News
January 30, 2008
AMF’s eighth investment in less than two years
NEW YORK (January 31, 2008) – Asset Management Finance Corporation (AMFSM)
announced today that it has made an investment in Atlanta-based Forest Investment
Associates (FIA), a leading timberland investment manager. AMF has provided capital to
FIA in exchange for a Revenue Share Interest (RSISM) for a limited time period, and will
hold a passive non-voting interest in the firm during that period. FIA will retain complete
autonomy as a 100 percent employee-owned firm.
FIA will use the capital provided by AMF to fund an employee buyout, led by the
firm’s senior management team, of its founder and controlling shareholder, Charles M.
Tarver. Mr. Tarver co-founded the firm more than 20 years ago and is widely considered a
pioneer in the field of timberland investment management.
AMF’s investment in Forest Investment Associates is its eighth transaction in less
than two years. It is the second time AMF’s capital has been used to finance an employee
buyout of a controlling interest in a firm. AMF’s growing portfolio of independent
investment management firms spans a wide variety of asset classes, from traditional
domestic and international long only, REITS and wealth management to foreign exchange
and alternative investments. With this investment, AMF’s partner firms’ combined assets
under management will exceed $40 billion.
Launched in 1986, Forest Investment Associates manages approximately $2.8
billion in assets, overseeing broadly diversified portfolios of timberland on behalf of state
and municipal retirement systems, corporate pension plans, endowments, foundations,
family offices and private commingled funds. Timberland has become an increasingly
popular asset class among institutional investors. It provides portfolio diversification,
having low correlation with traditional equities and real estate, and acts as a hedge against
inflation.
FIA’s senior management team is led by L. Michael Kelly and includes V. Scott
Bond, Samuel R. Grice, Charles L. VanOver and Marc A. Walley. These executives will
have a controlling interest in the firm and will continue to run the organization on a day-today
basis. “With this important transition behind us, Forest Investment Associates is wellprepared
to enter the next phase of its development. The entire management team and all
employees remain dedicated to delivering superior investment advice to our valued clients,
and to pursuing the highest standards of excellence in timberland investment
management,” said Mr. Kelly. The management team and other employees also
committed funds to the buyout. In conjunction with the buyout, Mr. Kelly, who had
previously been Executive Vice President, has been named President of the firm, and Mr.
Walley will become Executive Vice President. Mr. Tarver will remain as a consultant.
“AMF provided a unique investment structure that allowed us to purchase the firm
from Charley Tarver while also assuring that all equity in FIA will be owned by our
employees,” said Mr. Kelly. “AMF provided the creativity and flexibility to help us
structure our transaction in a way that sets FIA on a stable, independent path for many
years to come. We look forward to our partnership with AMF and to continuing the
outstanding legacy we have inherited from Charley.”
AMF’s Revenue Share Interests are designed to help asset management firms
facilitate a variety of organizational liquidity and funding initiatives including financing
generational equity transfers, buyouts, recapitalizations, financing strategic growth
opportunities and acquisitions -- in each case without sacrificing firm ownership or
operational control.
“Forest Investment Associates is emblematic of the type of firm in which we like
to invest: it’s a leader in its asset class and has a long record of delivering outstanding
results for its clients,” said Norton Reamer, President and Chief Executive Officer of
AMF. “We are pleased to contribute to the firm’s continued independence.”
David Chalfin, Vice President at AMF, added, “We feel fortunate to partner with
the team at FIA and to assist them in achieving this milestone transaction. We look
forward to facilitating management buyouts with other successful management teams in
the investment management industry.”
Berkshire Capital Securities LLC acted as financial adviser to the management
team in connection with the transaction.
About Forest Investment Associates
Forest Investment Associates (FIA), organized in 1986, is a Registered Investment Adviser
providing investment management services for investors in timberland. Operating out of its
Atlanta, Georgia headquarters and offices in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Georgia and
North Carolina, the staff of FIA manages timberland portfolios for corporate pension plans, state
and municipal retirement systems, endowments, foundations and family offices. For more
information, please visit
www.forestinvest.com.
About Asset Management Finance Corporation
AMF offers an innovative investment technique for asset management firms seeking funding for
owner liquidity, internal equity transfers, expansion efforts or other capital needs. AMF’s unique
structure provides capital in exchange for a limited term interest in a firm’s future revenues. AMF
holds passive, non-voting revenue share interests in a diversified group of asset managers. Asset
managers retain complete control and the majority of their firm’s revenues during the transaction
term with 100% of the economic benefits reverting to the owners when AMF’s interest expires.
This arrangement gives asset managers the ability to realize embedded franchise value without
sacrificing ownership or management control. Investors in Asset Management Finance include
Proctor NBF Capital Partners (through a subsidiary of National Bank Financial Inc.), Tokio Marine
& Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd., and AMF management. AMF has offices in New York and
Boston. For more information, please visit www.AMFinance.com.
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