Managing Director and Financial Advisor, Tyler Robuck, recently spoke with InvestmentNews about the financial and emotional nuances of the LGBTQ market.
“When you can talk with the LGBTQ community and you are aware of the laws that they are concerned about, that lets them know that you won’t let them be blindsided by something that could hurt them financially. Building those deep connections reverberates through the LGBTQ community.”
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Manhattan West, a global strategic investment firm offering an integrated platform of investments and services, announced today that the Manhattan West Private Equity Fund completed its growth equity investment in Vino Vault and is now its largest shareholder.
Following five successful acquisitions, and the hiring of Jeff Smith as Chief Wine Officer, Vino Vault will leverage Manhattan West’s investment to continue capitalizing on the highly-fragmented wine storage market. Vino Vault offers a comprehensive wine storage network for general enthusiasts and serious collectors, providing a full suite of services, including concierge-style wine storage, expert inventory organization, collection analysis and turnkey auction management services.
“As our physical presence expands across the country, our goal is to become the nation’s leading wine storage and value-added ancillary services provider,” said Jeff Anthony, President and CEO at Vino Vault. “The funding and intellectual capital we’ve gained from Manhattan West will help us redefine the way people think about and manage their wine collections. Manhattan West’s expertise in serving high-net-worth individuals and families, in addition to its familiarity and experience in our industry, is critical in driving us toward our mission to make wine collecting simple, enjoyable, and hassle-free.”
Vino Vault has locations in Los Angeles, New York City, and Dallas and, through its acquisition-based growth strategy, the company has been growing its network at a rapid pace. Vino Vault recently acquired La Cave Warehouse in February 2022, the New York Wine Storage Company in January 2022, and expects to announce new acquisitions soon. With an objective of having a presence in every major market in the world, Vino Vault’s latest capital infusion, advised by Fluential Partners, will enable the penetration of new markets across the US, as well as identify new opportunities in Europe. Additionally, the company plans to deploy capital toward building best-in-class technology offering a seamless user experience to all clients globally.
“Vino Vault has grown substantially and recent momentum shows a clear capability to establish themselves as a dominant player in the wine market,” said Matt Gibbons, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of the Manhattan West Private Equity Fund. “At Manhattan West, we strive to help our partners drive exponential growth, and we are confident that Vino Vault’s scalable and profitable business model combined with their highly skilled leadership team will allow us to do just that. Manhattan West is thrilled to empower Jeff and his team as they identify and execute on strategic opportunities to continue their hyper growth trajectory.”
The Manhattan West Private Equity Fund is an active value-add investor in lower middle market companies focused in the media, entertainment, sports, and consumer sectors. The Fund is currently open to new investors with plans to close later this year.
About Vino Vault
Vino Vault is a comprehensive wine storage network that allows clients to manage collections on a modern inventory platform offering comprehensive inventory data, tasting notes, and drinkability recommendations, along with market valuations for insurance and auctions consideration. Vino Vault exists to make wine collecting simple, enjoyable and hassle-free. Learn more at vinovaultwine.com.
As the Fed raised interest rates last week, Lorenzo Esparza was asked by MarketWatch to weigh on how investors can reposition their portfolios.
“Private debt is an intriguing asset class…The spread between the 10-year treasury and private debt instruments typically expands rather than compresses. Investors can get a better yield, well above treasuries and inflation even while inflation is running high, while maintaining principal protection.”
Real estate investment firms secure rare value-add multi-tenant industrial warehouse asset in supply-constrained Southern California San Gabriel Valley submarket
SAN DIMAS, Calif. – May 10, 2022 – RanchHarbor, a real estate investment firm based in Newport Beach, Calif., and Manhattan West, a fully integrated real estate investment and management firm based in Los Angeles, announce their joint venture (JV) partnership in the acquisition of a five-acre multi-tenant industrial warehouse property in San Dimas, Calif. The value-add asset includes four individual buildings encompassing 91,000 total rentable square feet across 44 individual suites. The JV purchased the property 98% occupied, substantially below replacement cost and at an attractive basis through an off-market transaction from a private seller. Terms of the deal are not disclosed.
