LEOLA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emerald Asset Management, Inc., an investment management holding company with approximately $2.4 billion in assets under management, has announced it has acquired Direct Lending Capital, LLC, a pioneer in investing in loans generated in the new and quickly developing direct lending (or “peer to peer”) lending business. The company is now known as Emerald Direct Lending Capital, LLC (or “Emerald DLC”).
Emerald DLC will be based at Emerald’s headquarters in Leola, Pennsylvania and maintains offices in Oceanside, California which will serve as Emerald’s new West Coast regional headquarters. Emerald DLC will direct client investments in the notes, certificates and loans to be generated by the rapidly growing direct lending market.
“We are excited to work with the innovative team at Direct Lending Capital as an early investor in this exciting new investment space,” said Joseph E. Besecker, chairman and CEO of Emerald Asset Management. “We believe that the marriage of Emerald’s institutional investor focus and DLC’s expertise in selecting and managing direct lending portfolios creates a strong opportunity for our newly combined business and its clients,” he said. Joining Emerald are DLC team members Howard Freedland, Richard Keller, Simon Leach and Lakshmi Narasimhan. “I am thrilled to bring our innovative products and dynamic team to the next level,” said Mr. Freedland. “We are proud to be joining a company like Emerald with its two decades of experience and reach that spans the nation,” he said.
The direct lending industry matches lenders and borrowers through various online marketplaces, freeing both the borrower and the lender from the constraints and overhead associated with the traditional “bricks and mortar” banking system. Emerald DLC employs a proprietary methodology to screen loans and analyze credit quality, bundling larger numbers of loans together to further reduce risk and diversify investor portfolios. Peer-to-peer lending has experienced significant growth in the past seven years with total dollars loaned exceeding $2 billion, increasing from $1 billion in less than a year. Emerald gained valuable experience in the credit markets successfully managing an institutional portfolio as part of the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or “TALF” program, of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Emerald is headquartered in Leola, Pennsylvania and also maintains offices in King of Prussia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in addition to the new Oceanside, California location.
Founded in 1991, Emerald Asset Management, Inc. is a diversified
investment management holding company that operates through its
wholly-owned subsidiaries Emerald Advisers, Inc., Emerald Separate
Account Management, LLC and Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust. Emerald
Advisers and PMG Advisors, LLC jointly own Emerald Fixed Income
Advisers, LLC. Assets managed by these companies totaled approximately
$2.4 billion as of June 30, 2013. “Driven by Research,” Emerald
employs an intense fundamental, research-focused investment philosophy
and focuses primarily on growth-oriented equity investing and
high-quality disciplined fixed-income investing.
This
is presented for informational purposes only and shall not be construed
as an offer to enter into any form of investment or transaction.
Emerald Asset Management, Inc.
Emerald Advisers, Inc.
Emerald
Mutual Fund Advisers Trust
Emerald Separate Account Management, LLC
Emerald
Fixed Income Advisers, LLC
3175 Oregon Pike
Leola, PA 17540
717.556.8900
800.722.4123
www.TeamEmerald.com
