Steve Sapourn is co-founder and portfolio manager at Aloha Capital. He specializes in designing low-risk portfolios that reliably out-perform benchmarks. Steve has managed alternative investments in a variety of asset classes for nearly 25 years. His accomplishments include creating and implementing quantitative trading strategies in the futures, stock, and volatility markets. He’s also served as portfolio manager for a Fund of Funds, where he analyzed hundreds of alternative investment strategies. Steve has deep experience in real estate and a long history of investing in commercial and single-family residential projects. Currently, Steve spends his time designing new lending programs, establishing and overseeing lending guidelines, and handling portfolio risk and asset management. At Aloha, Steve has overseen over 1200 loans in 25 states, with a face amount in excess of $200 million. Steve’s breadth of industry knowledge and experience with volatile markets continue to benefit our partners as we navigate the challenges COVID has introduced to the lending and real estate markets.
We wrapped up 2020 with some positive news from the Federal Reserve on the health of the US banking system. After performing their most recent financial system stress test, the Fed released a statement saying, in part that, “the largest U.S. banks remain strong enough to survive the coronavirus crisis.” They did caveat the statement by saying that if the economic downturn is prolonged, many banks could still be left…
If you’re an investor who loves volatility, 2020 has been a great year, as few asset classes have escaped the turbulence wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. But who really likes seeing their equity gyrate wildly? At Aloha Capital, we’re proud to say that 2020 performance for the Aloha LTD Income Fund has been steady as she goes. Let’s take a deeper look at the turbulence we’ve seen YTD in various…
Real estate markets globally have experienced one of the most tumultuous years on record. The global pandemic has significantly altered both the commercial and residential real estate industries. Some short-term changes will revert, but many others could persist. Investors would be wise to diversify carefully within real estate sectors and markets. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, “The resulting changes in the housing market could have major effects on…
The Pandemic is further fueling residential real estate demand We have been writing for some time about the underlying strength in the residential housing market. Now it appears that the Pandemic may be further fueling that strength. “The housing market is, ironically, benefiting from the coronavirus,” said Ralph DeFranco, global chief economist at Arch Capital Services Inc. “We’re seeing just red-hot demand for both bigger homes but also second homes,…
People often ask us, “why have an investment strategy geared specifically to lending to the residential Fix and Flip real estate market?” Well, there are a lot of good reasons. But one of the most important is that we prefer to ‘be the bank’. We did some research and found that banks have done quite well over the last several hundred years, 2008-2009 aside. Turns out, when it comes to…
One of the most valuable characteristics of holding real estate in an investment portfolio is the opportunity to receive annual dividends and interest. Savvy real estate investors are always seeking better ways to add yield to portfolios. As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal (Commercial REITs for Small Investors See Increasing Demand), large investment firms like the Blackstone Group and Starwood Capital Group have created new commercial real estate funds that target the “average”…
In periods of market uncertainty and volatility, investors often seek the ‘safe-haven’ of US Treasury bonds. This movement of investment capital from equities into bonds often pushes interest rate yields lower. Given that mortgage loan rates are tied to 10-year US treasury bond rates, this ‘flight to safety’ often pushes mortgage interest rates lower as well. We are seeing this dynamic take place again as this election cycle draws to…
One of the most valuable characteristics of holding real estate in an investment portfolio is the opportunity to receive annual dividends and interest. Savvy real estate investors are always seeking better ways to add yield to portfolios. As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal (Commercial REITs for Small Investors See Increasing Demand), large investment firms like the Blackstone Group and Starwood Capital Group have created new commercial real estate…
Most investors tend to picture ‘real estate investing’ in one big category. At Aloha Capital we like to remind investors that real estate comes in many shapes and sizes. Why do we do that? Well, because the varied components that make up real estate investing rarely all move in the same direction at the same time. Some sectors are up, while other sectors are down. It is vitally important to…
In early October, Fannie Mae reported their Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPIS) rose 3.5 points in September, continuing a rapid rebound of consumer confidence in the housing market since the lows brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Fannie Mae: Rapid rebound of consumer housing sentiment continues)”. This increase in consumer sentiment tracks well with the increase in demand we are seeing on the lending side of our business. The obvious…