“The San Dimas investment represents a unique opportunity to purchase a multi-tenant industrial asset in a desirable and highly supply-constrained San Gabriel Valley submarket well below replacement cost,” said John Meek, managing principal at RanchHarbor. “With little to no new construction of small-bay industrial product in the submarket, this specific type of multi-tenant product is cost-prohibitive to build in many parts of the Los Angeles Basin due to the lack of available developable land, rapidly increasing land values and high construction costs. RanchHarbor is excited to have secured the asset with Manhattan West and we look forward to executing on another well-thought-out business plan with their team.”
The San Dimas property’s four concrete tilt-up structures feature 14-foot to 18-foot clear height and 44 ground-level doors. Unit sizes range from 1,232 square feet to 6,250 square feet. The property was originally built in 1979 and renovated in 2005 and has a 10‐year historical average occupancy of 95%. The JV’s business plan is to perform deferred maintenance and capital improvements to the property including “white boxing” to improve its marketability.
The asset is located in Greater Los Angeles in East San Gabriel Valley at 221-299 Allen Avenue and 906-924 Cataract Avenue. Positioned along the south side of the 210 freeway at the San Dimas Avenue exit, the property offers freeway identity and efficient connectivity to major transportation thoroughfares. It is less than a mile to the 57/210 freeway interchange and is accessible to the I-10, I-605 and I-15 freeways.
According to Costar, the East San Gabriel Valley industrial submarket’s vacancy is less than 1%, as of Q1 2022, and availabilities are more limited than in many other industrial locations in L.A. County. The direct availability rate is 1.5% compared to 2.6% at the metro level.
“San Dimas and the San Gabriel Valley are experiencing decreasing supply of small-bay industrial product due to up-zoning of industrial land and older industrial buildings being redeveloped for larger distribution assets,” said Adam Norvell, managing director of real estate at Manhattan West. “The area’s lack of new construction and long‐term redevelopment trends combined with strong demand for small‐bay space provides a favorable occupancy outlook for the San Dimas investment. Manhattan West is pleased to partner with RanchHarbor’s knowledgeable team again after the success of our previous L.A County value-add investment.”
The San Dimas investment is RanchHarbor and Manhattan West’s second JV partnership. The two firms recently completed the renovation and lease up of a 18,000-square-foot value-add industrial property in Signal Hill, Calif. The property is currently being marketed for sale.
The San Dimas transaction was facilitated by Lee & Associates with the JV represented by Jack Haley and the seller represented by Todd Launchbaugh and Justin Leewood.
This investment marks RanchHarbor’s ninth acquisition since the firm’s launch in 2020, and the first investment in RanchHarbor Fund I, a $25 million fund targeting value-add real estate investments. With more than $140 million in assets currently under management, RanchHarbor continues to pursue value-add general partner (GP) and limited partner (LP) real estate investment opportunities in select U.S. markets with targeted equity commitments between $3 million and $10 million. RanchHarbor recently expanded its reach to the eastern U.S. with the acquisition of RV Storage Depot, a 55-acre recreational vehicle and boat storage facility in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Since 2019, Manhattan West has invested in four separate industrial assets, totaling over 145,000 square feet in Southern California. In addition, the firm has acquired over 150 multifamily units in Los Angeles and is in the process of entitling over 200 units for ground-up development. The firm is actively seeking value-add and opportunistic industrial and multifamily investment opportunities in major western U.S. markets, with a focus on Los Angeles.
ABOUT RANCHHARBOR
RanchHarbor is an integrated real estate investment firm based in Newport Beach, Calif., focused on investing in sub-institutional value-add opportunities. RanchHarbor offers joint venture equity and general partner co-invest equity, targeting commercial and multifamily real estate investments between $2 million and $15 million in select U.S. markets. The firm also provides sophisticated asset management, capital advisory and receivership services to institutional and private investors, asset owners and operators. Since its founding in 2020, RanchHarbor has closed on nine investments exceeding $100 million in total AUM across five states. For more information, visit ranchharbor.com. Follow the company on LinkedIn.
