The Halston Court Capital story:

A legacy of success in service industries

Halston Court Capital's story began in the mid-1990s when founder Martin Weinberg identified a unique opportunity to consolidate wealth management firms and provide HNW and UHNW clients with a broader range of investment solutions. This vision led to the founding of Assante, a firm that quickly acquired 25 wealth management companies across Canada and the U.S., making it the largest non-bank-owned wealth management firm in Canada and one of the largest multi-family offices in the U.S.

Daniel Friedman joined Assante to play an important role in integrating these acquisitions and later became Executive Vice President of U.S. operations. Assante delivered custom investment solutions and expanded its margins by introducing new services—Life Management Solutions—that aimed to simplify the lives of its clients. In 1999, the company became publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Seven years following the establishment of Assante, in 2003, the Canadian operations were sold to CI Funds Inc., a large financial services company, followed by the sale of the U.S. business in 2007.

After launching and managing a private equity fund, Weinberg and Friedman spotted another consolidation opportunity in 2010, this time in the fragmented institutional investment consulting market. Signaling their return to their preferred business-building role, they founded Pavilion Financial Corporation, which acquired seven firms across three continents, ultimately becoming the world's 13th-largest institutional investment consulting firm. Pavilion gained a reputation for exceptional service and, in 2018, it was sold to Mercer, a division of Marsh McLennan.

Later in 2019, Weinberg, Friedman, and their team launched Halston Court Capital. Their own personal experience developing and managing luxury properties in St. Barths and Palm Springs inspired a strategy for reimagining the luxury vacation rental and property management market.

Halston is not a private equity investor or a PE fund. We are a group of entrepreneurs and professionals from multiple backgrounds who have come together to build a hospitality business catering to HNW and UHNW individuals and families. We are passionate about building innovative, market-leading businesses.

Leadership Team

MARTIN WEINBERG

Mr. Weinberg has extensive private and public company experience and has developed and implemented growth and acquisition strategies in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Weinberg was previously founder, President and CEO of Assante Corporation and Loring Ward International Ltd.  Until its sale in 2003, Assante was a TSX-listed wealth management company with a network of operations extending across Canada and the U.S. A start-up company in 1995, Assante was sold for approximately $1 billion eight years later. Upon the sale of Assante, its U.S. operations were spun off into a new company, Loring Ward, where Mr. Weinberg served as Chairman & CEO.

  • Subsequent to his tenure at Loring Ward and its sale in 2007, Mr. Weinberg, together with his management team and a roster of experienced investors, established a private equity fund to create similar platforms and add-on acquisitions in various industries. As the investments were liquidated, Mr. Weinberg and his team entered the institutional consulting market, acquiring in 2010 the platform company of what would become Pavilion Financial Corporation. In just over seven years, Pavilion Financial Corporation became one of the top 15 consultancies in North America advising on over $700 billion in client assets. Pavilion’s U.S. institutional consulting operations were designated a Greenwich Quality Leader for three years in a row by Greenwich Associates. In 2018, Pavilion was sold to a dominant, global player which decided to retain hundreds of its employees and maintain the Pavilion brand. In fact, in each of the businesses Mr. Weinberg has created and grown, the acquiring company retained the brand — a strong testament to the businesses that were built, their positions in the marketplace and the recognition of the services they delivered to their clients.


    Mr. Weinberg started his career as an investment analyst and portfolio manager with one of Canada’s largest mutual fund companies, where he was also responsible for identifying and analyzing private equity and venture capital investment opportunities. Mr. Weinberg is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, earning a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) in 1982. He received his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1986.  Mr. Weinberg and his wife, Michelle Weinberg, are owners of Villa Embrace, an expansive, four-level residence on the exclusive island of St. Barths, which provided much inspiration and learning for Halston’s latest venture.

DANIEL FRIEDMAN

Mr. Friedman is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, business integration, development and strategy. Prior to Halston, he was President and CEO of Pavilion Financial Corporation, a global investment consulting and wealth management firm. In his role, he was responsible for the firm’s overall business including its acquisition growth strategy that transformed Pavilion from a regional Canadian business into one of the fastest growing investment consulting firms globally. Pavilion ranked in the top 15 investment consulting firms in the world, and was recognized by Greenwich Associates, the industry’s leading surveyor as a top-quality firm for three consecutive years.

  • Mr. Friedman led Pavilion through its five acquisitions and the ultimate sale to Mercer, the largest investment consulting firm globally and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh McLennan. 

    Prior to Pavilion, Mr. Friedman was Managing Director of a private equity fund and participated in sourcing and structuring transactions, monitoring investments and divesting fund investments. Previously, he was a founding partner of an investment management firm with more than $6 billion in assets under management. 

