Värde Named Best Client Service – Private Equity (Mid Cap) By The Korea Economic Daily
Värde Partners is honored to be named Best Client Service in the Private Equity (Mid Cap) asset class by The Korea Economic Daily in 2020. Winners were selected based on a survey of Korean asset owners including pensions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and major banks. The Best Client Service awards went to the GPs who provided services tailored to the needs of LPs.
“We consistently strive to deliver exceptional service to our investors, and that involves taking the time to understand their specific allocation needs and the challenges they are trying to address,” said Jon Fox, President at Värde. “It takes the dedication of an entire firm to provide a high level of service, but I would especially like to recognize our Business Development and Investor Services team for their tremendous efforts on behalf of our investors.”
The Korea Economic Daily noted the awards were launched to express gratitude, on behalf of Korean citizens, to global asset managers that are helping Korean asset owners manage the retirement savings of Koreans in overseas alternative assets.
About the awards:
The Korea Economic Daily selects and awards the highest performing asset managers based on a comprehensive survey of the asset owners in Korea including pensions, sovereign wealth funds, mutual aids, insurance companies as well as major banks. The respondents, including the National Pension Service (NPS) and Korea Investment Corp. (KIC), were asked to pick the best GPs for each of private equity, private debt, real estate, infrastructure and hedge funds in terms of performance, communication and client services.
Source: https://www.kedglobal.com/newsView/ked202101200003
Awards referenced do not reflect the experiences of any Värde client and readers should not view such information as representative of any particular client’s experience or assume that they will have a similar investment experience as any previous or existing client. Awards are not indicative of the past or future performance of any Värde product or service and should not be relied upon as any indication of future performance of Värde or any of its funds. This information is provided solely for background purposes and should not be used as a basis for an investment decision regarding an investment in any Värde product or service.
Värde Partners and J.C. Flowers Complete Sale of Fairstone Financial Holdings Inc. to Duo Bank of Canada
NEW YORK – An investor group led by J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, a leading private investment firm specializing in the financial services industry, and Värde Partners, Inc., a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced the completion of its previously announced sale of Fairstone Financial Holdings Inc. (“Fairstone” or “the Company”) to Duo Bank of Canada, a Toronto-based financial services provider supported by Stephen Smith, Centerbridge Partners L.P. and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Värde Partners and J.C. Flowers acted as equal partners in the transaction, which began in 2017 when the investor group acquired CitiFinancial Canada from Citi and rebranded the Company as Fairstone. Under the ownership of J.C. Flowers and Värde, Fairstone has grown into Canada’s leading non-bank provider of responsible credit solutions for near-prime borrowers. The group announced its initial agreement in February 2020.
During J.C. Flowers’ and Värde’s ownership, Fairstone more than doubled its operating net income through the course of operational and financing improvements. Fairstone diversified its capital structure and reduced its funding costs as a standalone entity, including issuing the first consumer loan ABS transaction in the Canadian market, followed by a second ABS transaction at better terms, obtaining a credit rating and issuing a high yield bond. Fairstone made significant investments to establish a best-in-class enterprise technology system, enhanced its data-driven custom credit scoring models, developed a customer-centric approach to client service, and diversified and enhanced its products to reach a broader customer base, including through its new e-commerce finance offering.
Citi and National Bank Financial Inc. acted as lead financial advisors to J.C. Flowers and Värde, and Barclays also served as a financial advisor. Stikeman Elliott was legal counsel to J.C. Flowers and Värde.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Fairstone Financial Holdings Inc.
Fairstone, through its operating subsidiary, Fairstone Financial Inc., is Canada’s leading provider of responsible lending solutions for near-prime borrowers with over $3 billion in assets on a consolidated basis. Fairstone, including through its predecessors, has close to a 100-year history of providing Canadians with access to responsible credit. The Company has two key business lines: lending directly to consumers through its branch network and online; and financing consumer retail and car purchases through retailers and dealerships. Headquartered in Montreal, Fairstone is an operating subsidiary of Duo Bank of Canada. More at www.fairstone.ca.
