NBA Sacramento Kings co-owners to ramp up RE offering on new platform

Ulan Harrison-Davies

25 OCT 2021

RAJ Capital expects to bring new emerging managers and initiatives in the next few months

RAJ Capital, the investment office of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings co-owners, will offer real estate investment solutions to alternative-focused investors with the launch of its new Revitate platform.

The firm has recently launched its $100m commercial real estate fund, Revitate Cherry Tree MultifamilyFund I, which is the first of a series of investment opportunities set to be on offer to investors.

The Revitate Cherry Tree partnership is a joint venture with real estate professional and founder of CherryTree Capital Partners, Chris Marsh. This initiative will focus on expanding multifamily workforce housing in the Midwestern and Sun Belt regions.

Cherry Tree is a niche real estate operator focused on the acquisition, repositioning, management and development of multifamily assets across key markets in the US. It aims to preserve long-term, affordable housing options for communities, selectively provide them with educational learn centres, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors.

The Revitate real estate solution falls under the firm’s private placement private equity options, alongside consumer products and sports. The strategies will be managed by a combination of internal and external managers, some of whom have been appointed and additional hires still in the pipeline.

The Revitate launch is expected to lead to new emerging manager hires within the next few months, in addition to further initiatives.

It will also mark the strategic reposition of RAJ Capital from a single-family office structure to a scalable and diversified investment management platform.

Institutions, family offices, private bank wealth management advisors and RIA’s will all have access to the Revitate platform.

Alex Bhathal, founder and managing partner of RAJ Capital, said that the platform is targeting UHNW andHNW investors with an AuM of $10m or more. He expects Revitate to attract investors seeking income, growth and preservation of capital with a focus on after-tax returns.

Revitate’s core focus is to integrate creative strategies for social, economic and environmental impact into its activities. It expects to reach several billion dollars in assets under management.

Kunal Merchant, chief operating officer, will be leading the transition and launch. He is an experienced executive with a background in business, sports, real estate, public service and social enterprise.

Manager selection

The Revitate model centres around supporting ‘talented’ emerging managers with strong track records throughout market cycles. The firm is looking for managers with proven strong performance and an ability to build and retain a deep bench of talent.

The firm also requires direct availability, access and communications with managers, in addition to ESG considerations.

Red flags include strategies that are not unique or are easily commoditised. Strategies with a limited or poor track record and managers with a lack of depth in the team that runs the strategy are unappealing.

The California-based firm’s investment committee is responsible for all manager selection and asset allocation decisions. The committee is composed of the firm’s principals, including managing partner Alex Bhathal, chief impact officer Lisa Bhathal Merage and chief operations officer Kunal Merchant. The principals each bring their own ‘deep and direct experience’ in the investment strategies on offer.

Successful managers will receive ‘flexible growth capital’ and operating support to up their success in the space.

Additional initiatives

In addition to Revitate Cherry Tree, the platform has a second private equity-focused initiative, Revitate Sport. This fund aims to generate greater value, innovation and social impact through investments inprofessional sport, properties and ventures within private equity.

The firm plans to build out several additional strategies and funds as it grows, however, it will debut with the launch of the Revitate Cherry Tree and Revitate Sports funds.

Within the next three years, the firm hopes to further expand its investment platform with offerings in the verticals where they have expertise, including real estate, sports and consumer brands.

The firm is unable to provide REFI with an asset allocation breakdown as this is set by each individual investor/advisor. The firm declined to comment when asked about its AuM figure.

Founded in 2006 by brother and sister Bhathal and Bhathal Merage, RAJ Capital was initially built as the family’s investment office. The Bhathal family are best known as the co-owners of the NBA’s SacramentoKings and for their success within the swimwear arena with RAJ Swim.