NYC's Guardian Commits $200M to Lowe Unit

LOS ANGELES-Locally based Lowe Enterprises Investors and New York City’s Guardian Life Insurance Co. have formed a venture in which Guardian has allocated $200 million to expand Lowe’s investment activities by investing alongside clients and partners of LEI, which is the investment management subsidiary of Lowe Enterprises. Guardian will acquire a substantial but non-controlling interest in LEI, which will continue to be managed on a day-to-day basis by Brad Howe and Bleecker Seaman, both with the title of co-CEO.

Howe says in a prepared statement that the partnership with Guardian “positions us to take advantage of the recovery of the real estate market and will allow us to better serve our clients by improving our capital resources.” Tom Sorell, executive vice president and chief investment officer of Guardian, says, “We view this as an opportune time to invest in real estate with a partner that has a strong, long-term record of performance in identifying compelling investment opportunities that will provide attractive returns for our policyholders.”