Metals Broker Sees Golden Opportunity in Greece

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The deteriorating situation in Greece is scary to a lot of international business owners, but Marin Aleksov isn’t one of them.

Aleksov, chief executive of West L.A. precious metals broker Rosland Capital, opened an office in London a year ago. He said growth over the last 12 months has exceeded expectations, helping him grow to nearly 30 employees from 10. Investors often turn to gold and other precious metals in troubled times.

He said the crisis in Greece, where the government failed to make a payment to the International Monetary Fund and might be leaving the Eurozone, has been particularly good for business. While the gold price hasn’t spiked as much as some might have expected, Aleksov said trading activity is high.

“The volume of buyers and interest is huge,” he said.

He added that whatever the result of a July 5 referendum in which Greek voters were to decide whether to agree to or reject bailout proposals from European authorities, there isn’t going to be any real clarity. Either outcome can lead to new negotiations or an eventual Greek exit from the Eurozone.

“Everyone’s going to wait for a yes or no vote, but the future is uncertain,” Aleksov said. “That’s what helps us – the volatility.”

It’s not only the Greek drama that has been a boon to Rosland’s London operation. He said that the British public is particularly interested in collectible coins, which usually sell for significant premiums over the melt value of the gold contained in them, as opposed to bullion, which trades at gold’s spot price.

“There’s more of a collector mentality,” Aleksov said. “It’s been a very pleasant surprise.”

Aleksov envisions Rosland’s U.K. shop growing to house 80 employees, although he acknowledges that fitting them in an office – given London real estate prices – has been challenging.

“Every millimeter of space is taken,” he said.

He’d eventually like to expand to such countries as Germany and Hong Kong. Aleksov said the demand for a hard asset like gold is likely to continue to grow, as European authorities look likely to inject some more cash to jumpstart the continent’s stagnant economies.

“Everyone’s printing money in Europe,” Aleksov said. “People want something real.”

Beefed Up

Downtown L.A. private lending firm Direct Lending Investments recently named Bryce Mason chief investment officer. Mason was most recently assistant vice chancellor at UC Riverside and before that founded P2P Picks, a credit modeling company that served retail investors involved in peer-to-peer lending.

Direct Lending Chief Executive Brendan Ross said Mason’s hire is part of a plan to prepare the company for the institutional capital he expects to flow in soon.

“In anticipation of having institutional investors, we want to beef up the team,” he said.

A lot of the demand from institutional investors, Ross said, is due to the rock-bottom yields generated by more traditional fixed-income investments, which has incentivized them to look elsewhere. Direct Lending has about $250 million under management, and Ross expects that to double by next year.

“The reason we’re growing is because the hole in their portfolio where fixed income used to be,” he said.

Globetrotting

InnoLink Capital, a West L.A. fund that aims to invest in Israeli life-science startups and connect them with South Korean commercial firms, has just locked in a new man in the Holy Land and some cash from the Mighty Mouse.

Westwood private equity firm Shamrock Capital Advisors, which began as Roy Disney’s investment company, has committed to invest in the fund upon its second close. InnoLink Partner Marc Feldman is a former Shamrock hand.

InnoLink also hired associate Kfir Yechezkiely, who is active in the startup community in the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva.

InnoLink has even lined up its first deal: Biop-Medical, an Israeli startup that has developed a technology that identifies cancerous cells in epithelium tissue, which lines the surfaces and cavities of the body’s organs.

Through Eunse Lee, InnoLink’s Korea-based partner, the firm has established a relationship with Severance Hospital, South Korea’s largest research hospital with nearly 2,500 beds. (It was also the place where U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert was treated after a recent stabbing attack.)

“They’re looking for the next big thing,” Lee said.

C-Suite News

West L.A. real estate crowdfunding platform RealtyMogul has hired Ryan Sakamoto as general counsel. He was previously general counsel and chief administrative officer at downtown L.A. investment firm Wedbush Inc. … Xceed Federal Credit Union in El Segundo has launched a wealth management division, Xceed Wealth Management Group.

Staff reporter Matt Pressberg can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 230.

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