FIRST CITIZENS INSTITUTIONAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC

Thesis

First Citizens Institutional Asset Management, LLC (FCIM) is the asset management division of First Citizens BancShares, a bank holding company. FCIM manages assets for institutional clients like endowments, foundations, and retirement plans, and also oversees the bank's investment portfolio. Their investment thesis centers on a multi-asset framework including public equities, fixed income, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure, with a specific emphasis on direct lending and real asset strategies. They focus on core and core-plus private credit and direct lending to middle-market companies, prioritizing income-generating assets with contractual cash flows. FCIM explicitly avoids venture and early-stage growth equity. The geographic focus is primarily North America, with a strong emphasis on U.S.-based opportunities. A key differentiator is their ability to leverage the First Citizens Bank's balance sheet for co-investments and capital commitments, accessing deal flow from the bank's lending and corporate banking relationships. They offer Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) and commingled funds, preferring direct investments in private credit, real estate, and infrastructure over commitments to third-party funds. While specific AUM figures are not public, their parent company reported total assets of $219 billion in Q1 2024. The typical check size for their joint venture, Sixty-First Commercial Finance, ranges from $5 million to $100 million for capital equipment financings. FCIM was registered with the SEC on March 20, 2017.

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