JER Investors Trust Inc. / JRT

About JER Investors Trust Inc.

1650 Tysons Blvd., Suite 1600, McLean, Va. 22102
www.jer.com | 703-714-8000 | Founded: 2004

Industry: Financial Services | Category: Top 100 Companies

The company's strategy is to purchase debt backed by commercial real estate, much of it complex forms of financing called "structured finance." The debt products it buys include commercial mortgage-backed securities, hybrids of debt and equity called mezzanine loans, bridge loans and preferred equity. It aims to use its staff's knowledge of the real estate business to find instances in which the market has miscalculated the risk of a given type of debt and then profit from those miscalculations.
In 2006, the company bought $675 million in debt, primarily in commercial mortgage-backed securities and commercial real estate loans, which have been performing better than securities backed by residential loans. It now holds $790 million in commercial mortgage-backed securities, making it the third-largest buyer of the security. It also holds $288 million in commercial real estate loans.
Profit reached $31.7 million in 2006, compared with $19.6 million in 2005. Shares hit an all-time high of $21.57 near the end of 2006 after going public in 2005 at $17.75 per share. Like other firms invested primarily in mortgage-backed securities, the company took a hit as the sector suffered from the downturn in residential subprime mortgages in February and early March. Within weeks, however, the company's shares had recovered much of those losses. The company reports having no employees because it is managed by an affiliate of J.E. Robert Co.
In May 2006, Mark S. Weiss was named president of JER Investors Trust and a managing director of J.E. Robert. Weiss was managing director for commercial and residential mortgage originations and securitizations at Goldman Sachs.

2007 Financial Data

Total employees: None | Local employees: None