LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Applied Real Intelligence (“A.R.I.”), an emerging venture debt investment manager, has released Private Debt – A Solution for Lagging U.S. Pension Investment Performance. The new white paper for institutional investors was co-authored by Zack Ellison, A.R.I.’s Managing General Partner and Chief Investment Officer, and A.R.I. Advisory Board Member Guy Pinkman, a two-time Presidential Appointee to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Advisory Committee and Trustee for the City of Lincoln Nebraska Police & Fire Pension.
“U.S. defined benefit pension plans are woefully underfunded and there are few viable near-term solutions other than improving investment performance. In response, pension managers have been increasing allocations to private debt, specifically direct corporate loans to middle market and lower middle market companies,” said Zack Ellison.
“Direct loans possess many features that are attractive to pension investors, including: 1) High risk-adjusted returns; 2) Steady cash income; 3) Portfolio diversification; 4) Capital preservation; and 5) Inflation protection. Within direct lending, venture debt may have the highest risk-adjusted return of any strategy over the past 15 years. A.R.I. estimates that non-bank venture debt lenders returned over 20% annually from 2005 to 2019 with loss rates less than 0.50% annualized,” continued Ellison.
This latest A.R.I. white paper coincides with a two-part CAIA Info Series on Pensions, co-hosted with CAIA SoCal, where Mr. Ellison serves as a Board Member. Session 1, Solutions for Optimizing U.S. Pension Structures, is available for replay at this link. To register for Session 2, Private Credit Strategies to Enhance Pension Returns, on March 2nd please click here. The diverse speaker lineup includes Cheryl Alston, Zack Ellison, Von Hughes, Ray Joseph, Russell Kamp, Guy Pinkman, Jasmine Richards, and Blair Smith.
About Applied Real Intelligence LLC (“A.R.I.”)
A.R.I. is a venture debt investment manager focused on providing financing solutions to innovative, high-growth, VC-backed companies operating in recession-resistant sectors and underserved regions throughout North America. To view A.R.I.’s previous white paper Venture Debt: 10 Things to Know click here. To view the latest issue of A.R.I.’s “UNCOMMON CENT$” newsletter click here. To learn more please visit https://www.arivc.com/.
