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Real Estate Fund

KFBSF Real Estate Funds

KFBSF Real Estate Fund I was established in 2007 with the primary objective of providing a unique educational experience for student managers and secondarily to provide investment returns to its Limited Partners. Funds I, II and III are fully invested and Fund IV (established in 2018) is currently being invested.

Tenure as a manager on the Real Estate Funds provides a select group of students with hands-on experience in the operation of a private investment fund. Concurrently, student managers have the opportunity to establish personal and professional relationships with national real estate developers and investors. The Funds’ managers work closely with the real estate faculty and friends of Kenan-Flagler Business School to identify and evaluate investment opportunities for the Real Estate Funds. Once an investment is approved and placed, the student managers provide continued surveillance, reporting, and asset management.

The Funds are diversified both geographically and across property types. Each investment opportunity is analyzed and discussed thoroughly with faculty and advisers before approval.

KFBSF investor portal

For our KFBSF Fund investors, access your confidential portal. For investors who would like to arrange access to your portal, please contact KFBSF Real Estate by email.

Managing the fund

The student managers are responsible for the day-to-day operations and general management of the Real Estate Fund. The student management team reports to the Board of Directors of the Real Estate Fund General Partner. The Board of Directors consists of six members, four from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and two from outside the school. To oversee and approve each investment, the Real Estate Fund works closely with an Executive Committee formed from three of the Directors. In addition, a Faculty Committee and an Advisory Board also guide the student managers in their investment underwriting and analysis.

 

2022-23 Investment Team

(Select photo to view full profile.)

Chip Carruthers

Chip Carruthers

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2023

Chip Carruthers

Chisholm ‘Chip’ Carruthers is a MBA Student in the class of 2023 concentrating in Real Estate development. During his internship Chip worked for Ram Realty Advisors in multifamily and retail development throughout Charlotte and the Raleigh-Durham Triangle. Prior to attending UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, he worked for four years as a real estate Portfolio Manager with TowneBank in Richmond, Virginia where he underwrote and managed real estate loans across all asset types in Central Virginia and Hampton Roads. He also spent five years at BBVA USA in the Birmingham, Alabama commercial lending group where he covered a variety of industries and client profiles, ranging from startups to publicly-traded companies. Chip graduated from the University of Alabama in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics. He also holds an accounting degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Peter Conway

Peter Conway

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2023

Peter Conway

Peter Conway is a class of 2023 MBA student concentrating in real estate. Peter spent his summer at JBS Smith in Washington, D.C., where he worked as a summer development associate. Before attending UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Peter spent six years working in commercial real estate market research. Most recently, Peter was the director of research for Lincoln Company in Boston, Massachusetts. He oversaw the strategy and analytics for the group’s $1.3B acquisitions and 2M square foot development portfolio. Peter graduated from Wake Forest University in 2015 with his bachelor’s in history with minors in entrepreneurship and environmental studies.

Taylor Crawford

Taylor Crawford

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2023

Taylor Crawford

Taylor Crawford is a class of 2023 MBA student concentrating in Real Estate and Corporate Finance. Over the summer, Taylor was an Investment Banking Summer Associate at Jefferies in Charlotte, within the firm’s REGAL team. Prior to attending UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Taylor worked as a Portfolio Manager at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) in New York City. While at MSREI, Taylor was responsible for managing $10 billion of equity capital commitments across the firm’s global opportunistic funds and raised an additional $3 billion for its most recent fund. Prior to MSREI, Taylor worked in real estate transaction services at EY and real estate assurance at Deloitte. Taylor graduated from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business with a Master of Accountancy (2015) and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting (2014). Taylor is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant by the State of Georgia.

