Walker & Dunlop, Inc. recently announced that two years after acquiring alternative investment manager JCR Capital Investment Corporation, the firm is rebranding as Walker & Dunlop Investment Partners, Inc. (WDIP). Sam Isaacson, who previously served as managing director leading the firm’s investment teams, has been promoted to president and will lead WDIP’s daily operations in the Denver office.
Jay Rollins, co-founder of JCR and former managing partner and president, has been named chairman of the board of WDIP. He and Co-Founder, Maren Steinberg, will continue to serve on WDIP’s Board of Directors, participate on all fund investment committees, provide strategic guidance to the organization, and manage the existing JCR-branded funds, including JCR Funds III, IV, and V.
“Walker & Dunlop acquired JCR Capital with the goal of expanding the products and services we provide to our clients, and to build an $8-10 billion investment management business,” said Willy Walker, chairman & CEO of Walker & Dunlop. “The rebranding to WDIP marks the natural progression for this business as we continue to integrate JCR’s operations into W&D and rapidly grow assets under management.” Walker continued, “Jay Rollins and Maren Steinberg have done a terrific job integrating JCR into Walker & Dunlop, and I’m excited to see Sam step into his new role as president of Walker & Dunlop Investment Partners.”
Jay Rollins commented, “Being part of Walker & Dunlop has given JCR access to a strong balance sheet, introductions to new clients and investors, and real-time market data from Walker & Dunlop’s $100 billion servicing portfolio and $30 billion in annual debt originations – making us a better investor. As founders of this firm, Maren and I will pivot our day-to-day activities to focusing on the legacy portfolios, while the senior management team under Sam’s direction will focus on growing the company to new, exciting heights. We are excited to continue to support the team by sitting on the board of the company and serving on the future funds’ investment committees.”
“WDIP will stay true to the ‘JCR way’ of investing and partnering with quality middle-market sponsors of multiple property types nationwide and investing throughout the capital stack to generate attractive risk adjusted returns in all market cycles,” stated WDIP President Sam Isaacson. “We will employ hallmark JCR features of quality sponsor partnerships, disciplined credit underwriting, and robust control and decision rights to allow for active asset management.” Isaacson continued, “The DNA of JCR and its vision remain unchanged – we seek to be the premier investment manager focused on middle-market real estate finance and to provide our investors a range of investment opportunities across the risk-return spectrum.”
During Isaacson’s tenure as managing director and lead portfolio manager, he has been responsible for managing JCR’s capital deployment and underwriting for three equity and debt vehicles totaling approximately $600 million in real estate investments. Rollins, Steinberg, and Isaacson will all continue to be based in Walker & Dunlop’s Denver office, along with CEO Willy Walker.
