The inventors have discovered a method of comprising formation of water soluble catalyst precursor by combining a Group 8 to Group 11 transition metal containing catalyst and a surfactant. The surfactant is characterized by the presence of a hydrophobic segment and a hydrophilic segment. It is believed that the surfactant replaces the labile ligand on the catalyst precursor structure by simple ligand substitution. The precursor is then contacted with one or more monoethylenically unsaturated monomers under polymerization conditions to form a polymer.