About J.C. Flowers & Co.
J.C. Flowers is a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry. Founded in 1998, the firm has invested more than $16 billion of capital, including co-investment, in 58 portfolio companies in 18 countries across a range of industry subsectors including banking, insurance and reinsurance, securities firms, specialty finance, and services and asset management. With approximately $6 billion of assets under management, J.C. Flowers has offices in New York and London. For more information, please visit www.jcfco.com.
About Värde Partners
Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested more than $75 billion since inception and manages over $14 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The firm’s investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending. Värde employs more than 300 professionals worldwide with offices in Minneapolis, New York, London, Singapore and other cities in Asia and Europe. For more information, please visit www.varde.com.
Värde Partners Co-CEO and CIO, Ilfryn Carstairs, Speaks at Milken Asia Summit
SINGAPORE – Värde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm, today shares commentary by Co-CEO and CIO Ilfryn Carstairs from the recent Milken Institute Asia Summit. Joining the Summit in person from Singapore, Ilfryn discussed the state of Global Capital Markets, with other panelists appearing via video conference and even hologram.
Reflecting on the profound changes in 2020, including the combination of even lower interest rates with an over-reliance on central bank intervention, calling into question whether this confluence of events has put the last nail in the coffin of investors’ worry about risk, Ilfryn said:
“There is a massive cost-to-income problem in markets where risk premiums have come down. There is this almost undying view that central banks and governments will bail you out if risk starts to occur. Yields are very low so there is no fixed income cornerstone for portfolios. It’s a subtle, but profound, change and we’re going to see the effects of that very significantly next year. It almost leads to an asset shortage, because everybody needs assets to generate income, yield and return, but there’s not a lot of it out there. As investors we need to think about how to generate that return, in scale, for our LPs.”
Expanding on central bank policy and the potential impact of inflation, Ilfryn went on to state:
“One shouldn’t expect central banks to pull back from low interest rates quickly. It is a fundamental premise of the market that central bank support will be there and that rates, therefore, will stay low. The missing link will be inflation, and inflation will ultimately be the thing, when it comes along, that forces central banks’ hands. The more important question is then what do investors do about it? And we’re not interested in where average markets are; we remain focused on trying to find places where those top line averages deceive.”
Ilfryn reflected on the heavy reliance of some markets on the banking system, and how traditional lenders typically pull back in response to a crisis as a driver of investment opportunity:
“You don’t have to go to difficult places to find attractive opportunities. A big feature of many markets is how they’re still very bank dependent, and where the demand for credit outweighs the supply. One of the areas on which we’re very focused is originating credit, and getting credit to those places where it’s not flowing freely.” He continued: “It’s a win-win of providing capital into places that are really looking for it, against high quality projects and companies, in order to finance growth.”
This is particularly acute in Asia where Värde has been on the ground for 12 years. Ilfryn noted his view that credit and banking markets are not providing capital efficiently in the region, and the shadow banking market has struggled:
“If I look at what’s happening in India at the moment, on one side of it the credit markets there have been hit very hard – you had a very significant NPL problem in the state banking system, you had some large issues in the in-country shadow banking system, and you don’t have a high yield market fully developed there. So when we think about what we can do, and where we can generate that win-win in markets, I think we’re only going to get paid properly for our investors when we’re positively helping solve a capital problem – and we believe there are lots of places in the world where we can move capital and help solve problems.”
About Värde Partners
Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested more than $75 billion since inception and manages over $14 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The firm’s investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending. Värde employs more than 300 professionals worldwide with offices in Minneapolis, New York, London, Singapore and other cities in Asia and Europe. For more information, please visit www.varde.com.
