Safely Investing in Innovation as an Asset Class – Applied Real Intelligence LLC (A.R.I.) – 9.1.22

Summary:

Now On Demand

The bull market has come to an end and fixed income performance has suffered due to high inflation, rising interest rates, asset devaluation, and the likelihood of recession. As the bond markets continue to experience heavy losses, investors are desperately seeking solutions for their fixed income portfolios.

Join Zack Ellison, CFA, CAIA, and the senior investment team at A.R.I. Venture Debt Opportunities Fund, as they provide an overview of venture debt and why A.R.I.’s strategy is ideally suited for the market downturn and volatility ahead.

Attributes of A.R.I.’s Venture Debt Opportunities Fund:

• Providing Safe Access to Innovation as an Asset Class
• 15-20%+ Target Annual Return (12-15% from Debt, 3-5%+ from Equity)
• Quarterly Income of 3-4%
• Low Risk (Loss Rates Less than 0.25% Annualized)
• Strong Portfolio Diversification Benefits
• Inflation-Hedged (Floating Rate Coupons + Equity Warrants)
• Low Volatility
• Compelling “Story” for Advisors and their Clients

Speakers:

Zack Ellison, CFA, CAIA, is the Founder, Managing General Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of Applied Real Intelligence (“A.R.I.”). A.R.I. is a Los Angeles-based venture debt investment manager focused on underserved sectors and regions.

Previously, Mr. Ellison was Director of U.S. Public Fixed Income at Sun Life Financial, where he was responsible for corporate credit investing. Prior to Sun Life Financial, he was a corporate bond and credit default swap trader at Deutsche Bank. During the Global Financial Crisis, he was an investment banker where he successfully underwrote and managed a portfolio of leveraged loans at Scotia Bank. He began his financial career at Thomson (now Thomson Reuters) in the Capital Markets Intelligence group.

Currently, Mr. Ellison is a Board Member of CFA Society Los Angeles, a Board Member of CAIA Association’s SoCal Chapter, the West Coast Regional Director of the Hedge Fund Association (HFA), and a member of the Milken Institute’s Young Leaders Circle (YLC).

Mr. Ellison holds an MBA with concentrations in Analytic Finance and Economics from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business along with an MS in Risk Management from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College while majoring in Economics. Additionally, he holds the CFA and CAIA designations and previously held FINRA Series 7, 55, and 63 licenses.

Chief Marbumrung is Managing Director, Investments at Applied Real Intelligence (“A.R.I.”). He has a primary role in leading transaction origination, credit analysis, due diligence, transaction structuring, and loan underwriting. He also has responsibility for building and maintaining long-term strategic partnerships with A.R.I.’s portfolio companies and sponsors, including venture capital.

Prior to joining A.R.I., Mr. Marbumrung was a senior banker based in San Francisco covering the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (“TMT”) sectors at BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank with over EUR 2.6 trillion in total assets. In this role, he was responsible for originating and managing U.S. TMT corporate relationships and executed large loan transactions across a variety of high-growth sectors. Previously, he was an active deal team member on BNP’s Loan Capital Markets platform where he focused on underwriting, structuring, and executing loan transactions for corporate clients across multiple sectors.

He began his financial career during the Global Financial Crisis as a corporate banker in the U.S. Power Utilities & Power Project Finance group at Scotia Bank. Preceding his financial career, Mr. Marbumrung was an electrical engineer at a privately-owned defense contractor based in New England.

He earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Boston University’s College of Engineering and an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Additionally, he has previously held FINRA Series 79 and 63 licenses.

Jenny Shum, CFA, is Managing Director, Investments at Applied Real Intelligence (“A.R.I.”). She has a primary role in leading transaction origination, credit analysis, due diligence, transaction structuring, and loan underwriting. She also has responsibility for building and maintaining profitable, long-term strategic partnerships with A.R.I.’s portfolio companies and sponsors, including venture capital, private equity, bank lenders, and non-bank lenders.

Prior to joining A.R.I., Jenny was a senior banker based in San Francisco covering the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (“TMT”) sectors at Citi. In this role, she was responsible for originating and managing global relationships with U.S. TMT corporates. Her coverage spanned across VC-backed, PE-backed and public companies in a variety of high-growth sectors.

During the Global Financial Crisis, she successfully managed a portfolio of leveraged loans at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. Ms. Shum also worked on the treasury team of Liberty Media, one of the largest global mass media companies. In this role, she managed liquidity positions and worked with various banking partners to structure equity and debt financing solutions for Liberty Media’s portfolio companies.

She earned a BS in Finance and Accounting from New York University’s Stern School of Business. Additionally, she holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and has held FINRA Series 79 and 63 licenses.

Jeff Sokolowski is Managing Director, Investments at Applied Real Intelligence (“A.R.I.”). He has a primary role in managing A.R.I.’s portfolio, lending policies, and investment risk management practices, including oversight of credit analysis, due diligence, transaction structuring, and loan underwriting.

Prior to joining A.R.I., Mr. Sokolowski achieved an outstanding investment track record in venture debt and middle market lending, built over two decades across multiple economic cycles. From 2004 to 2021, he worked at ORIX USA, the North American subsidiary of ORIX Corporation, a diversified Japanese financial services group with assets of approximately $120 billion and a market capitalization of over $23 billion.

For the past decade, Mr. Sokolowski was a Director at ORIX Growth Capital, a global leader in venture debt. ORIX Growth Capital has successfully deployed over $2 billion to more than 175 companies, while generating outstanding risk-adjusted performance. During his 17 years at ORIX, Mr. Sokolowski was a founding member of the firm’s Leveraged Finance Group, restructured over $150 million in debt with no realized losses, managed a staff of 15, and was instrumental in third-party capital raising efforts.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Sokolowski was an Audit Manager at KPMG, where he qualified as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He later joined Bank of America Business Capital as a Vice President, where he focused on underwriting and structuring credit facilities for middle market borrowers. He holds a BSBA in Accounting from West Virginia University.