Ethos Strategic Investments

David S. Lobel makes all material investment decisions. He is the founder of Sentinel Capital Partners and built that firm into a $10 billion-plus mid-market buyout platform over 30 years. Ethos operates with no external investment committee — Lobel personally diligences and approves every commitment.

Ethos is David Lobel's personal family office. It sits entirely outside Sentinel's institutional fund structure and makes investments that Sentinel's flagship private equity funds cannot pursue, typically due to size, sector, or hold-period constraints. The two entities share zero formal overlap, though Ethos benefits from the sourcing network and reputation Lobel built at Sentinel.

Lobel's wealth traces to Sentinel Capital Partners, the mid-market private equity firm he founded in 1995. Over eight institutional funds, Sentinel's general-partner carry and management-company economics generated the personal capital now deployed through Ethos. Lobel also has realized gains from exited Sentinel portfolio companies across aerospace, franchising, and business services.

Ethos targets control buyouts, founder recapitalizations, and significant minority growth-equity positions in lower-middle-market companies. The office typically looks for businesses generating $3 million to $15 million in EBITDA — a segment that is too small for Sentinel's institutional funds but benefits from the same operating playbook. Ethos also makes LP commitments to emerging buyout and special-situations managers.

Both. Ethos makes direct equity investments in operating companies and selective limited-partner commitments to small, often first-time private equity funds. This dual approach lets Lobel access deal flow through GP relationships while maintaining a concentrated portfolio of directly owned businesses.

Ethos has a flexible co-investment posture. It will invest alongside small, relationship-backed sponsors in transactions where Lobel's presence adds value — typically situations requiring patient equity or industry operating knowledge. The office does not market itself as a co-investment partner and evaluates each opportunity on its own structural merits.

No dedicated philanthropic entity is publicly linked to Ethos. Lobel's charitable giving is reported through his family's personal activities rather than a formal foundation housed within the investment office. The office itself appears structured purely for investment activity.