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Entourage Effect and Shield Compliance Join the ICLC

Blog Post

Having just celebrated its one year anniversary, and hard on the heels of recent announcements that First Citizens Bank and Safe Harbor Financial had joined the ICLC (see here and here), the ICLC is pleased to announce three additional new participants. One of these is a commercial bank. In accordance with our commitment to our bank participants, they are not identified outside the Community unless they specifically authorize it, as was the case with our First Citizens blog. 

The other 2 new participants, Entourage Effect Capital (EEC) and Shield Compliance, are each well-known and respected within the cannabis industry. Their participation will enhance the ICLC’s potential value to its participants, enriching the breadth and depth of relevant and accretive cannabis industry experience, skillsets, contacts and perspectives available to them. 

As contrasted with the proactive outreach involved in recruiting the ICLC’s early participants, contact with the ICLC was initiated by these and most of our other recently reported new participants, a development we find an encouraging reflection of the market’s recognition of the ICLC’s relevance. 

Established in 2014, and having made more than 70 investments, EEC is one of the longest standing and most experienced cannabis investment firms. Its team has developed a broad and deep network over the past ten years, and EEC has indicated that it looks forward to sharing contacts and related opportunities with ICLC participants. Multiple senior EEC team members come from decades-long careers in leveraged finance and their expertise has proven critical to EEC and its partners in navigating past debt financings. 

Since 2014, Shield Compliance has been seeking to transform how financial institutions serve the legal cannabis market, setting the standard for compliance excellence in cannabis banking. Its purpose-built BSA/AML compliance management software solution sits behind the financial institution to simplify compliance, automate processes across multiple data sources, create efficiencies, unlock new revenue, and scale operations and includes time monitoring and comprehensive reporting capabilities. By enhancing the ability of its nearly 70 financial institution clients to achieve these objectives, Shield contributes to increasing the availability to the cannabis industry of normalized banking relationships, including lending.

For information about ICLC participation, please contact Steve Lenn (salenn@bmdllc.com) or Brandon Pauley (btpauley@bmdllc.com).


Opening the Door to Quality Recovery Housing

From March 8–9th, Ohio Recovery Housing (ORH) — the oversight authority for ORH-certified recovery residences operating in the state of Ohio — hosted its 2023 Annual Conference, “Opening the Door to Quality Recovery Housing,” which boasted a room full of housing providers, delivered timely educational updates, and featured prominent speakers in the recovery housing space.

Spotting a Sham - What You Need to Know About MEB/BD Business Certification Processes

How to navigate the MWBE system, certify joint ventures, and avoid shams.

Invitation to Banks & Family Office/Ultra-high Net Worth Investors Exploring Cannabis Lending to Join Our Informal Institutional Cannabis Lenders Community

An update on the latest developments in the cannabis banking/lending space by subject matter expert, BMD Scottsdale/Phoenix Office Managing Partner Stephen Lenn

Community Banks: Collaboration, not isolation, is the key to protecting/ enhancing the cannabis business you pioneered

As we prepare for the plenary session of the informal institutional cannabis lenders community announced in my previous article, I am pleased to advise that participants now include 5 of the best-known dedicated loan funds; a select group of commercial banks ranging in size from single state community banks to mid-size regionals making cannabis loans into the mid-8 figures; and, a syndicator of credit union cannabis loans.

Non-compete Agreements are Under Fire: What Employers Need to Know

Non-compete agreements are an ongoing topic of dispute. Employers and their advocates point to the efficacy of non-competes in protecting proprietary information. Employees and their advocates argue about worker mobility and that employers unduly burden workers’ ability to seek better jobs. The Biden administration has put forth its position, and state legislatures have introduced bills addressing the enforceability of non-competes. Here is what you need to know: