After living in seven different countries, Saif Kureishi ’20 is taking his passion for finance and real estate to an eighth, the United Kingdom. The physics major, who also earned minors in math and global Asia studies, will be working for Lacarne Capital, a newly established real estate private equity firm, backed by AllianceBernstein in London. Lacarne has helped to provide clients with attractive risk-adjusted returns and exposure to the European real estate market.
“I will be underwriting real estate debt across the capital structure, with a specific focus on mezzanine debt,” he said. “In simpler terms, I’m providing financing for real estate, and companies secured on real estate.”
Kureishi developed the necessary skills for this new job via his coursework at both Haverford and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he took classes in his junior and senior years as a part of the Quaker Consortium.
Looking back on his time at Haverford fondly, he reflected, “My liberal arts education has helped me develop a broad and eclectic analytical mindset, which is important for understanding all of the potential risks of a real estate debt investment: from thinking about global events, politics, and flows of capital all the way down to where new subway stops will be built,” Most succinctly, he noted, “Haverford has provided me with the skills to analyze investments from multiple different perspectives.”
In particular, Kureishi credits Professor Oh, who both ignited his passion for politics through a “Chinese Foreign Policy” senior seminar, and encouraged the development of his analytical mindset. He was greatly inspired by Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Daniel Grin, with whom he collaborated as both a physics student and an academic advisee.
In addition to what he learned during his Haverford education, Kureishi has prepared for his entry into the world of real estate by working as an intern at Tyndaris, another private equity firm, for the previous two summers, where he first learned how to finance real estate deals.
Having completed a holistic liberal arts education, he now feels prepared to enter the workforce, pursue his interests, and put his education to use. He is also looking forward to settling down in London.
“To live in another fantastic cosmopolitan city and make that my base will be amazing,” he said.
“I believe we live in a fundamentally different world than from a few months ago, and so learning about and understanding how this new world operates will be a fun and interesting challenge,” he said. “There are a lot of market dislocations and opportunities for restructuring and refinancing which will be intellectually stimulating given the various complexities involved.”
“Where They’re Headed” is a blog series reporting on the post-collegiate plans of recent Haverford graduates.