Carmel names SVP of investor relations, marketing

Carmel Partners has hired Liz Tennican for the newly-created position of senior vice president of investor relations and marketing, the San Francisco-based firm said Tuesday.

She started last month and is working with Rich Bennion, a senior vice president of investor relations. Tennican will also oversee marketing and communications, and reports to Michael LaHorgue, Carmel’s president.

The new SVP joined the firm from Watershed Asset Management, an alternative investment management firm also headquartered in San Francisco. A spokeswoman for Watershed declined to comment. Prior to her time at Watershed, Tennican was the head of US institutional sales at BlackRock’s iShares, a group of exchange-traded funds.

“Liz has a superb 20-year track record as a strategic leader in investor relations, business development and marketing,” LaHorgue said in Tuesday’s statement. “We are delighted that she has joined our IR team to work with existing and prospective investors, and lead marketing and communications for Carmel.”

Carmel is currently in the market with its sixth value-added fund. The firm declined to comment on the fundraising process for Carmel Partners Investment Fund VI, which began in December 2015, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. PERE understands that the firm has a $1 billion target for the US-focused multifamily fund and held a first close on $730 million for the vehicle in June. Investors include the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System, which allocated $100 million, and the University of Michigan and the Texas County and District Retirement System, which each earmarked $50 million, according to PERE data.

While Carmel does not disclose its assets under management, its most recent publicly disclosed transaction was the October disposition of Waterford Place, a 200-unit apartment property in Everett, Washington, according to data provider Real Capital Analytics. Carmel bought the nine-building property in February 2011 for $18.2 million and sold it to Investment Property Group, an Irvine, California-based developer, for $43.2 million.