The new semester begins with a bang! Our first speaker for the Distinguished Speaker Series is Mark Fogel, founder of ACRES Capital, a debt fund headquartered in Long Island. Since, I had the pleasure of working in acquisitions with Mark over winter break, I look forward to my classmates getting a glimpse of his expert knowledge on real estate and his leadership persona. What makes Mark’s experience unique is his experience across all functions of real estate – development, finance, investment banking, asset management, loan work outs and foreclosures.
ACRES Capital was founded by Mark in 2012 after spending 20 years in the industry across companies such as Arbor Realty, General Growth Properties, Forest City Ratner and Greenwich Group International. With Arbor Realty, Mark was the national head of asset management, coming to the rescue of the company during GFC, when most funds were under severe pressure of going bankrupt.
His business model at ACRES, involves providing financing in the $5 million to $30 million range to borrowers with stable and transitional properties that offer upside potential in primary, secondary and tertiary markets nationwide in all asset classes. His firm has a reputation of solving problems in the pragmatic way, operating with the stage of the cycle in mind.
Given his experience in the industry, Mark along with his team, is able to quickly discern the potential of the asset in question. Since inception, the ACRES portfolio has grown to over $600 million in assets under management and the company now employs 21 real estate professionals operating in 3 offices nationwide. ACRES is registered with the SEC as an Investment Advisor and has developed a reputation for exceptional performance with both its investors and borrowers.
Mark was selected as a winner for the 2016 Long Island Smart CEO Future Awards and has been nominated for the 2016 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He holds a Bachelor and Science degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware and a Master of Science degree in Real Estate Investment and Development from New York University.
The speaker series with Mark will be valuable to the Baker Program students, as a platform to learn from one of the smartest minds in real estate with an entrepreneurial bent.
