurance portfolio designs, including appropriate diversification of life insurance company credit and performance risks, that are suitable for a client’s stated planning objectives.

More broadly, Jimmy supports the Golconda team’s ongoing efforts to systematize processes across departments and implement technology solutions that can assure consistent high-quality results in the administration and reporting of even the largest and most complex life insurance and annuity portfolios.

Prior to joining Golconda, Jimmy worked in the Portfolio Analysis group at J.P. Morgan Suisse based in Geneva, and before that he gained experience in the life insurance industry as a client service representative at Winged Keel Group in New York City.  Jimmy earned his BA in Economics from Manchester Metropolitan University.

A resident of France, Jimmy enjoys spending time with his wife, two sons, and dog.  He also enjoys soccer, running, and cooking.

Core Values And Purpose

Our clients and their professional advisors can expect the Golconda Partners team to adhere to the highest possible standards of quality and consistency, and to express that commitment in everything we do.

Expertise

Each member of the leadership team has a high level of expertise in their area of specialization.

Self Discipline

Quality and consistency in a professional services firm can only be achieved through attention to detail, systematic review, and taking pride in establishing and living up to agreed-upon principles and protocols.

Service

Every client of Golconda will have access to the full service capability of the firm.  We do not distinguish between clients based on a measurement of profitability of the relationship or any other criteria.

Loyalty

We are asking our clients and their professional advisors to trust us to be reliable partners in the acquisition and servicing of large, diversified life insurance and annuity portfolios.  We believe that we achieve that trust by earning it day-in and day-out over long periods of time.

Innovation

Our team has been involved with numerous product and process innovations over the years that have become life insurance industry best practices.  Our most recent innovation is a unique client service platform we invite our clients and their professional advisors to utilize.

Transparency

We believe that our clients and their professional advisors deserve full transparency into the economics, risk factors, pricing, and utility of the policies that comprise their life insurance and annuity portfolios.  We monitor portfolios on an ongoing basis and will do our best to bring new opportunities or potential concerns to the fore.

As indicated by the name of the firm, our core business purpose is to enable clients to optimize and protect their family’s economic golcondas (which are the ability to grow wealth and/or the wealth itself).  In doing so, the members of the Golconda Partners team will earn the opportunity to intersect our lives with interesting people, continue to grow our skills and experience, and enjoy the work we are doing.

Expertise

The Golconda Partners leadership team brings many years of experience to a narrow area of focus:
  • The utilization of Traditional Life Insurance to address the financial consequences of a client’s mortality risk and/or to create a long-term fixed income investment return
  • The utilization of Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) and Private Placement Annuity (PPA) Investment Accounts to optimize after-tax returns, charitable legacy bequests, retirement and lifestyle income, and intergenerational wealth transfer

Traditional Life Insurance

Life insurance companies offer an array of traditional life insurance policy types, each having a specific set of characteristics:  Term, Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL), Whole Life (WL), Universal Life (UL), Index Universal Life (IUL), Guaranteed Variable Universal Life (GVUL), and Variable Universal Life (VUL).  We help our clients evaluate the economics and suitability of these policy types for specific financial and estate planning applications.

Financial and Estate Planning Applications:
  • Estate tax liquidity
  • Intergenerational wealth transfer
  • Hedge for mortality risk on estate planning techniques that require time to mature (e.g. GRATs)
  • Family income protection
  • Fixed income investment for personal estate or family trust
  • Business key person risk
Key Considerations:
  • Purpose of coverage
  • Duration of expected mortality risk
  • Utility of cash surrender value, if any
  • Potential volatility of cash surrender value
  • Guaranteed vs discretionary pricing
  • Diversification of credit risk
  • Financing of premium payments

Financial and Estate Planning Applications:

  • Estate tax liquidity
  • Intergenerational wealth transfer
  • Hedge for mortality risk on estate planning techniques that require time to mature (e.g. GRATs)
  • Family income protection
  • Fixed income investment for personal estate or family trust
  • Business key person risk

Key Considerations:

  • Purpose of coverage
  • Duration of expected mortality risk
  • Utility of cash surrender value, if any
  • Potential volatility of cash surrender value
  • Guaranteed vs discretionary pricing
  • Diversification of credit risk
  • Financing of premium payments

Private Placement

Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) and Private Placement Annuity (PPA) Investment Accounts are used by ultra-high net worth clients to mitigate the impact of the single largest expense of a typical long-term investment portfolio:  income taxes payable on realized gains.

Our leadership team has a long history of experience in the PPLI and PPA Investment Account market, and we have guided clients through the analysis and implementation process for some of the largest PPLI and PPA Investment Account portfolios that exist.  We have recently developed an unparalleled client service and reporting platform for PPLI and PPA Investment Account portfolios, which we can offer either in conjunction with the implementation of new PPLI and PPA Investment Accounts, or as a stand-alone service.

PPLI and PPA Investment Accounts are a small but rapidly growing segment of the $2.5 trillion AUM separate account life insurance and annuity market.  The well-developed tax rules and authority that apply to PPLI and PPA Investment Accounts are the same as the tax rules and authority that apply to all other separate account life insurance and annuity policies.  Moreover, the pricing for PPLI and PPA Investment Accounts is fully transparent, commoditized, and reflective of both the scale of transactions and the financial sophistication of the market participants.

Financial and Estate Planning Applications:

PPA Investment Account policies are relatively simple, and generally utilized for small deposit amounts where the objective is to defer the income tax on realized gains, and for large deposit amounts where the assets are likely to be bequeathed to charity.

PPLI Investment Account policies are more complex, but their capacity to eliminate the income tax on realized gains, while providing for a mortality risk hedge, makes them attractive for large deposit amounts being made by sophisticated investors, and for intergenerational trusts.

Key Considerations:
  • Is the client a US Taxpayer?
  • Is there an interest in deferring or eliminating the income tax on a portion of the client’s long-term investment portfolio?
  • Does the client value a mortality risk hedge?
  • Does the client utilize independent third-party fund managers for allocations to tax-inefficient asset classes, such as direct lending, credit, and high-turnover hedge funds?
  • Will the client need to access the policy investment account value during the lifetime of the annuitant or insured?
  • Is a portion of the client’s personal balance sheet investment portfolio likely to be bequeathed to charity?
  • What size cumulative deposit is being considered?

Financial and Estate Planning Applications:

PPA Investment Accounts are relatively simple, and generally utilized for small deposit amounts where the objective is to defer the income tax on realized gains, and for large deposit amounts where the assets are likely to be bequeathed to charity.

PPLI Investment Accounts are more complex, but their capacity to eliminate the income tax on realized gains makes them attractive for large deposit amounts being made by sophisticated investors, and for intergenerational trusts.

Key Considerations:

  • Is the client a US Taxpayer?
  • Is there an interest in deferring or eliminating the income tax on a portion of the client’s investment account portfolio?
  • Does the client utilize independent third-party fund managers for allocations to tax-inefficient asset classes, such as direct lending, credit, and high-turnover hedge funds?
  • Will the client need to access the investment account value during the lifetime of the annuitant or insured?
  • Is a portion of the client’s investment portfolio likely to be bequeathed to charity?
  • What size cumulative deposit is being considered?

Methodology

Our methodology consists of three elements:  Analysis, Underwriting/Implementation, and Client Service.

Analysis

In the analysis phase, we provide the client and their professional advisors with the technical information and economic analysis they need to make informed decisions about the suitability and structure of the life insurance or annuity investment policy under consideration.

  • For Traditional Life Insurance, the analysis phase of a typical engagement may include our sharing information about product types and characteristics, illustrated pricing, Internal Rate of Return (IRR) at properly measured life expectancy, insurance company credit ratings, factors that may impact future premium costs, and the incremental costs of various levels of diversification.  We will also prepare appropriate economic modeling (where applicable) that demonstrates the integration of the life insurance portfolio into a broader financial and/or estate planning structure.
  • For PPLI and PPA Investment Accounts, the analysis phase of a typical engagement may include our sharing information about structural attributes, income tax results, mortality risk hedge, economic measurements of fees and charges, impact of higher or lower investment returns, impact of volatility of investment returns, evaluation of onshore and offshore ownership jurisdictions, and the availability of investment vehicles (referred to as “Insurance-Dedicated Funds” or “Separately Managed Accounts”) that can accept allocations.