Robert Elder Headshot

Robert Elder

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2024

Robert Elder

Robert Elder is a class of 2024 MBA student concentrating in Real Estate and Entrepreneurship. Prior to attending UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Robert spent four years in investment banking, most recently as an Associate at Stephens Inc., where he provided M&A and capital raising solutions to Aerospace & Defense clients. Additionally, Robert also spent a year on the Financial Planning & Analysis team at Abbott. Robert graduated from the University of Virginia in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce with concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

Bake Elias

Baker Elias

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2023

Baker Elias

Baker Elias is a class of 2023 MBA student concentrating in real estate and corporate finance. Baker spent this summer at Jefferies in New York, N.Y., working as an investment banking summer associate on their Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging team. Before attending UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Baker spent four years working on the real estate development team at Landry’s Inc., a Houston-based hospitality owner and operator of restaurant, casino and hotel assets. Most recently, Baker served as Landry’s real estate manager, where he was responsible for the acquisition and leasing of new restaurant locations and the asset management of the company’s portfolio of 400+ hospitality assets. Baker graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2017 with his bachelor’s degree in marketing and a minor in business administration.

José Estrada

José Estrada

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2023

José Estrada

José is an MBA student in the class of 2023 concentrating in real estate and corporate finance. This summer, José was an intern at Welltower’s investments team in New York City working on investments across the entire capital stack. Prior to attending UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, José spent six years in real estate private equity and development roles across different firms and asset classes in Mexico. José graduated from the University of Miami in 2015 with a bachelor’s in economics.

Robert Handley

Robert Handley

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2023

Robert Handley

Robert Handley is a class of 2023 MBA student concentrating in real estate. Robert spent his summer at Crescent Communities in Charlotte, N.C., where he worked as a capital markets summer associate. In this position, he assisted in securing both debt and equity for multifamily and industrial development projects. Prior to attending UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Robert served for 10 years in the United States Marine Corps as a helicopter pilot and maintenance officer. Robert graduated from Texas A&M University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science.

Jason Hull headshot

Jason Hull

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2024

Jason Hull

Jason Hull is a class of 2024 MBA student concentrating in Real Estate and Corporate Finance. Jason has over seven years of experience working in real estate development and acquisitions across different firms. Prior to attending UNC Kenan Flagler Business School, Jason was an Investment Associate at Terwilliger Pappas where he focused on the capital raising and investment actives of the company. Jason graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science.

Mike Lewers

Mike Lewers

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2023

Mike Lewers

Mike Lewers is a class of 2023 MBA student concentrating in Real Estate and Corporate Finance. Mike spent his summer working for Oxford Properties Group on their life sciences portfolio in San Francisco. Prior to attending UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Mike worked on the leasing team at Oxford Properties Group, supporting the leasing of a 4.5 million square foot portfolio of office, retail and life sciences spaces in Boston. Mike also spent a year in New York City committed to service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and worked as a Program Associate for a nonprofit called Back on My Feet. Mike graduated from Georgetown University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Finance and minoring in English.

Alvaro Rodriguez

Alvaro Rodriguez

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2023

Alvaro Rodriguez

Alvaro Rodriguez is a class of 2023 MBA student concentrating in Real Estate and Corporate Finance. Alvaro spent his past summer with Jaguar Growth Partners, a global investment management firm focused on real estate private and public equity markets. Alvaro has over seven years of experience working in private equity real estate across different firms. Prior to attending UNC Kenan Flagler Business School, Alvaro was an investment manager at Paladin Realty Partners where he led fundraising efforts of $200m and was responsible for the operation and disposition of over $300m in commercial assets. Alvaro graduated from Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering.

Ashley Ulrich headshot

Ashley Ulrich

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2024

Ashley Ulrich

Ashley is a class of 2024 MBA student and Bromley Real Estate Fellow, concentrating in Real Estate and Corporate Finance. Prior to enrolling in UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Ashley was a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago pursing studies in architecture and historic preservation.  Before that, Ashley worked in corporate finance in both FP&A and the controller division and in financial services at Fitch Ratings as a lead credit analyst in both Corporates and Global Infrastructure and Project Finance. Ashley holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Illinois State University and a Historic Preservation Graduate Certificate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Ashley will be spending her summer at Crescent Communities in Charlotte, NC working as a capital markets summer associate.

