Asset Backed

On this special dual episode of ⁨@AssetBacked⁩ and ⁨@ATLalts,⁩ I interviewed Ian Leisegang, CFA, of 3SPOKE, a provider of structured liquidity for the venture capital ecosystem.3SPOKE is a private investment firm providing structured liquidity solutions to owners of late-stage venture assets.Ian is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 3SPOKE and is responsible for all aspects of the management and strategic direction. Ian co-directs the firm’s investment process, leads the firm’s investor relationships, finance & operations, and co-directs the 3SPOKE Investment Committee.3SPOKE invests in the next generation of visionary and disruptive global companies. These innovative companies continue to mature and grow larger and more valuable while remaining privately held, creating enormous pent-up demand for liquidity from their stakeholders. 3SPOKE addresses this need by providing structured liquidity solutions for this dynamic ecosystem.3SPOKE provides shareholders, venture funds, and their investors with highly flexible capital, allowing them to continue to participate in future growth without locking in current market discounts, taxes, or a change in control.3SPOKE offers investors risk-mitigated access to the most successful private companies, while taking growth rather than concept risk.3SPOKE’s focus is to provide an alternative to the direct secondary sale of late-stage venture assets among employees at venture-backed firms, as well as across the entire portfolio of interests with limited and general partners. The common denominator for 3SPOKE is counterparties in need of liquidity who would prefer to leverage their strong assets and retain upside, rather than sell into the secondary market at potentially large discounts.3Spoke Website/Biohttps://www.3spokecapital.com/Ian Lesegang's LinkedIn Profilelinkedin.com/in/ian-leisegang-3spokePodcast DisclaimerThis podcast is produced and hosted by Andres Sandate, and is the property of Endurance Strategies, LLC.Andres Sandate is a Financial Advisor with Gramercy Park Wealth Advisors, LLC, and a Registered Representative of GPWA, LLC, a member of FINRA / SIPC. Andres Sandate is the Founder and CEO of EnduranceX. EnduranceX is a marketplace for RIAs, Family Offices, and other Accredited Investors, and Institutions to transact in private markets and alternative investments. Learn more at www.EnduranceX.io. Guests of the Asset Backed and ATLalts podcasts may have a commercial relationship with Endurance Strategies, LLC, EnduranceX, and GPWA, LLC.Gramercy Park Wealth Advisors, LLC and GPWA, LLC are not responsible for the content of this podcast and do not offer investment, legal, or tax advice, nor do they recommend or endorse any securities, products, or strategies discussed.No part of this podcast may be published, reproduced, transmitted, or rebroadcast in any media or any form without the express written permission of Endurance Strategies, LLC.This podcast does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any fund interests, securities, or other financial instruments, nor does it constitute a solicitation on behalf of Endurance Strategies, LLC, its affiliates, or any third-party investment managers, their affiliates, products, or strategies. Any such offer or solicitation may only be made pursuant to the delivery of formal offering documents.Endurance Strategies, LLC has no obligation to update or revise any information contained herein. The company makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of the information, and this podcast should not be relied upon as the basis for investment decisions or for any other purpose.This material may be protected by copyright. © Endurance Strategies, LLC. All rights reserved.

