Armada ETF Advisors, a REIT-specialised asset manager, and Arialgo Ltd, a REIT-specialised Machine Learning data analytics company, have jointly announced plans to merge companies to deliver leading technology-driven solutions to REIT investors.
Phil Bak from the Armada team will serve as CEO of the joint entity. Arialgo’s Roni Appel and Assaf Zeevi will serve as COO and CSO respectively. REIT industry veterans Al Otero and David Auerbach will serve as Managing Directors.
“Our goal is to build the leading REIT-focused asset management firm. To accomplish this, we must have the deepest possible understanding of REIT valuations, their drivers and their cycles. Arialgo has built machine learning models that accomplish just that, putting us and our clients years ahead of anyone else in the industry,” says Phil Bak.
“The market for data science-driven solutions in the REIT sector is underserved. There is a growing need for advanced platforms and products which provide better transparency and improved portfolio outcomes for REIT investors,” says Roni Appel, CEO of Arialgo. “Armada ETF Advisors is the perfect partner to deliver the benefits of our sophisticated and holistic platform to the global REIT market through a broad range of smart investment products.”
Arialgo’s machine learning REIT valuation models were developed by Roni Appel and Assaf Zeevi, Professor and holder of the Kravis chair at the Graduate School of Business and member of the Data Science Institute, Columbia University. The firm writes that Professor Zeevi is recognised for his thought leadership in the areas of machine learning and data science.
Armada ETF Advisors launched its flagship ETF, the Residential REIT Income ETF (Ticker: HAUS) in 2022. The firm writes that the combined entity will be supported by a high-profile, sector-specific Advisory Board and board members with extensive experience across the residential housing market, publicly-traded REITs and ETFs. Members include Armada Founder and Chairman, Justin Goldberg, Principal of Navarino Property; Christopher H. Volk, Founder and former CEO of STORE Capital Corporation; Richard Adler, Founder and former Senior Advisor at Ell Capital Management, Inc.; John W. Guinee III., former Managing Director at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc; Robert Ivanhoe, Vice Chair of Greenberg Traurig, LLP Senior Chairman of the Global Real Estate Practice, and Co-Chair of the REIT Practice; Prof. Scott Robinson, a Professor of Finance at the Schack Institute of Real Estate; and David Z. Hirsh, former Managing Director at Blackstone.
