Jeremy Levart, 34

When Jeremy Levart arrived at the University of Maryland to pursue a degree in finance, he wasn’t exactly sure what career path he wanted to follow. The Bergen County, N.J., native completed a commercial real estate brokerage internship at JLL, but a stint with a family office investing in bridge debt ultimately set his course. After graduating, Levart joined Titan Capital, where he learned the business and what he wanted from it.

At Titan, “we didn’t have a fund. It was anything that kind of made sense. And, as someone who was young and hungry, I wanted to chase larger deals,” Levart said.

In 2022, he left to co-found Oak Funding alongside his biggest Titan client, Mark Meisner of privately held commercial real estate investor, owner and operator Birch Group, which specializes in suburban office properties. Seeing trouble ahead for the office market, the pair launched Oak Funding on the thesis that debt investments could generate equity-like returns.

Since then, Oak Funding has become particularly bullish on office-to-residential conversions, including two notable deals in New York City’s Financial District. In late 2025, Oak Funding led a $78 million acquisition and pre-development loan for 100 William Street, securing the deal with a 30-day closing. Levart also oversaw $32 million of a $40 million loan at 5 Hanover Square. This year, the firm also refinanced an office campus in Parsippany, N.J., with an $80 million loan.

Starting with deals ranging from $2 million to $10 million, Oak Funding has grown rapidly, with Levart originating and managing a debt portfolio exceeding $500 million. Yet, he still views it as a bootstrapped business four years on.

“We’re not a fund — every single deal is either our own money or investor money,” he said. “What’s ahead is institutionalizing our business, whether that be to raise a fund or some other business model to raise capital.”

Levart still sees opportunities in bridge lending to generate returns for investors similar to equity, particularly as banks remain slow to lend. “We’re pretty eager to continue growing at what we’re doing,” he said.