ABOUT MANHATTAN WEST REAL ESTATE
The Manhattan West Real Estate Group is a community-focused real estate team uniquely positioned as an owner, operator and manager of multifamily and industrial properties and has sought to add value to the communities it operates in and positively impact the tenants and residents of its buildings. Since inception, the group has focused on targeting value-add and opportunistic assets.
Former Citadel and Point72 leader joins minority-led investment firm to continue rapid growth and scale alternative asset management division
LOS ANGELES-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Manhattan West, a global strategic investment firm, today announced it has appointed Evren Ozdemir to serve as Chief Operating Officer. In the newly created role, Ozdemir will lead the firm’s infrastructure build-out and strategic initiatives to continue scaling its vertically integrated platform of services and investments.
Prior to joining Manhattan West, Ozdemir was most recently at Surveyor Capital, a unit of Citadel, where he served as Deputy COO. With decades of leadership experience in investment management, Ozdemir is well-positioned to lead alongside CEO and Founding Principal, Lorenzo Esparza, to help Manhattan West grow into a leading alternative asset manager.
Manhattan West’s in-house portfolio managers build and direct the firm’s bespoke alternative investment strategies in Private Equity, Venture Capital, Real Estate, Digital Assets and Private Debt funds. By providing unique access to diversifying alternative investment strategies, the firm’s client base of athletes, entertainers, and high-net-worth individuals and families can experience attractive risk-adjusted returns, in addition to personalized, concierge-style client service.
“Lorenzo and I share a vision for the future of asset management. The marketplace is seeking access to differentiated returns in the form of alternative investments and Manhattan West is delivering that by building a team of top-tier talent and a proprietary, modern investment platform,” said Ozdemir. “Joining Manhattan West’s entrepreneurial, tight-knit culture has me energized and ready to roll up my sleeves and start building alongside our top-notch team.”
Ozdemir was with Goldman Sachs before he joined Point72 Asset Management where he rose through the ranks throughout his nine-year stint at the firm. His diverse experience at hedge funds, investment banks and fintechs make him well-positioned to assume the role of COO at Manhattan West.
“It was clear to me from the moment I met Evren that he would play an integral role in managing the strategic direction of Manhattan West as we strive to curate innovative investment solutions to meet the distinct needs of our clients,” said Esparza. “His prestigious background and proven effectiveness as a leader make Evren the perfect fit for our leadership team.”
Throughout its near-six years in business since Esparza broke away from J.P. Morgan to launch the firm, Manhattan West has increased its headcount by nearly 50% each year. As the firm’s Private Wealth, Business Management, Tax, and Alternative Investments verticals have grown, Manhattan West has experienced robust asset and revenue growth under Esparza’s leadership and the firm is expected to continue its rapid ascent following Ozdemir’s arrival.
It’s no secret that our economic climate is changing the needs of the modern investor. Now, more than ever, it’s important that you have a financial professional on your side who can stop you from making decisions that you might regret. In his recent Kiplinger article, Managing Director and Financial Advisor, Tyler Robuck, offered 3 questions to ask yourself before deciding on a financial advisor.
Managing Director, Reginald Tucker who runs the Venture Capital Growth Opportunities (VCGO) fund, sees tremendous opportunities in investing in space technology, as well as space manufacturing and observation. He recently sat down with Institutional Investor to discuss the fund’s investments to-date, how the biggest players in the space ecosystem are investing, and his philosophy on partnering with smaller, emerging firms.
“Venture Capital is a relationship business, and we all need to get into the practice of broadening and deepening our networks, so that demographics are not determining investment activity and outcomes.”
In his recent Crunchbase article, Managing Director Reginald D. Tucker draws from his 20 years of industry experience to outline what is needed to increase diversity in the venture capital space and the long term value of its continued progress.
As we quickly approach Tax Day, Managing Director of Tax Services Elliott Brack weighs-in on how advisors can add value when it comes to crypto taxation. Check out his most recent Financial Planning article where he talks about the importance of knowing all of the details, like cost basis and the return on capital, related to the transactions.
Managing Director of Tax Services, Elliott Brack and Managing Director of Digital Assets, Vik Sasi sat down with Rob Curran from Money Magazine to discuss how investors should be thinking about their crypto trading activity this tax season.