LOS ANGELES -- Think Realty recently announced its Awards of Distinction for leaders in real estate investing and PeerStreet was recognized as the 2016 Innovator of the Year in Lending. The nominees were evaluated based on the following criteria:
“We’re incredibly honored to receive this recognition, which speaks volumes to the efforts our team has made to bring transparency and efficiency to the private real estate lending industry,” said PeerStreet Co-founder and CEO, Brew Johnson. Think Realty Magazine is one of the longest running news magazines in the country dedicated to real estate investing. This year, the publication honored 20 industry leaders with a Think Realty Award of Distinction. PeerStreet will formally accept this award at Think Realty’s Global Conference, which takes place in San Francisco on August 11-13. About PeerStreetPeerStreet is a marketplace lending platform for real estate debt. Founded by real estate attorney, Brew Johnson and former Google executive, Brett Crosby, PeerStreet allows investors to easily invest in high-yield real estate loans that were historically difficult to access. PeerStreet’s platform is secure and intuitive with an easy-to-use interface and a wealth of information and tools for every level of investor.Contact:Jessica Murray, PeerStreetpress@peerstreet.com
Platform Makes Investing in High-Quality Asset Class as Easy as Buying StocksLOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PeerStreet, a marketplace for investing in real estate backed loans, today announced its platform is now open to all accredited investors.
Prior to today, PeerStreet was available by invitation only. During its pre-launch phase, PeerStreet funded more than $35 million in Real Estate loans secured by 78 properties, putting the company on a path to outpace the growth patterns of many of the most successful consumer debt investment platforms. The annualized net yield to investors to date has ranged between 7% and 12%.“With the launch of PeerStreet, we are democratizing a fantastic asset class – real estate debt – that has always existed, but has been extremely difficult for most investors to access,” said Brew Johnson, CEO and Co-founder of PeerStreet. “PeerStreet is unique in that our loans are sourced from a nationwide network of professional loan originators, which gives us the ability to scale while providing investors access to the highest quality loans.”COO and Co-founder, Brett Crosby added, “Our proprietary, big-data-driven underwriting process provides an additional level of risk mitigation on top of our loan origination model, while our user interface makes investing simple, intuitive and secure. Unlike platforms that originate their own loans, our professional origination partners know their local market in terms of property values and local economic conditions. This reduces risk for investors on our platform.”PeerStreet makes investing in real estate backed loans as easy as investing in stocks. The platform offers investors flexibility through loan terms as short as six months and the ability to easily create a portfolio of loans with individual investments starting as low as $1,000. PeerStreet also offers a unique Automated Investing capability that matches investors with loans that meet their investment objectives. There is even a self-directed IRA option which can have tax-deferred benefits.As part of its public launch, PeerStreet is running a referral program. Users who invite a friend will receive a 1% Yield Bump on their next investment once the friend makes their first investment. The friend will also receive a 1% Yield Bump that will be applied to his or her next investment.PeerStreet’s executive team also includes:
PeerStreet raised a $6.1 million seed round in the first quarter of this year. The startup has attracted interest from investors across the real estate, technology, finance, law and investment industries, and on both the east and west coast. Notable investors include:
Additional information about the PeerStreet platform can be found at: https://www.peerstreet.com/howitworks. A launch media kit is available at https://www.peerstreet.com/launchAbout PeerStreetPeerStreet is a marketplace-lending platform for real estate debt. Founded by real estate attorney, Brew Johnson and former Google executive, Brett Crosby, PeerStreet allows investors to easily invest in high-yield real estate loans that were historically difficult to access. PeerStreet’s platform is secure and intuitive with an easy-to-use interface and a wealth of information and tools for every level of investor.ContactsJon BrubakerOn Behalf of PeerStreet646. 395.6315press@peerstreet.com
