The Philadelphia-based firm is building out its capital-raising capabilities for its equity and newly-launched debt arms.
Rubenstein Partners is expanding its capital-raising efforts by appointing its first investor relations head, PERE has learned.
The Philadelphia-based firm tapped Ferhat Guven for director of investor relations starting February 1. He is working out of the firm’s New York office and will oversee a team build-out.
Guven has held capital raising and investor relations roles throughout his career, working in the US, Turkey, Europe and the Middle East. He comes from London-based placement agent Threadmark, which he joined in October 2016 and where he led the firm’s US real estate activities. Prior to Threadmark, he spent two years as a managing director of investor relations at Jamestown Latin America, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Jamestown led by a team largely comprising senior management from Paladin Realty Partners. Guven worked at Paladin for seven years, raising capital in Europe and the Middle East, and also founded capital advisory firm Altitude Advisors, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In his new role, Guven will work to deepen the firm’s existing investor relationships and broaden its investor network.
Rubenstein’s office funds, the most recent of which closed in February 2017 on $565 million, have an investor base comprising public and private pension funds, university endowments and family offices. Public investors in the latest vehicle, Rubenstein Properties Fund III, include the Texas Municipal Retirement System, which committed $75 million, and Maine Public Employees’ Retirement System, which allocated $30 million, according to PERE data.
Since Fund III’s close last year, PERE understands the firm has not launched any new vehicles.
“Ferhat is the latest senior-level addition to the Rubenstein team, and we believe that his capital raising experience will be a significant asset for us as we move forward,” firm founder David Rubenstein said.
Rubenstein, which primarily invests in office properties, expanded its platform last year to include debt with the hire of Fred Harmeyer as debt portfolio manager in June, PERE previously reported. Through this new business segment, the firm originates and holds first mortgage loans secured by transitional office buildings.
The firm’s most recent publicly-disclosed transaction was the purchase earlier this month of 111 K Street NE, a 67,000-square-foot office building in Washington, DC, according to data provider Real Capital Analytics.
Rubenstein currently manages $2.2 billion.