Robert Morse, Dean Allara and Adam O’Farrell
Robert Morse, Dean Allara and Adam O’Farrell
Executive Chairman; Vice Chairman; Chief Operating Officer at Bridge Investment Group
Bridge Investment Group made strides throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in expanding its reach across asset classes that have proven resilient amid economic uncertainties.
The Salt Lake City-based firm has focused heavily on multifamily developments and projects in opportunity zones across growth markets in the South and the Southwest.
Its deal activity, following March 2020, included acquiring $700 million of distressed real estate-backed, fixed-income securities in the early stages of the health crisis, with the last of these investments sold back into the market last month. The firm was also aggressive during a brief down period for the multifamily sector at the onset of the pandemic in nabbing several assets at reduced prices.
“We were able to act quickly, we were able to act nimbly, we were able to capture incremental value by having dry powder and by being prepared to commit that,” Robert Morse said.
Another highlight for Bridge during the past year was the launch of the firm’s new industrial net lease strategy in April aimed at diversifying its real estate portfolio. Morse said the move was in response to market trends showing large-scale demand for industrial assets that underscores the need for well-located logistics facilities.
Morse said Bridge was well positioned to weather the pandemic, largely due to entering the downturn not over-leveraged. He noted that concentrating heavily on property management, too, would set the firm up for a sound fiscal future in the year ahead.
“We have never tried to push the edge of the envelope from a financial engineering perspective,” Morse said. “We rely on our property management and forward integration in order to create value in our activities.”—A.C.
