02/17/2021 | Press release | Archived content
On Tuesday February 16th, 2021, Sortis' Jef Baker and Sam Ross hosted a webinar for investors and our larger community to discuss the Sortis Income Fund.
The one-hour webinar covers:
Summary
The Sortis Income Fund (the SIF) is an un-leveraged, evergreen investment fund focused on the acquisition of senior loans collateralized by real estate in Western US markets. Our teams' expertise is invaluable to this fund in both residential and commercial spaces, but we do focus more on the commercial space.
About the Sortis Income Fund
Subsidiary REIT Structure
As of this year (January 2021), we implemented a subsidiary REIT structure. We did not become a REIT, rather, we created a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sortis Income Fund to hold the loans creating tax benefits for our investors. This is a trend we are seeing in the space and we see this as a great tax solution for our taxable investors.
Highlight: About the Sortis Income FundMarket Opportunity for the Sortis Income Fund
Market
Borrowers
COVID-19 Environment
Sortis Income Fund Investment Strategy
We start with the fundamentals, understanding every property and prioritizing high quality real estate collateral on our loans.
Deal Flow - Where does SIF Source Loans?
Disciplined Risk Management
Leverage
Default Risk
Liquidity Risk
Interest Rate Risk
Sortis' Deep Expertise in Distressed Environments
Our teams' experience contributes to the success of our various activities. The Sortis Income Fund is managed by Jef Baker and Sam Ross. Jef is a CPA by trade, and up until the 2008 financial crisis he was working as a CFO for a private bank. He was brought on as CEO to guide the bank through the Great Recession where his main goal was networking and bringing in people to help move through tough assets - those people were Sortis' own Paul Brenneke and Michael Sander.
After Jef got the bank onto solid footing and in good health, a larger bank came and made an offer advantageous for its shareholders. Jef, Paul, and Michael continued their work together turning the 20 year old bank holding company into Sortis Holdings. Sortis then launched its private financing funds.
Sam Ross began his career in Chicago at a small opportunistic real estate fund that was acquiring and restructuring distressed debt in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. There, Sam worked through, restructured, and ultimately generated substantial returns for investors. Once that business faded as the world recovered, he moved into originating commercial bridge loans and worked on structuring opportunistic real estate vendors.
Sam has always been with small firms and is used to wearing many hats - he has direct experience making 2am phone calls as a property manager all the way up to closing large complicated commercial transactions. His well-rounded background all focused on real estate has led him to his role now with the SIF where he sources, structures, executes, and manages the loan portfolio with Jef and the rest of the team.
While Jef and Sam are Fund Managers for the SIF, Paul Brenneke and Michael Sander are also key to the funds success. Brenneke, Sortis' Executive Chairman, is a long time private lender in his own right. He is well connected to deal flow sources and his experience in underwriting allows him to figure out workable deals quickly. Paul is also a large scale developer and has built every property type from thousands of residential homes to assisted living facilities to hotels and office space. Critically this year, Paul's experience in acquisitions and bankruptcy has been key to Sortis' success.
Michael Sander joined Paul during the 2008 crisis in coming to the bank to help Jef work their way out of the recession. Michael primarily works on the capital raise side and is the point person on our Sortis Opportunity Zone Fund. Sander spends his time working with investors, vetting various activities, and feeds a lot of loan activity into the SIF through his broad networks across the region.
Deal Case Study 1: Kirkland, WA
Highlight on SIF's 2020 Loan in Kirkland, WADeal Case Study 2: Colorado Springs, CO
Highlight on SIF's 2020 Loan in Colorado Springs, COQuestions? Reach out to Jef Baker at [email protected], or to Sam Ross at [email protected].