Varde Partners, of Minneapolis, has closed a $500 million fund that will invest in real estate securities, the firm announced this week.
The fund will primarily invest in prime and subprime commercial mortgage-backed securities with a special focus placed on loans with balances of $50 million or less.
"With our long history of investing in real estate through both credit and assets, we saw an opportunity to extend our investment program into the performing segment of this market to capture what we believe to be attractive returns and current yield," said Marcia Page, Varde's co-chief executive and co-founding partner, in a press release.
"Seven years after the financial crisis, there continues to be a scarcity of capital and resources focused on small-balance commercial real estate loans, which is driving a new set of opportunities for Varde."
