Over the last 24 years, InterVest Capital Partners has established more than 120 leasing and financing programmes, with committed capital topping $15 billion.
Headquartered in New York, the investment adviser grew out of Wafra Investment Advisory Group. Headed by Steven Tenenbayev and Michael Gontar, the firm focuses on leasing, asset-based lending and other structured-finance verticals.
Islamic finance is central to InterVest’s mix of strategies. Since 1999, the firm has been a leader in investment through Shariah-compliant vehicles, with a particular focus on leasing and fund management.
The decisive moment came in 2004. That is when the company became an active player in international real estate. As of the end of 2022, InterVest had invested $9 billion in Shariah-compliant US real estate debt through its fund mandates and innovative single-asset deal programme.
This latter focus has seen the firm conduct around 25 transactions, totalling $5.2 billion. Fourteen of these single-asset deals have been completed since 2011 for a total of $2.3 billion, each generating returns at or above target, according to Hazem Rasbeih, managing director and head of business development.
InterVest has achieved steady-to-above-target returns with a single default. In 2022, its fund offerings produced a total 6.5% return, compared with 6% in 2021. The firm is roughly back to its pre-Covid returns (6.8% in 2019).
Rasbeih says that this is testament to InterVest’s capacity to get large, often complex deals across regions and asset classes done in the most challenging market conditions.
InterVest works very closely with Shariah boards to ensure full compliance
Given the global nature of its business, InterVest works very closely with Shariah boards to ensure full compliance. Beyond real estate, it also works consistently to diversify the regions, sectors and underlying collateral strategies that are funded in this way.
The company has interests in consumer financing, healthcare, aerospace, oil and gas, renewable energy, hospitality, home-improvement financing, construction, semiconductors, life sciences and transportation. The bulk of these investments are in the US, Canada and Europe.
The firm uses algorithmic research to unearth new investment opportunities and identify potential business partners. This enables faster and more nuanced reviews of the historical performance of an underlying asset or counterparty. It also improves stress-testing capabilities.