400 Capital Management, a $4.4 billion alternative credit asset manager, hired Quinn R. Barton III to expand its investments in commercial real estate finance. Barton, formerly a managing partner at Carmel Partners, is joining 400 Capital Management as a senior portfolio manager of CRE and CMBS, focusing on originating, structuring and trading all performing and non-performing CRE-related loans and securities.
“With interest rates near zero, institutional investors, including pension funds and endowments, are turning to alternative credit for income and higher rates of return that they can no longer get in public markets,” Chris Hentemann, managing partner and chief investment officer of 400 Capital Management, said. “It is exciting to be able to welcome a former colleague to the 400CM team. Quinn has three decades of experience in commercial real estate banking and his expertise will be invaluable in finding opportunities to take advantage of the stresses we see emerging in the commercial property market, including office, hospitality, retail and multifamily.”
As of October, approximately 10.3% of loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities have been assigned to special servicers for workouts, an increase to the pre-COVID-19 environment, according to Trepp, a provider of data, analytics and technology solutions. Some industries such as retail and lodging are seeing the highest rates of special servicing on record.
“The universe of distressed real estate assets has ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Barton said. “I’m excited to work with the 400CM team to identify and capitalize on the significant investment opportunities created by the dislocation in the structured credit markets as well as the significant changes in commercial real estate that are likely to last for years to come.”
Prior to joining Carmel, Barton was a managing director and head of commercial mortgage-backed securities trading for Bank of America Securities in New York, where he oversaw loan pricing, new issue CMBS bond syndication, secondary trading and subordinate-B-note and mezzanine distribution.