    Earlier in his career, Mr. Friedman was Executive Vice-President at Assante Corporation where he was responsible for the overall management of Assante’s U.S. operations, which included a multi-family office, wealth management division and turn-key asset management operations. He played an instrumental role as part of the corporate team responsible for the integration of over 25 acquired firms in both the U.S. and Canada.

    Mr. Friedman holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Tel Aviv University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Manitoba, where he was a Gold Medalist. He serves on the boards of the Winnipeg Free Press, a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Canada, and Gryd Digital Media Ltd., a real estate tech start-up. As well, Mr. Friedman is on the board of a number of not-for-profit organizations. He serves as Chair of the Investment Committee with The Winnipeg Foundation, Canada’s first and largest community foundation, as Vice-Chair with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and as a director with the Performing Arts Consortium of Winnipeg.

JON KLIEWER, CA, CPA, CBV

Jon Kliewer has extensive C-Suite experience in the financial services industry including in his current position with Halston Court Capital Inc. At Halston, he is responsible for the financial aspects of potential investments, accounting and finance functions, and serves on the board of investee companies.

Prior to Halston, Mr. Kliewer served in several roles at Pavilion Financial Corporation (PFC). As CFO, he oversaw all finance and accounting functions of the company including raising debt capital and working with external debt financing partners. Mr. Kliewer led the finance aspect of PFC’s growth strategy where the corporate team negotiated and closed six acquisitions from 2010 to 2016. He was also critically involved in the transaction that resulted in the eventual sale of PFC in 2018 to Mercer, a division of Marsh & McLennan Company.

  • Earlier in his career, Mr. Kliewer was a Director of a private equity fund and participated in the sourcing, acquisition and divestiture of a number of platform investments. As an extension of this role, Mr. Kliewer served as CFO and was a member of the board of directors of PGNX Capital Corp., an investee company.   Mr. Kliewer also spent eight years with KPMG rising to the role of Senior Manager with KPMG Corporate Finance, advising clients on mergers & acquisitions, performing valuations and other engagements. 

    Mr. Kliewer holds the Chartered Professional Accountant-Chartered Accountant and Chartered Business Valuator designations (CPA-CA, CBV) and was awarded the C.O. Gilmore bronze medal in the Chartered Accountant Uniform Final Examination in 2000. Mr. Kliewer holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Manitoba.

DEANNA ALLEN

Ms. Allen is a pure practitioner of corporate marketing and communications. Working successfully across a number of industries including financial services, healthcare and agriculture, Ms. Allen has over 30 years of experience in branding, reputational management, corporate communications and marketing, media relations and advertising. 

Ms. Allen was most recently Vice President of Marketing & Communications with Pavilion Financial Corporation, which grew both organically and through six acquisitions prior to its sale to Mercer, a Marsh & McLennan Company. Ms. Allen was also responsible for stakeholder relations, public affairs and communications with a prominent health informatics agency and a Canadian-based international grain marketer. She was also Director of Communications with Assante Corporation, a TSX-listed wealth management firm with a network of operations extending across Canada and the United States.

  • Ms. Allen holds an Honours Bachelor of Journalism degree (French minor) from Carleton University in Ottawa, studied at the Université de Savoie in Chambéry, France, and has completed the Canadian Securities Institute’s Partners, Directors and Senior Officer’s Qualifying Examination.

RONAN HANNAN

Mr. Hannan’s international development career has been built upon a strong financial foundation. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC, before traveling the world for over two years, working in management positions for international corporations including Woolworths and RBC.

Leaving the corporate world behind, Ronan successfully built his own real estate investment business, before forming and managing an international property fund with over 240 investors. He oversaw the acquisition of several thousand acres of strategic land assets in international markets, and led the development of several mixed use projects in luxury destinations.

  • He brings a wide range of professional experience in the analysis of all types of residential and resort development, mixing his depth of development experience with a strong focus on financial feasibility, structure, and strategy. 

    Relied upon for his financial pragmatism and insight, he enjoys the early-stage challenges of structuring real estate development projects for optimal returns. He has visited over 65 countries globally, and lived between Ireland and New York for the last two decades, with an equal love for both sides of the Atlantic.

COLIN HANNAN

With a deep understanding of international real estate development, built upon two decades of personal experience across the globe, Mr. Hannan has successfully developed, launched, and repositioned residential and resort developments in Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Asia.

A respected marketing mind, Colin is known for utilizing luxury brand development and innovative marketing strategies to deliver successful sales results. He takes pride in maintaining a sharp focus on campaign objectives, and enjoys building specialized teams that bring passion and professionalism to each project. His academic background in Economics has given him a macro perspective on the entire spectrum of the sales and marketing process, and he excels in finding the right combination of inputs to optimize returns.

  • He has held executive and leadership roles across the spectrum of branded and boutique hotel and residential projects, living in many different countries throughout his career. He holds advisory and ownership roles in a variety of businesses, and has been featured in such international publications as The New York Times, Forbes, Fast Company and Architectural Digest.