One of Canada's biggest mortgage lenders is growing that support with a new fund that pushes further into the U.S.
Even though it has appointed Vikram Rajagopalan as its new Executive Managing Director and Global Head of Capital Raising, Vancouver-based Trez Capital is planning to steadily hold its course as it sails into the new year.
Trez Capital bills itself as one of the largest non-bank commercial mortgage lenders in Canada, serving both private and institutional investors. It has $3.9 billion in assets and has funded more than 1,600 transactions worth more than $13.5 billion since it began 24 years ago.
Rajagopalan, who is in Toronto, has almost 20 years of experience in the investment management industry. He joined Trez Capital nine years ago so he could bring institutional-grade product to family offices and advisors. He’s led all of its retail capital raising activities for the last five years and expanded its footprint with major retail institutions. He said Trez Capital now has solidified its platform, large advisor and diversified client bases, and position in the alternative asset class.
“I would call us the preeminent Canadian real estate investment firm offering solutions across the spectrum for Canadian clients,” Rajagopalan told Wealth Professional. ”I think what we’re most proud of is that we get capital from a wide array of sources, from direct line support from the advisor network all the way to pensions and endowments.”
Looking forward, he plans to strengthen its interests in the strongest markets in the United States. Trez already has offices in Atlanta, Florida, and Dallas and a growing business in Florida, Texas, and the south-eastern states. The population there is large and growing, and he noted it also has low state income tax and a business-friendly environment.
“We’ll take the opportunities as they come our way with this population growth, specifically in housing, apartments and self-storage,” he said.
Trez Capital just launched a new Private Real Estate Equity Fund Trust at the end of August, which is attracting its Canadian advisors’ and institutional clients’ support. So, it plans to grow it in 2022 and then focus where businesses are flocking, and the population is growing. Initially, that’s Texas, but the company is also looking at Arizona.
“The fund is an open-ended vehicle, whereas most of these vehicles on the equity side are closed-ended. It took 18 months to create because we were looking to really satisfy the needs of investors that wanted access to real estate equity, specifically on the development side,” he said, noting it will take in capital monthly for its joint ventures with the U.S. developers who are its partners.
“We’re always trying to build on what we’ve done before,” said Rajagopalan. “And I think what we’re good at is we listen to our investors and see what their needs are and, to the best of our abilities, try to create what they say suits them.”
Trez Capital plans to focus on growing its new equity platform in 2022 and continuing to deliver good returns for its clients.
“We don’t take it lightly that 35,000 Canadians wake up every day, every year, needing our monthly distributions,” he said. “So, that continues to be our focus – to deliver those returns for our clients.”
