Which SPACs Has James Invested In And Why
SPAC selection isn’t about volume. It’s about sponsors.
James C. breaks down the SPACs he’s invested in and why sponsor quality has become the defining factor in today’s market. From Churchill to Betsy Cohen and Cantor-backed vehicles, his approach prioritizes experience, capital access, and deal credibility.
This clip offers a clear framework for how investors are thinking differently in 2024 and 2025.
Connect with the Guest: James Campanella
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Disclaimer: Michael J. Blankenship is a licensed attorney and partner at Winston Taylor. Joshua Wilson is a licensed Florida real estate broker and holds FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 licensure. The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or compliance advice. All views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of any regulatory agency, law firm, organization, or employer. Listeners should consult their own legal counsel, compliance teams, or financial advisors to ensure adherence to applicable regulations, including SEC, FINRA, and other industry-specific requirements. This podcast does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation for any financial products or services.
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So what are some of the SPACs you've invested in?
You know, early on I was in a lot of the Thunder bridge, SPACs, uh, G Dine skills. Uh, but for me, I like to really focus on the sponsors. Churchill has been a sponsor. This is their 10th spac.
I've invested in just about all of them. Uh, for 2024 and 2025 being that kind of the SPAC market is coming back into a resurgence, I really looked at and focused at sponsors. So this last year had a portfolio on, uh, of 10 SPACs with uh, a few of the sponsors. So it was the Canner SPACs, which are five of them.
The Cohen SPACs, which are two two, um, Churchill SPACs, and there was one BTC development, spac. So I've been in those 10 names for the year. Uh, probably about 18 months 'cause they started in May of 24. You started to see the issuance tick up. Obviously with the election, I think this administration and the regulations are gonna be very positive for the SPACs.
So over the last year I've been really focusing on sponsors. 'cause what happened in, earlier in the years, everyone was doing a spac. There were three, 400 SPACs looking for targets. That to me, you know, posed a problem. Um, when you look at Churchill 10 and inflection stocks trading at 20 warrants are trading at 10, should be real easy to get a pipe done.
So I really tried to focus on quality sponsors and that's what I did over the last year. And as I see as we come out of this, um, you know, the government's closed, no issuance. Um, we're gonna see a lot of sponsors, uh, file. I think for me it's gonna be focusing on those high quality sponsors for a number of reasons.
One, you know, the yield's gonna be there, but two, you're gonna get a yield play with upside. If you invested in Churchill 10, uh, you're up 125% in a spac, which is supposed to be a yield instrument, CEPT, which is a cannabis pac, you're up 22%. So that portfolio of 10 names over one year is up 19%. So imagine having a yield portfolio of 4%, your benchmark's probably the 10 year and you're up 18, 19% with no downside risk.
So those are the type of trades I'm looking for going forward.
PM
I started my career on the NYSE in 1994. I became a member in 1998 and in 2001 was the WYETH Specialist at 29. I left the NYSE in 2007 because of the automation that was happening. From 2007-2011 I worked on the sell side at a few broker dealers. Since 2011 I've been a PM at a pod shop running my own portfolio consisting of all capital markets: SPACS, IPOS, Secondaries, Privates, PIPES, Warrants and Blocks. The past 4 years have been brutal for Capital Markets but there finally seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel.