Who We Are

We’re business development specialists focused on the private equity industry who understand that objectivity is critical. Moreover, we aim to create a seamless experience for our clients that supports informed, agile decision-making.

We thoroughly analyze, consider, and communicate every part of your offer, from idea to collateral to the ask itself. We take the long view and think of your future holistic goals and your long-term capital raising and investor relations needs.

Networks matter, but a coherent plan means more. To navigate the market, you need to observe the other players and make rational decisions. In other words, attention to detail is critical.

It’s why we cover every phase of your raise. You’ve got a lot on the line.

Meet the team

The Team

Gena Cheng

Named to PERE’s list of 30 Capital Raisers Who Can Make a Difference, Gena has over 20 years of experience in the real asset industry, including investments, portfolio management, fundraising, and investor relations. Before launching Prospect Avenue Partners, Gena served in various management, strategy, product development, and capital raising roles at USAA Real Estate Company, Forum Partners, and JT Partners. Gena had primary oversight and direct responsibility for over $8 billion of investor equity for closed capital commitments for strategies ranging from core through opportunistic via open-end and closed-end vehicles. Before she transitioned to the sales side, Gena served as a senior portfolio manager at APG Asset Management, the approximately €538 billion Dutch pension fund. There, she helped invest and manage the capital of one of the world's largest institutional real estate investment platforms, focusing on North American investments. Gena began her real estate consulting and investment banking career at Arthur Andersen and Morgan Stanley, respectively.

Gena earned a JD/MBA from New York University and an AB in Architecture from Princeton University, where she received the Grace May Tilton Prize in American Studies. Gena serves on the boards of New York Mortgage Trust (NASDAQ: NYMT) and Generation Income Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ: GIPR). She is a New York State Bar member and serves on the Program Committee and Scholarship Committee for WX – New York Women Executives in Real Estate. Gena holds her FINRA registered representative license through SP Securities LLC.

Larissa Benotti

Larissa spent more than a decade working with institutional investors in the private funds' space. Her experience spans alternative asset classes, real assets, credit, and private equity. Before joining Prospect, Larissa covered investor relations and supported business development efforts at USAA Real Estate. As a JP Morgan manager, she oversaw an investor relations team covering institutional investors across multiple alternative asset classes. Before JP Morgan, Larissa worked at Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., where she managed investor relations for their institutional private equity and distressed strategy funds, covering over 500 of the firm’s most prominent investors. Larissa began her career at Zephyr Management, L.P. / MCAP advisors working for a real estate private equity fund. Larissa has a BS in Marketing from Fordham University.

Stephanie Schulman

Stephanie has more than 25 years of experience in the real assets industry working directly with portfolio managers on investment structuring, financing, capital raising, product development and legal matters. Stephanie has over 15 years of experience in fundraising and investor relations covering some of the most prominent limited partners globally in roles with Paulson & Co., HighBrook Investors and Lazard. Stephanie’s relationships include endowments, foundations, OCIOs, wealth advisors, family offices, pensions and sovereign wealth funds. Stephanie began her career as legal counsel to banks, developers and opportunity funds in the purchase, sale and financing of real property in roles with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Oaktree Capital Management, LLC. Stephanie earned her JD from Northwestern School of Law and her BA in International Relations with honors, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania and was a member of Sigma Iota Rho and Phi Beta Delta honors society.

JeeHwan Hwang, Senior Advisor

JeeHwan's experience spans real estate investment, project management, and business development across international markets. Before joining Prospect, JeeHwan worked at KB Securities in Seoul and Hong Kong, where he was involved in sourcing, underwriting, investor relations, and capital markets. At United Partners and Heungkuk Asset Management in Seoul, Korea, he oversaw asset management and capital raising, focusing on Korean institutional investors across direct real estate and foreign LP funds with various strategies (equity and debt / core to opportunistic). JeeHwan also has experience in investment, underwriting, and capital raising for office and retail properties in Japan, Korea and the United States. He holds a Master of Science in Land Development from Texas A&M University.

Securities offered through SP Securities LLC.; Member FINRA, SIPC