Värde Partners Funds Bridge Loan for Coral Gables Class A Office Complex
MINNEAPOLIS – Värde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced the closing of a refinancing loan for Columbus Center, a 263,000 square foot office and retail complex in Coral Gables, Florida.
The loan was provided to USAA Real Estate, which has owned the asset for three decades. Patrinely Group, the original developer of the property, recently took over as property manager and leasing director. Together, Patrinely Group and USAA Real Estate will utilize the loan proceeds to re-position the Class A, two-tower asset through strategic capital improvements, including renovating the building’s common areas and expanding on-site amenities, as well as bolstering leasing efforts.
“Värde continues to be a trusted provider of flexible capital with certainty of execution in the commercial real estate space. We are pleased to partner with USAA Real Estate supporting its business plan to enhance the value of this long-held property in a highly desirable area,” said Jon Miller, Managing Director at Värde.
Värde has more than 25 years of experience investing in real estate and credit markets. Through its commercial real estate lending program, Värde is a non-recourse, balance sheet lender targeting transitional, value-add and stabilized properties across the United States. The firm finances all major asset classes, plus mixed-use and self-storage.
About Värde Partners
Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested $75 billion since inception and manages more than $14 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The firm’s investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending. Värde employs more than 300 professionals worldwide with offices in Minneapolis, New York, London, Singapore and other cities in Asia and Europe. For more information, please visit www.varde.com.
Marcia Page Named in List of Top Minnesota Business Leaders
Värde is pleased to share that Marcia Page, Co-Founder and Executive Chair, was named in Minnesota Monthly’s 2020 Minnesota 500 list of the state’s most powerful business leaders.
The full list is available for purchase here.
Accolades referenced do not reflect the experiences of any Värde investor and readers should not view such information as representative of any particular investor’s experience or assume that they will have a similar investment experience as any previous or existing client. Accolades are not indicative of the past or future performance of any Värde product or service.
Värde Partners Co-Founders George Hicks and Marcia Page Named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2020 Heartland
MINNEAPOLIS – Värde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm, is proud to share that co-founders George Hicks and Marcia Page received the Ernst & Young LLP (EY) Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2020 Award in the Heartland region. George and Marcia were among ten winners selected by a panel of independent judges and honored at a virtual award ceremony on October 8.
Pioneers in the early years of the alternative investment industry, George and Marcia, along with retired co-founder Greg McMillan, started Värde in Minneapolis in 1993. They have overseen the firm’s growth from a Midwest start-up to a global enterprise with a 26-year history of more than $75 billion invested across 70 countries.
Today, Värde manages over $14 billion on behalf of a global investor base and remains independently owned with partner-led offices in Minneapolis, New York, London and Singapore. George currently serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer and Marcia Page is Executive Chair.
“It is an honor to be recognized alongside so many successful entrepreneurs,” said George and Marcia. “We are incredibly grateful for the support of our families, the talented partners and employees who have joined us along the way, and to our investors for trusting us to help them achieve their important missions.”
Now in its 34th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year® program honors entrepreneurial business leaders whose ambitions deliver innovation, growth and prosperity as they build and sustain successful businesses transforming the world. Nominees are evaluated based on six criteria, including overcoming adversity; financial performance; societal impact and commitment to building a values-based company; innovation; and talent management.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year® Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America and the Kauffman Foundation. In the Heartland, sponsors also include Colliers, Padilla, PNC Bank, Salo and Twin Cities Business.
About Värde Partners
Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested more than $75 billion since inception and manages over $14 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The firm’s investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending. Värde employs more than 300 professionals across 11 offices worldwide. For more information, please visit www.varde.com.
Accolades are not indicative of the past or future performance of any Värde product or service. Accolades referenced do not reflect the experiences of any Värde investor and readers should not view such information as representative of any particular investor’s experience or assume that they will have a similar experience as any previous or existing client. The selection of George Hicks and Marcia Page for the above-referenced award arose at least in part from a recommendation submitted by Värde.