NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- J.P. Morgan Asset Management - Global Real Assets today announced it is serving as investment manager for Samsung SRA Asset Management's first U.S. office mezzanine debt fund. Samsung SRA, the real estate asset management subsidiary of Samsung Life Insurance, launched the fund to provide Korean institutional investors access to mezzanine debt on stable core office assets in six U.S. central business districts - New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, DC and Los Angeles.

Samsung SRA surpassed its targeted capital raise of $200 million and closed the fund at $270 million. With J.P. Morgan Asset Management as a local manager, the fund expects to deploy the full capital raised in less than a year by acquiring fixed-rate mezzanine notes of up to $150 million, with a loan-to-value ratio of up to 65%. The Fund has already closed its first investment, a $108.5mm subordinate debt position on a Class A office tower in Chicago.

"This partnership with J.P. Morgan Asset Management marks a new phase of growth for us as we build on our successes in global real estate investing with our first commingled mezzanine debt fund," said Young Chai, CIO at Samsung SRA. "J.P. Morgan Global Real Assets' unparalleled reputation, on-the-ground teams and in-house experts will help maximize deal access and accelerate underwriting speed, thereby delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for our investors."

"The fund's over subscription points to the attractiveness of Samsung SRA's real estate investment track record, as well as its well-timed strategy in a yield-starved marketplace," said Candace Chao, Head of Mezzanine Acquisitions for J.P. Morgan Asset Management - Global Real Assets. "Mezzanine debt can help provide investors the yield and diversification they seek, as well as tax-efficient exposure to the U.S. real estate market for non-U.S. investors."

Established in 2012, Samsung SRA has been an active investor in real estate equity and debt in the US, Europe and Korea on behalf of both Korean and international investors, with a net AUM of over $2 billion. J.P. Morgan Asset Management - Global Real Assets has $61 billion in U.S. real estate assets under management, including $17.4 billion in asset-level debt.

About J.P. Morgan Asset Management - Global Real Assets
J.P. Morgan Asset Management - Global Real Assets has more than $95 billion in assets under management and more than 400 professionals in 20 offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, as of June 30, 2016. With a 45-plus year history of successful investing, J.P. Morgan Asset Management - Global Real Assets' broad capabilities provide many of the world's most sophisticated investors with a global platform of real estate, infrastructure and transportation strategies driven by local investment talent with disciplined investment processes consistently implemented across asset types and regions. For more information: jpmorgan.com/institutional/global_real_assets

About J.P. Morgan Asset Management
J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with assets under management of $1.8 trillion, is a global leader in investment management. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's clients include institutions, retail investors and high net worth individuals in every major market throughout the world. J.P. Morgan Asset Management offers global investment management in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds, private equity and liquidity. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), the parent company of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is a leading global asset management firm with assets of approximately $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is the marketing name for the asset management businesses of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates worldwide.

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SOURCE J.P. Morgan Asset Management