Real Estate Debt Platform on Pace to Exceed Early Performance of Consumer Debt PlatformsLOS ANGELES--PeerStreet, the leading marketplace-lending platform for real estate debt, today announced record-setting results for the summer months that pushed its total investments to more than $32 million, including the largest real estate marketplace loan ever, a $6.56 million loan in Southern California. To date, PeerStreet has funded loans on 66 properties, with an average net yield to investors of 7.7%. This puts the company on a path to outpace the growth patterns of many of the most successful consumer debt investment platforms.“We’re very happy with the progress we’ve shown to date. Our goal is to provide investors the best risk-adjusted returns possible and the fact that we are able to do so, while growing at a faster pace than other marketplace lending platforms at similar stages in their life cycle, is exciting,” said Brew Johnson, CEO and Co-founder of PeerStreet.COO and Co-founder, Brett Crosby added, “Our growth is the result of several key factors, including competitive yields, an asset class that is backed by real estate, a highly scalable loan acquisition model, and a technology platform that makes investing simple and intuitive. And of course, timing is an important factor; investors are generally much more accepting of disruptive platforms in their search to find relatively safe returns on cash.”PeerStreet also expanded its team this summer, bringing on a number of key executives. Sara Priola was appointed General Counsel, adding more than 13 years of real estate law experience to the team. Marc Heenan joined the real estate team to head up Commercial Originations and Asset Management. Heenan came to PeerStreet after serving as First Vice President for OneWest Bank’s Commercial Real Estate Group. Brendan Kao and Brian Channell joined the product and tech teams as Head of Product Management and Head of User Experience, respectively. Kao previously served as a product manager at multiple tech companies, including Amazon and Zest Finance. He also has a JD from NYU and a Master’s in Computer Science from MIT. Channell joined PeerStreet after 10 years at Yahoo where he managed very large UX teams.PeerStreet raised a $6.1 million seed round in the first quarter of this year. The startup has attracted interest from investors across the real estate, technology, finance, law and investment industries, and on both coasts. Notable investors include:
Additional information about the PeerStreet platform can be found at: https://www.peerstreet.com/howitworks.About PeerStreetPeerStreet is the leading marketplace-lending platform for real estate debt. Founded by real estate attorney, Brew Johnson and former Google executive, Brett Crosby, PeerStreet allows investors to easily invest in high-yield real estate loans that were historically difficult to access. PeerStreet’s platform is secure and intuitive with an easy-to-use interface and a wealth of information and tools for every level of investor. Currently, PeerStreet is open to accredited investors by invitation only. Priority access will be given to those who join the waitlist now at PeerStreet.com.ContactsJon BrubakerOn Behalf of PeerStreet646. 395.6315jon.brubaker@cognitomedia.com
PEERSTREET APPOINTS SARA PRIOLA AS GENERAL COUNSELLos Angeles – July 13, 2015 – PeerStreet, the leading marketplace lender for real estate loans, today announced the appointment of Sara Priola to the position of General Counsel. Sara will be based in the firm’s office in Manhattan Beach, California.In this role, Sara is responsible for leading PeerStreet’s legal operations, including oversight of the company’s risk management, compliance, regulatory, licensing, privacy, contracts and real estate transactional matters. Sara works closely with firm co-founders Brew Johnson and Brett Crosby on executive level decision making and sits on PeerStreet’s Investment Committee.“Sara is an incredible addition to our team. Her experience in real estate law, and particularly her expertise in structuring and negotiating real estate finance transactions, is tailor-made for PeerStreet’s business,” said Brew Johnson, co-founder and CEO of PeerStreet. “As General Counsel, Sara will ensure we are thinking critically about our decisions both large and small. We could not be more excited to have her join the team.”Sara brings more than 13 years of real estate experience to PeerStreet. Most recently she was a real estate finance attorney at Dechert LLP where she specialized in leading multi-office teams in complex real estate and financing transactions and securitizations. At Dechert LLP Sara also advised banks and institutional lenders in large-loan originations. Previously, Sara practiced at Greenberg Traurig LLP where she advised lenders, borrowers and developers in a wide variety of real estate transactions.Sara graduated from St. John’s College with a B.A. in liberal arts and from USC with a J.D. and a Masters in business taxation.This announcement follows another important hiring declaration in June when PeerStreet announced the additions of former Amazon Product Manager, Brendan Kao, and former One West Bank Vice President, Marc Heenan, as Head of Product Management and Head of Commercial Originations, respectively.About PeerStreetPeerStreet is the leading marketplace-lending platform for real estate debt, offering investors access to high-yield, real estate loans that were historically very difficult to access. PeerStreet’s platform is secure and intuitive with an easy-to-use interface and a wealth of information and tools for every level of investor. PeerStreet seeks to change the paradigm of the financial services industry by closing the distance between borrowers and lenders, making real estate lending transactions more efficient and a better value for all parties. Currently PeerStreet is open to accredited investors by invitation only. Priority access will be given to those who join the waitlist now at PeerStreet.com.ContactJon BrubakerOn Behalf of PeerStreet646.395.6315jon.brubaker@cognitomedia.com
