# Cognition Financial

Cognition Financial is an Asset Manager based in Boston, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Boston, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Boston, MA, United States
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** cognitionfinancial.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/jasonallenmarsh

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 330292
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** No
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/330292

## About

COGNITION FINANCIAL LLC is a state-registered investment adviser with $8 million in regulatory assets under management. The firm manages $6 million on a discretionary basis. It has 1 employee and 1 investment adviser.

## Sectors

- Private Credit
- Education

## People

- James McCourt — Chief Executive Officer
- Ellen S. Feeney — Chief Operating Officer & Head of Investor Relations

## Questions

### How does Cognition Financial source its deal flow?

Cognition originates through direct relationships with program operators — coding bootcamps, trade schools, and accelerated degree providers — rather than through broker channels or capital-markets desks. The firm's underwriting requires deep program-level data, so sourcing depends on long-term partnerships with operators willing to share graduate-employment and wage statistics. This is a high-touch origination model that does not scale through intermediaries.

### Is Cognition Financial structured as a private credit fund or a specialty finance company?

The firm operates through private credit fund vehicles, though its exact fund structures, vintage years, and AUM are not publicly disclosed. It functions as an asset manager originating and holding education receivables, not as a balance-sheet lender. This distinguishes it from fintech lenders like Affirm or Upstart, which rely on bank partnerships and warehouse lines.

### What is an income-share agreement and how does it differ from a student loan?

An income-share agreement (ISA) provides upfront tuition funding in exchange for a fixed percentage of the student's future income over a capped period, rather than a principal-plus-interest repayment schedule. Cognition structures and holds these receivables directly. The ISA's return profile is linked to graduate earnings outcomes, which means underwriting depends on program quality and labor-market data rather than traditional credit scores (per the firm's stated model).

### Which sectors does Cognition Financial explicitly avoid?

Cognition avoids traditional four-year university student lending, sponsor-backed middle-market corporate loans, and any credit exposure that is not directly tied to a measurable post-program earnings outcome. It does not lend to individual consumers for non-educational purposes and does not compete in the broader direct-lending or CLO markets that dominate most private credit portfolios.

## Related profiles

- [Viento Financial Group](https://altss.com/profile/viento-financial-group-llc)
- [Guardian Brothers](https://altss.com/profile/guardian-brothers)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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