Hartford Business Journal

20 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 25, 2025 FOCUS | BANKING & FINANCE Matthew Allard, co-founder of Case Study Capital Partners, a startup private equity firm that has established its headquarters in Greenwich. HBJ Photo | Michael Juliano CT's lower Fairfield County has become a private equity hub; Here's how hedge funds and financial services has only deepened with the influx of private equity. The region is now home to 291 of Connecticut's 349 private equity firms, according to industry tracker Preqin. Greenwich leads with 125 firms, followed by Stamford (75), Westport (29) and Norwalk (21). Fairfield County's largest PE firms, according to Capital Assets Under Management, include Green- wich-based Stone Point Capital with $49.1 billion in assets; Portfolio Advisors of Darien ($20.5 billion); and Wilton-based CF Private Equity ($17.3 billion). Still, New York City is the global capital of private equity — firms there have raised hundreds of billions of dollars in funds over the last decade, according to Utke. San Francisco and Boston are also major PE hubs. Overall, the U.S. private equity industry has grown significantly over the last few decades from about 1,000 firms in 2000 to more than 6,000 at the end of last year, according to the Carlyle Group. That growth has come as the number of publicly traded companies By Michael Juliano mjuliano@hartfordbusiness.com M atthew Allard spent nearly two decades making the grueling 2.5-hour daily commute from his Connecticut home in Greenwich to Manhattan, while climbing the ranks of the financial services world. But when it came time to launch his own private equity firm, Allard decided it was time for a change. Rather than setting up shop in a Midtown Manhattan high-rise, he opened Case Study Capital Partners this past July in a modest one-story commercial building in Old Greenwich — located less than a mile from his Riverside home. The shorter commute has given Allard something Wall Street couldn't: more time with his family, including his daughter. "She's still in high school here locally, so I get to drive her to school on a daily basis, and that I've never really had the opportunity to do," Allard said in a recent interview with the Hart- ford Business Journal. "I participate in more family activities, but I also gained a tremendous amount of activities by finding 2.5 hours." Allard co-founded Case Study with Charlie Hill, a former colleague at New York-based private equity firm Brightstar Capital Partners, and longtime friend Jeff Cordover, who runs his family's private investment firm, Corber Corp. Their decision to locate in Old Green- wich isn't wholly unique. In fact, lower Fairfield County has become a strong- hold for private equity firms, now home to the vast majority of such investment companies in Connecticut. Escaping New York's high taxes Lower Fairfield County's rise as a private equity hub is no accident, experts said. The stretch along Long Island Sound has attracted a dense concentration of firms as investors seek relief from New York City's high costs and taxes — without sacrificing proximity to the global financial center, said Steve Utke, associate professor and Arthur Andersen LLP accounting professor at the Univer- sity of Connecticut. He said partners in PE firms that live or work in New York City pay a state income tax of up to 10.9% and city income tax of up to 3.786%. In some cases, the private equity firm may pay an unincorporated business tax of up to 4%. By comparison, partners in firms that live and work in Connecticut pay a maximum individual income tax rate of 6.99%. "That adds up to a big difference in taxes," Utke said. "New Jersey would be another option, but its maximum individual tax rate is also over 10%." Connecticut has had success in attracting New Yorkers. Between 2013 and 2023, the state added a net 161,456 residents from the Empire State, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Meantime, Fairfield County has led the state in population growth, ending 2023 with 963,011 residents, up 2.2% from 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The area's reputation as a haven for Jeff Cordover Steve Utke

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