Brookfield-backed BFIN rebrands as Sera Global

Brookfield-backed global real assets investment advisory firm BFIN has rebranded as Sera Global as part of the firm’s restructuring plan launched last year, PERE can reveal exclusively.

Led by former global head of Brookfield’s private funds group Leo Van den Thillart, Sera has added five managing partners among a dozen new hires since September 2020. The managing partners include Van den Thillart, who has become the firm’s global head and managing partner after spending 11 years at Brookfield; Maggie Coleman, former head of international capital at JLL, who will lead the firm’s private capital advisory business for real estate; and Damien Smith, former head of real estate for UBS Global Wealth Management and former head of Europe for The Townsend Group, who will oversee the firm’s product development business.

Additionally, Irene Mavroyannis, former managing director at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, has become the firm’s managing partner to lead its private capital advisory business for infrastructure, while Martha Tredgett has joined from alternative investment solutions firm LGT Capital to become Sera Global’s managing partner for private capital advisory in Canada.

With the new hires, the firm looks to expand the service offerings from its three business lines of investment banking; private capital advisory serving owners, operators, GPs, sponsors, asset managers and private wealth intermediaries; and strategic advisory. Prior to the rebrand, Sera had completed more than $100 billion in transactions.

“Sera means to come into being, which we believe reflects the global evolution and expansion of the business,” a company spokeswoman told PERE.

“The rebranding is an expression of the new services and businesses that we are looking to build. As we keep evolving, we want a name that describes who we are and Sera really reflects the growth of our firm,” added Van den Thillart. “We are reimagining what it means to be a leading advisory firm by integrating additional strategic services for our clients, with a focus on real assets.”

PERE can reveal that Brookfield Business Partners remains a majority shareholder in the business while the management team also holds equity in the firm. “Brookfield will help us with strategic growth of the business. The plan is for managing partners and partners at Sera to have equity in the business to ensure alignment and to drive excitement,” Van den Thillart explained.

Co-headquartered in New York and London, Sera Global currently has offices in Toronto, Munich and Seoul after closing four of its five offices in Asia-Pacific last year amid the restructuring. Van den Thillart told PERE that the firm will continue to expand the team with a plan to hire up to a dozen people in 2021 and up to 40 new hires in the next 12 to 36 months across North America, EMEA and Asia.