Neo Alternative Asset Managers plots ₹2,000-crore realty debut with Walton Street veterans

Bengaluru: At a time when global geopolitical tensions are making foreign investors cautious, Neo Alternative Asset Managers is doubling down on domestic credit with plans to raise ₹1,500-2,000 crore for its maiden real estate fund, its managing director Kaushik Desai told Mint in an interview. The category-II alternative investment fund (AIF) will largely offer credit to residential real estate developers across tier 1 and tier 2 cities, he said.Earlier this week, Neo Alternative Asset Managers said it had ventured into real estate, bringing aboard Kaushik Desai, Vinit Prabhugaonkar, and Vimal Jangla, the former senior leadership team at Walton Street India, to anchor its real estate investment platform.The three bring with them more than two decades of experience in real estate investing, asset management, and structured financing.

During their tenure at Walton Street India, the team managed and advised on more than $650 million across more than 100 projects, successfully exiting a major portion of those investments with strong internal rates of return (IRR).The alternatives arm of Neo Group operates across private equity, private credit, and infrastructure (real assets). Neo Group, a wealth and asset management firm based in Mumbai, is backed by Peak XV Partners, Japan’s MUFG, New York’s Euclidean Capital, and TVS Group.

It has ₹1 trillion of assets under management (AUM).“We are still finalising the strategy of the first real estate fund. We plan to launch it this year after the necessary approvals.