Hampton Young headshot

Hampton Young

Fund Manager, MBA Class of 2024

Hampton Young

Hampton Young is a class of 2024 MBA student concentrating in Real Estate. Prior to attending UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Hampton was a Project Manager for Seamon Whiteside & Associates, a land planning and civil engineering firm headquartered in Charleston, SC, where he worked on development projects across a variety of asset types, including multifamily, office, hospitality, and retail. Hampton graduated from Clemson University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a Minor in Architecture. Hampton is licensed as a Professional Engineer by the State of South Carolina.

Lila Arnold

Lila Arnold

Fund Manager, Undergraduate Class of 2023

Lila Arnold

Lila Arnold is a member of the Undergraduate Business Program class of 2023, concentrating in real estate finance. Lila spent her summer with Hines in Houston, where she was an investment management analyst on Hines Global Income Trust. Previously, she interned for Cousins Properties in asset management and for a wealth management firm in Denver.

William Garcia headshot

William Garcia

Fund Manager, Undergraduate Class of 2024

William Garcia

William Garcia is a member of the Undergraduate Business Program class of 2024, concentrating in Real Estate Finance, as well as a double major in History. Previously, William interned with VW Multifamily in Charleston as an Investment Analyst and will be joining Blackstone this summer as an Asset Management Analyst in their New York City Office.

Donovan Herndon

Donovan Herndon

Fund Manager, Undergraduate Class of 2023

Donovan Herndon

Donovan Herndon is a member of the Undergraduate Business Program class of 2023, concentrating in Real Estate Finance. Donovan spent this past summer with Greystar doing acquisitions and development in their Charleston, S.C., headquarters. Prior to working on the Fund, he served as Co-President of the Undergraduate Real Estate Club. Donovan will be returning to Greystar full-time after graduation as a development analyst in their Washington, D.C., office.

William Saye Headshot

William Saye

Fund Manager, Undergraduate Class of 2024

William Saye

William Saye is a member of the undergraduate business program with a concentration in Real Estate as well as a minor in Urban Studies and Planning. Previously, William has worked as a Land Development Intern at the Legion Company and will be joining Montgomery Street Partners as an Investments Analyst in their Dallas, TX office this upcoming summer.

AJ Sciacca

AJ Sciacca

Fund Manager, Undergraduate Class of 2023

AJ Sciacca

AJ Sciacca is a member of the Undergraduate Business Program class of 2023, double concentrating in Real Estate Finance and Investment Management. AJ spent his sophomore summer interning with Ally Financial within their Lending Team in Charlotte, N.C. This previous summer, AJ had an investment banking internship at Bank of America within the Leveraged Finance group in New York, N.Y.

Bennett Wooten

Bennett Wooten

Fund Manager, Undergraduate Class of 2023

Bennett Wooten

Bennett Wooten is a member of the Undergraduate Business Program class of 2023, concentrating in real estate finance. Bennett spent his past summer interning with Crow Holdings on their Real Estate Private Equity team in Dallas, Texas. Previously, he interned for The Preiss Company on their acquisitions and development team in Raleigh, N.C.

Portfolio overview

 

Portfolio summary

Capital raised in millions 18.65
Total funds 5
Fully invested funds 4
Total investments funded 56
Years of investing 15
States in which we invested 18
Unique LPs 147
Fund managers since inception 145

Portfolio by property type

43% Multifamily
18% Office
7% Self storage
6% Senior housing
6% Retail
5% Hospitality
5% Industrial
3% Mixed-use
3% Condo
1% Land

Assets by geography

16% North Carolina
13% Georgia
13% Texas
7% Pennsylvania
6% Florida
6% Maryland
6% New York
5% Colorado
4% South Carolina
4% Illinois
4% Tennessee
4% District of Columbia
3% Wisconsin
3% Virginia
2% Minnesota
2% New Mexico
2% Oregon
1% New Jersey