Underwriting / Implementation

In the underwriting / implementation phase, we work with the client and their professional advisors to gather all the information needed to conduct a Life Insurance Pricing Auction.  When the Life Insurance Pricing Auction has been completed, we perform additional analysis based on the actual pricing results so the client and their professional advisors can confirm, make adjustments if necessary, and finalize the decisions about the composition of the life insurance portfolio.

Life Insurance Pricing Auction:  The pricing of a life insurance policy is determined by the risk classification that is assigned by the insurance company after an evaluation of an insured’s health history, current medical exam results, prescription medications, driving habits, financial position, and other risk factors.  The determination of a risk classification is subject to interpretation and can be influenced through negotiations.  Golconda is an independent company, which enables us to avoid conflicts of interest and negotiate the best possible risk classficiation, and corresponding pricing, with each life insurance company.

Implementation:  After a client and their professional advisors finalize the decisions about the composition of the life insurance and/or annuity portfolio, we prepare the paperwork that is needed for policies to be issued.  We review the issued policies to make sure there are no errors, develop a long-term service plan for the portfolio, and record all of the key data and future service tasks in the Golconda Partners database.  Once a rigorous supervisory review has been completed, we deliver the policies along with an invoice with wire instructions to the owner, gather any remaining signatures that may be needed, and then confirm that the life insurance and/or annuity portfolio is in full force and effect.

Client Service

The commitment to consistent high-quality client service is what differentiates a professional insurance brokerage firm (whose objective is to live up to its clients’ highest expectations) from a sales and marketing-oriented insurance brokerage firm (whose objective is to maximize the short-term financial gain of its owners).

The majority of the revenue associated with the implementation and service of a Traditional Life Insurance portfolio is paid to the insurance brokerage firm in the first few years that the policies are in force.  The mismatch between the timing of revenue payments and the expected duration of client service creates an inherent conflict of interest.  Clients and their professional advisors should keep this in mind when evaluating the culture and reputation of an insurance brokerage firm prior to engaging that insurance brokerage firm’s services.

The revenue associated with the implementation and service of a PPLI and/or PPA Investment Account includes a structuring fee, but it should also include enough asset-based revenue to enable the brokerage firm to perform the necessary reporting, deposit billing, facilitation of investment allocations and reallocations, verifications of fee and charges, and other necessary account management services  –  and to remain active in the market so up-to-date information can be shared with the client and their professional advisors about available investment vehicles (Insurance-Dedicated Funds and Separately Managed Accounts), newly emerging product offerings, and any relevant tax law clarifications or changes.

Contact Us

Golconda Partners, LLC

550 Fifth Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10036 
contact@golconda.com 
(917) 781-0140

Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice

Proprietary and Confidential.  © Golconda Partners, LLC, and Mandorlo International, Ltd.  All rights reserved.

Golconda Partners, LLC and/or its agents are presently licensed to sell traditional life insurance in the following states:  AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY.

Variable life and annuity products, as well as other securities products, may be sold in the following states:  AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY.

Private Placement Life Insurance and Annuities are unregistered products and are not subject to the same regulatory requirements as registered products.  As such, Private Placement Life Insurance and Annuities can only be offered to accredited investors or qualified purchasers as described by the Securities Act of 1933.

Securities offered through The Leaders Group, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, 26 W Dry Creek Circle, Suite 800, Littleton, CO 80120, (303) 797-9080.  

Golconda Partners, LLC is independently owned and operated.  Check the background of this Firm and/or investment professional on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.  

The Customer Relationship Summary is available here:  Form CRS.

Golconda Partners, LLC is SOC 2 Type II compliant.  To request more information about our SOC 2  Type II status, please contact the Golconda team.