We spend a lot of time speaking with managers and investment professionals across asset-backed finance, asset-based lending, and specialized, niche areas of credit, seeking out teams and platforms that are not just engaged in private credit but are winning due to distinctive, hard-to-replicate edges with competitive moats around their sources of return. Recently, I sat down with Brian Seidensticker and Kiah Hochstetler, co-founders of Mount North Capital, to discuss how they source and execute opportunistic real estate investments. One standout takeaway from that conversation was this: Mount North’s unique local partner model is a big reason they can consistently find, vet, and turn distressed properties, which most listeners may not associate with private credit, into yield. In addition to their unique partnership model, Mount North Capital utilizes data and in-house proprietary technology, unlike real estate sponsors I have met previously as part of the underwriting.Here’s the idea in a nutshell:👉 They combine proprietary data with boots-on-the-ground local expertise. 👉 Local partners — people who know their markets inside and out — act as both the eyes and execution arm for sourcing overlooked distressed real estate that institutional platforms simply can't pursue due to inefficiencies, a lack of data, and their scale. 👉 Many local investors and operators know how to identify attractive opportunities but often lack the capital to scale beyond a few properties at a time. 👉 Mount North steps in with funding, data, and a repeatable process, empowering these local partners to do more deals than they could alone, while Mount North retains ownership and control of the asset throughout. It offers a unique way to gain exposure to short-duration real estate credit, and I found their competitive pillars to be distinctive. One of the biggest advantages Mount North Capital explained in the episode is the combination of the data (just the raw amount is impressive in its own right) and the technology tools they have built internally over the past decade. They utilize it on every single deal for screening and to aid underwriting. They don't pursue deals that waste what is most valuable to all smart capital allocators - time. The partnership model they have created at Mount North Capital solves two key industry problems in distressed and opportunistic real estate: 1️⃣ It vastly increases deal flow — more local relationships mean access to more auctions, more insider knowledge, and faster boots-on-the-ground diligence. What real estate investor doesn't want to see more deals that fit their investment criteria? 2️⃣ It reduces risk — local partners share upside and have a vested interest in executing on budget and on time. If something goes off track, Mount North still owns the asset outright and can step in directly. No foreclosure, no mortgage, simply an operational decision to move on.The result? A repeatable, scalable model that taps into local know-how while keeping tight asset-level control and institutional standards.In a world where many private real estate funds chase the same on-market deals, Mount North’s local partner network is a powerful advantage — one that came up again and again in our conversation.If you’re an advisor, family office, or investor exploring asset-backed investments in real estate or private credit alternatives with a shorter duration, the Mount North Story is fascinating in my opinion.Follow Asset Backed and our sister podcast ATLalts for more insights from private market innovators. If you liked the conversation and learned something, we would appreciate it if you left us a positive review. If you found the topic helpful, please tell a friend about our show. #ATLalts #AlternativeInvestments #MountNorthCapital #RealEstate #PrivateCredit #LocalPartners #DealFlow #Podcast

Brook Scardina is a Managing Partner - Capital Markets & Investments with Atlanta, GA-based Oak Real Estate Partners (OREP). OREP is an institutional small balance sheet private credit bridge lender that invests in high-quality, short-duration senior-position loans on positive income-producing commercial real estate assets.Brook and I discussed how investors can think about investing and navigating this period of volatility and market uncertainty, how alternatives and private credit generally, and real estate bridge lending specifically, can help mitigate portfolio volatility, offer enhanced diversification, and attractive risk-adjusted yields. The investment thesis at OREP is supported by increasing and tighter banking regulations which has created a unique investment opportunity for experienced private credit lenders to fill the lending void in the generation of attractive, uncorrelated returns that enhance diversification.About Oak Real Estate Partners:https://www.oakrepartners.com/about/Brook Scardina Bio:Brook Scardina is Managing Partner, Capital Markets & Investments, for Oak Real Estate Partners (OREP), where he leads the external capital markets strategy for the national fund manager focused on the institutional investment sector. He is responsible for advising on, solving and delivering alternative investment solutions that support the institutional return objectives of investors including foundations and endowments, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and corporate and public pension plans.Over the past two decades, Brook has been involved in the participation and underwriting of more than $12 billion in capital deployed across multiple asset classes including equity, fixed income, diversifying strategies, hedge funds and alternative assets, and complex investment strategies. His career includes roles managing the financial and investment risk complexities for well-known organizations such as the Georgia Tech Foundation, UNC Management Company and UPS Group Trust, a $29-billion defined benefit trust. Immediately prior to joining OREP, Brook was Head of Institutional Consulting for Crescent Wealth Advisory.Brook, who holds a Series 65 certification from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), earned master’s degree in business administration from Auburn University and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Georgia Southern University. He has served as a client advisory board member of the Bank of New York Mellon and is the current Chairman of the Board for the Roswell United Methodist Foundation in Atlanta, where he is based.

