White Oaks launches debut fund

The US multifamily specialist is looking to raise $200 million to target opportunities in secondary markets.

A longtime multifamily operator has decided to raise its first fund. White Oaks Partners has launched a new opportunistic real estate fund targeting multifamily assets across the US. 

According to marketing documents obtained by PERE, the Columbus, Ohio-based US multifamily investor is looking to raise $200 million for its White Oak Real Estate Opportunity Fund. On behalf of the vehicle, the fund manager will seek out multifamily investment opportunities in secondary US markets that are “not likely to experience significant new supply in the next three years,” as well as those “that do not have significant competition from inexpensive single-family homes,” documents stated. 

White Oaks will seek out Class A to Class C properties, as well as workforce housing. The firm will leverage its investments by 65 percent to 75 percent using fixed-rate, assumable agency debt. Thus far, the firm has invested $35 million on behalf of the fund. 

The minimum commitment to the fund is $5 million, and White Oaks itself is committing $10 million to the vehicle. Through the fund, the firm is targeting a net return of around 12 percent to investors. The management fee is 1.6 percent of drawn equity.

Since the late-1990s, White Oak Partners has invested roughly $14 billion in multifamily communities in the US. The firm was formed by  Michael Menzer, who originally founded the real estate investment firm Paramount Financial Group in 1986. He created White Oak shortly after selling Paramount to GMAC