Brendan Kao Joins as Head of Product Management; Marc Heenan Joins as Head of Commercial OriginationsLos Angeles – June 8, 2015 – PeerStreet, the first peer-to-peer marketplace for commercial real estate, today announced the appointment of a former product manager for Amazon and a senior banking executive to key positions on the firm’s leadership team. Brendan Kao joins as Head of Product Management and Marc Heenan joins as Head of Commercial Originations.Kao will be responsible for leading product strategy and running the product development team; a role for which he is uniquely suited based upon his background in product management, law, computer science and financial technology. Previously, Kao served as a software and product development manager for Amazon, FlashFunders, Pivotal Labs and ZestFinance. While at Amazon, Kao led the team that developed the tools and practices to keep Amazon at the forefront of ecommerce and was involved in the development of Amazon Web Services. Since 2009 he has been a product leader in innovative financial technology startups, from big data consumer credit underwriting at ZestFinance to early stage private financing at FlashFunders, where Kao served as CPO.“Brendan's unique experience in engineering, product management, finance and law is an amazing fit for PeerStreet, especially as we rapidly add features to our investment platform,” said Brew Johnson, CEO and co-founder of PeerStreet.Heenan will be responsible for overseeing the team that on-boards loan originators. Previously, Heenan was First Vice President in OneWest Bank’s Commercial Real Estate Group where he managed a team that sourced new originations in the Bank’s $15-$40 million bridge lending program between 2013 and April 2015. Between 2011 and 2012, Heenan oversaw a portfolio of distressed legacy commercial real estate loans for the Bank.“Marc’s experience with OneWest Bank’s Commercial Real Estate Group, including originating more than $300 million in loans and working out over $300 million in distressed legacy commercial real estate loans, will allow him to lead our activities around sourcing and qualifying new lending partners, and underwriting, managing and servicing loans,” Johnson said. “I’m incredibly excited to be part of such a talented team that is driving this fundamental change in the financial service industry,” said Heenan. “We are at the dawn of a renaissance in financial services, and PeerStreet is a clear leader.” “Technology has played a key role in disrupting the business models of so many industries for the better,” said Kao. “I look forward to working with the team at PeerStreet to deliver on these fundamental changes to the financial services industry.”Kao has a bachelor’s and master’s in computer science from MIT and a JD from NYU School of Law. Heenan has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. PeerStreet was cofounded in 2013 by Brew Johnson and Brett Crosby. Johnson, who has a JD from UCLA, was previously a real estate attorney at Allen Matkins and Brobeck and was in-house counsel at VirtualTourist, where he led the sale of the firm to Expedia. Prior to co-founding PeerStreet, Crosby was a senior executive with Google where he created numerous platforms and marketplaces. Specifically, he co-created Google Analytics and led growth and marketing for Google Chrome, Gmail, Docs & Drive, Google+ and the Mobile Ads platform.About PeerStreetPeerStreet is the first secondary market for private moneylenders in the real estate market. The PeerStreet platform gives individual investors the ability to invest in previously difficult-to-access real estate loans while giving borrowers access to new sources of capital. PeerStreet’s platform is secure and intuitive, combining sophisticated algorithms with big data in an interface that is easy to use, provides a wealth of information and tools for every level of investor. PeerStreet seeks to change the paradigm of the financial services industry by closing the distance between borrowers and lenders, making real estate lending transactions more efficient and a better value for all parties. Currently invitation only, PeerStreet is slated to launch for general sign ups in the fall. Priority access will be given to those who join the waitlist now at PeerStreet.com.ContactJon BrubakerOn Behalf of PeerStreet646.395.6315jon.brubaker@cognitomedia.com
