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Juan Carlos Moreno is an industry trailblazer in private equity and real estate investments, with a career spanning over 16 years marked by relentless drive and leadership. With more than a decade of experience, he possesses exceptional management skills and insights to maximize returns in the industry. Currently, Mr. Moreno is spearheading Yellowstone Capital Partners, a Colombian and US-based sustainable investment firm.
A well-qualified professional with an MBA from IE Business School in Madrid, Mr. Moreno also holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Mathematical Finance from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota.
The Beginning of a Successful Career
Mr. Moreno embarked on his professional journey in the 1990s as a teenage blue-collar worker. He learned the value of hard manual labor by working during the summers on his grandfather’s cattle ranch in the Colombian llanos basin and washing cars in the USA. After graduating high school, he enlisted to serve in the Colombian military as an infantryman and was deployed to the Sinai desert on a peacekeeping mission on the border with Gaza and Israel. Back in Bogota, he attended engineering school and studied mathematical finance. Upon graduation, he worked for over four years as a junior investment banker at a leading US-based private equity firm, focusing on buying and selling companies in diverse strategic growth sectors during the Colombian boom years. After that, he joined the family business, which is one of the largest homebuilders in Colombia, to learn about real estate development. In 2013, Mr. Moreno alongside his partners laid the foundation for Yellowstone. The firm has since grown into a Pan-American institutional capital platform managing USD$1.3 billion in AUM, with offices in Bogota and San Francisco and a team of 25 investment professionals that have executed over 62 investments across 5 generations of active funds.
Evolving Leadership Approach
While working at his family’s business, Mr. Moreno gained invaluable insights into real estate from his father, a visionary in the field. In parallel, he learned high finance and strategy from his mentor Luis Fernando Ramirez, the President of Yellowstone, and a legendary figure in the industry, as well as Julio Ortiz, his brilliant partner who oversaw M&A dealmaking.
Mr. Moreno has learned that leadership is a process of self-development. He believes that the primary role of a leader is to make themselves replaceable, build up the next generation of leaders, and let others shine. He believes competence alone is not enough; instead building real trust and strong loyalty is essential to connect with the team and motivate them to take risks. “I believe empowerment and delegation through leading by example from the front line in the trenches is key,” quips Mr. Moreno.
Maintaining a Balance Between Short-Term and Long-term Goals
“Throughout the past 5 generations of funds navigating diverse economic cycles, market conditions, and political climates, we have learned that real estate is the new gold and the best investment on earth is earth; they aren’t making it anymore,” says Mr. Moreno. The firms core strategy focuses on buying land at significantly below market rates to patiently monetize through different real estate uses while generating early distributions across self-liquidating strategies such as for-sale residential real estate. This is balanced by long-term stable cash flows through income-generating assets.
An Edge Over the Peers
Sustainability and generating a positive impact on the community are at the core of the Yellowstone investment strategy. Since the origins of the firm, the leaders have begun investing to develop their sustainable communities of the future by focusing on attainable housing to support the most vulnerable families in fulfilling their dream of owning a home. Yellowstone was the first Colombian private equity fund to become a signatory to PRI, and its entire portfolio of assets is either LEED or EDGE-certified. They also have a proprietary in-house program to support the strategic ally developers in the execution and implementation of sustainable strategies and community creation for the portfolio assets.
Remarkable Projects at Yellowstone: At a Glance
Yellowstone has undertaken impactful, iconic, legacy, and trophy projects by investing sustainably in communities across Colombia and the USA. For instance, the company has invested in two pioneering large-scale projects in Lagos de Torca, renowned as the Bogota of the future, aimed at developing 15,000 homes targeting the growing working and emerging middle class in a new master-planned city that aims to recover the connection between the community and the environment. Another significant investment in its portfolio is the urban regeneration project of 3 city blocks in Bogota’s most exclusive neighborhood to develop a 24-hour sustainable city-core community with mixed-uses in residential, retail, cultural, offices, and hotels to live, work, and play in the same place.
The Transition from Military to Private Equity and Real Estate Investments
Military service was mandatory in Colombia during Mr. Moreno’s youth. Instead of bypassing or viewing it as an obligation, Mr. Moreno decided to take the less traveled route outside his privileged comfort zone and see it as a respected opportunity to build discipline, stress tolerance, resilience, and strength, and test himself while serving his country with honor, at a time when Colombia was at a civil war with guerrilla militias. With a strong affinity for math, science, and economics, Mr. Moreno discovered a natural aptitude for numbers. His military experience reinforced the importance of leveraging his strengths, leading him to pursue a career in finance where he could apply his skills effectively.
The Newest Trends in Investments and Private Equity
Some of the latest trends shaping the future of sustainable investments and private equity include:
- Increased focus on ESG criteria.
- Integration of climate risk.
- More transparent and standardized regulatory and reporting requirements.
- Rise of Impact Investing, as well as new metrics and tools for assessing impact.
- Advances in technology, such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics
- Focus on diversity and inclusion.
- In the market for sustainable finance products, such as green bonds and sustainability-linked loans, investors are shifting towards strategies that emphasize long-term value creation rather than short-term gains; this approach aligns with sustainable investment principles, focusing on resilience and sustainable growth.
- There’s a growing trend towards collaboration among investors, companies, and stakeholders to drive sustainability.
- Increasing consumer demand for sustainable products and services is influencing investment decisions.
These trends reflect a broader shift towards integrating sustainability into the core of investment strategies and business operations, driven by both market forces and regulatory pressures.
Overcoming the Hurdles Like a Pro!
Mr. Moreno faced significant challenges in his career, especially when it came to stepping outside his comfort zone while facing social pressure. After high school, while many of his friends were applying to elite universities, he decided to join the military instead of pursuing further education. Despite being warned by many that this move was risky, foolish, and a waste of time, he stayed with his decision. Mr. Moreno was privileged with the opportunity to follow a comfortable and secure career at his core family business, but instead, he decided to focus on Yellowstone, respectfully building his path in life while continuing to add value to the family’s legacy in an alternative external way. “All these hurdles taught me the invaluable lesson to continue moving forward confidently and humbly in the direction of your dreams while ignoring the naysayers,” pinpoints Mr. Moreno.
The Future Outlook
“We are honored, humbled, and thankful for the continued trust and support of our investors, strategic allies, and winning team,” shares Mr. Moreno proudly. Looking forward, Yellowstone’s long-term goal is to continue developing sustainable communities of the future by fighting 24/7 for investors while expanding Yellowstone globally through access to unique capital preservation-tailored investment solutions with early liquidity, contributing to fulfilling the dream of hardworking families to own a home. The firm recently launched its Fund V with a target size of $600 million, to continue replicating its proven private credit capital preservation strategy in the U.S.A.