About Cesar Bello:Cesar Bello is Partner, Research and Portfolio Management lead of the Litigation Finance ("LitFin") effort at Corbin Capital Partners. Cesar also works more broadly on the firm’s private investment program. Prior to joining Corbin, Cesar worked at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Ivy Asset Management. Cesar is the Portfolio Manager of the LitFin strategy at Corbin Capital, which has been active in commercial litigation finance since 2018, deploying approximately $400mm with a differentiated approach focused primarily on shorter duration, credit-like opportunities with downside protection. About Corbin Capital Partners:Corbin Capital Partners is a woman-led independent alternative asset management firm that specializes in multi-strategy hedge fund and opportunistic credit investing. Corbin has experience creating and managing differentiated commingled and bespoke portfolios for investors globally. As a firm that strives to create high-quality solutions for clients, Corbin deploys a broad toolkit of investing techniques, including external fund investments, opportunistic co-investing and direct trading capabilities. The firm is focused on maintaining its client centric model and continuing to serve as a trusted partner to clients. As a woman-led firm, Corbin Capital is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the organization, inspired by its diverse leadership team. As of April 1, 2024, Corbin had $9.10 billion in assets under management.About Litigation Finance:Litigation finance is the provision of third-party capital to help finance law firms or plaintiffs pursuing legal claims in exchange for a portion of proceeds received. This is an emerging asset class in the U.S. that is generally underbanked and misunderstood, in part because the "collateral" is often difficult to value. Cesar and the Corbin Capital team recently published a great white paper on LitFin that I recommend checking out.About the Episode:In this episode Cesar explains the background of the LitFin industry, what it is, how the asset class works, and the various ways to access it. We spend the majority of the conversation talking about the different investment approaches, and Corbin Capital's focus on shorter duration credit-like cases with emphasis on downside protection as well as multiple off-ramps and levers to express risk and unlock value, with examples from real cases. We discussed risk factors, challenges, and how LitFin firms are differentiated in their approach to portfolio construction and case origination plus much more.Additional Resources:Cesar was interviewed for a story by Bloomberg Law on LitFin and you can read that article here.

Vadim Verkhoglyad is the Vice President, Head of Research Publication at dv01. His LinkedIn is here. He has over 16 years of experience across structured credit, finance, and technology, and has an extensive background in data and performance analysis, research, and capital markets. He kickstarted his career as an analyst at Fitch Ratings and then transitioned to hedge fund Tricadia Capital, where he rose from systems analyst to senior vice president over his 12-year tenureHe has worked at dv01 for over five years, and regularly produces in-depth research on dv01 and industry data on asset classes including consumer unsecured, mortgage, student loan, auto and credit cardsThese reports are available here, and Vadim also breaks down actionable insight from these reports on dv01's podcast In the Tranches of Structured Financedv01dv01 is a leading capital markets fintech company driving technological innovation and loan-level transparency and loan-level lending data in structured finance. Founded in 2014, the company was acquired by the Fitch Group in 2021It has over 230 million loans, 1,200 securitizations, and $6 trillion in original balance across the consumer unsecured, mortgage, auto, student loan, point of sale, home efficiency and small business asset classes.dv01 was born out of the founder's frustration at the lack of transparency as a mortgage bond trader at Bear Stearns & JPM. Data was scarce, technology was outdated.dv01 addresses the challenges by providing analysis-ready data (i.e., clean data) AND embedded analytics (reducing the vendor subscriptions a firm needs), ultimately streamlining their workflowdv01 works with both issuers and investors and the company brings a wealth of knowledge to alternative investment firms.Topics / Questions that Vadim and I discussed on this episode:Overall picture of consumer balance sheets, and what performance is like for various asset classes The financial health of the American householdsLoan performance trends (delinquencies, modifications, prepayments) and highlights of certain segments (regions, DTI, FICO ranges)Impact of student loan repayments and broader consumer debt (credit card)Discussion of the financial health in Florida in particular where insurance costs have soared recentlyOrigination trendsHow credit underwriting has impacted origination volumeEconomic health of different generationsWhy Gen Zs' debt management is different to previous generations and why they are in a stronger relative position than MillenialsWhy consumer ABS is poised for a strong yearWhy media reports that subprime auto could be the next credit crisis are potentially inaccurate

Howard Abrahams, Founder and President of Morewood Funding, LLC discusses how companies can access alternative source of lending and debt capital. Howard is ex-MAN Group, Perella Weinberg, and Vida Capital and spent 25 years mostly in sales roles across these alternative asset management firms. He specializes in complex situations and companies overlooked or not financeable by traditional banks and financing sources. He has developed a network of 250+ lenders, primarily finance companies and other specialized lenders who provide various types of lending solutions and debt products to borrowers. His sweet spot is $7M to $12M financings with deals up to $25M and as small as $1M.

Description of the Asset Backed podcast and what listeners and viewers can expect if they engage and listen or watch. The Asset Backed podcast will feature 1:1 interviews with investors, asset managers, founders, CEOs, and other professionals executing transactions in this $20 trillion dollar market. My name is Andres Sandate and I am the Founder and CEO of Endurance Strategies, LLC. I have spent the past 15 years working in the alternative investment industry and prior to this I was a debt capital markets banker. You can follow me and engage via the following: Specialty Finance blog on Substack https://sandate.substack.com/ X/Twitter @aesandate on X, linkedin.com/in/sandate email contact@endurancestrategies.com. I welcome your feedback and suggestions on how to make the Asset Backed podcast and related content most beneficial to your understanding, knowledge, and awareness of this important and growing space.