Yards Capital , an alternative asset manager with R$3.4 billion under management, is launching a real estate division. The new strategy aims to capitalize on a unique moment of good, discounted properties in the real estate market.
The area is already starting with assets originated by the management company with a market value of over R$ 800 million, an amount that Yards intends to raise next year with the launch of funds.
“We are in a period of high interest rates for a very prolonged time, and this puts us in one of the biggest buy markets in history, like 2008. We managed to buy mature assets at the origination price, and we want to ride this wave,” says Guilherme Vilazante, manager and head of real estate at Yards, to NeoFeed.
Vilazante joined Yards to lead the new area. With over 20 years of market experience, including stints at BTG Pactual, Barclays, and Bank of America, he also served as a partner and CFO of a multifamily company (residential real estate development for rent). He has also participated in 14 IPOs and six CRI issuances.
The real estate area will follow two main strategies. The primary one will be the urban redevelopment approach, a retrofit segment. This involves utilizing urban zoning regulations in São Paulo and other cities to add value to developments. The firm already has over 30 projects under review.
Another strategy is the incorporation of land for development, with flexible mandates to operate in different segments and take advantage of price opportunities. The management company already has assets in São Paulo, Florianópolis, and Recife.
The idea now, with the area structured, is to take these assets already acquired by the management company and structure them into funds with capital also from third parties, always maintaining a portion of equity capital. The first segment to be targeted will be the institutional market, and later, the retail market.
Yards is structuring two multi-strategy real estate funds, one high-grade and the other high-yield, which are expected to be offered in the first quarter of 2026, with the goal of raising between R$400 million and R$600 million in each fund.
"Multi-strategy funds have gained market share because they don't tie managers to mandates and allow them to act as hedge funds, seeing all opportunities for profit to maximize it," says Vilazante.
Yards Capital, founded in 2023, has been establishing itself as an alternative investment firm. However, its goal is to position itself as a multi-strategy firm and it is already planning a liquid funds division for 2026.
And for that, they brought in a new CIO, Ricardo Andrade. With 20 years of experience in the financial market and stints at Itaú , Credit Suisse, and Angra Partners. He has also worked as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and Booz & Company.
Ricardo is taking over the entire investment team, which grew from five to 14 people last month, and the expectation is to double in size by May 2026.
The asset manager has an Infrastructure area with FIPs (Private Equity Investment Funds) focused on logistics and agribusiness, participation in concessions, PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships) and Oil and Gas; Special Situations, with participation in companies in judicial reorganization or financial restructuring and real estate developers with liquidity problems; and now a real estate area.
