Angel Rafael Arroyo

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Angel Rafael Arroyo Suárez (born January 4, 1971) is an American businessman who lives in the State of Florida. He has extensive experience in commercial real estate, finance, construction, and agriculture. Also, he holds the distinction of being a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM).

Early Life and Education

Arroyo was born in Ponce, Puerto, Rico. He traveled to North Florida during the summers as a young boy, working in his family’s agricultural and construction businesses. Arroyo moved to Florida in 1988 to start his college career at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). He stayed at FIT for one year before enrolling at the University of Florida (UF), where in 1993, he earned an Associate of Arts (AA) and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) with majors in Finance and Economics. In 1995, Arroyo obtained his Master of Business Administration (MBA) with concentrations in Finance and International Business from Rollins College's Crummer School of Business. While earning his MBA, Arroyo completed externships at Fiat (Turin, Italy), Tupperware (Mexico City, Mexico), and American Express Advisors (Orlando, Florida). In 2022, Arroyo obtained his Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida.

Career

In 1989, Arroyo began his real estate career as Vice President and Director of Acquisitions/Dispositions for a family-owned business in North Florida that specialized in agricultural real estate.

Arroyo joined MIG Realty Advisors, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, as a financial analyst in January 1996. Later, he was promoted to Senior Acquisitions Associate. In 1998, Associated Estates Realty Corporation (a public REIT previously traded in the NYSE: "AEC") acquired MIG Realty Advisors. During the transition, Arroyo became the Senior Acquisitions Manager/Director of Acquisitions for both companies, making him (at age 28) the youngest Director of Acquisitions of any public REIT traded in the NYSE. In this role, Arroyo was responsible for finding, analyzing, and negotiating the closing of real estate transactions valued in the billions of dollars (mostly on behalf of pension funds/institutional investors). As a pension fund advisor at MIG and subsequently at Banyan Realty Advisors, Arroyo helped retirement systems for teachers, firefighters, and police officers allocate real estate investments and create strategies to benefit pensioners.

Arroyo’s expertise in the underwriting of "income producing" properties (stabilized, forward contracts, and development deals) has been derived from the analysis of thousands of properties in numerous states in the United States.

In February 2003, Arroyo joined Banyan Realty Advisors, LLC (an SEC Registered Investment Advisor) as the Senior Asset Manager and Director of Acquisitions to help expand the company's successful management track record for private, non-profit owners and institutional clients. Arroyo also serves as Vice President of AGPM, LLC (Banyan's property management division).

Along with Lou Vogt, Scott Zimmerman, and others, Arroyo served as an advisor to a group of American and British investors from 2004-2008 who, through mergers and acquisitions of several companies, created the second-largest multifamily property management company in the United States. This lengthy process of mergers and acquisitions of several property management companies resulted in the creation of Riverstone Residential Group, which ultimately merged with Greystar Real Estate Partners. In 2017-2018, Arroyo was part of the team (along with Lou Vogt, Scott Zimmerman, and others) that merged a portion of the private multifamily portfolio held by Banyan and its affiliates with Starwood Property Trust.

Arroyo considers commercial real estate as an alternative investment vehicle to stocks and bonds to diversify investment portfolios in order to maximize total returns. Commercial real estate is one of the few investment vehicles that requires the implementation of all types of business strategies, including marketing, management, accounting, strategic planning, information systems, finance, macroeconomics, and microeconomics. These varied business approaches require knowledge, experience, and strategies well beyond investments in brick and mortar.

Additionally, Arroyo was one of the pioneers in the acquisition of General Partnership Interests in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties by legitimizing this market as equivalent to the purchase of derivatives through opportunity funds (equivalent to hedge funds) to increase the returns compared with fee simple real estate investments. Arroyo utilized the strategies learned in the acquisitions and dispositions of real estate income producing properties to create new strategies in the mergers and acquisitions arena (and vice versa).

Since 2003, Arroyo has been a Principal of AGPM, LLC, and Banyan Realty Advisors, LLC. He is responsible for asset management, property acquisition, managing member interests, acquisition of land, and equity investments. Banyan Realty Advisors, AGPM and its affiliates (private companies) own and operate thousands of affordable and market-rate multifamily housing units in nine states.

Arroyo has served actively in advisory roles for real estate. He has been a guest speaker and Advisory Board Member of The Kelley A. Bergstrom Real Estate Center at the University of Florida since 2002, making him one of the longest serving Advisory Board Members at the Center. The Bergstrom Real Estate Center facilitates the exchange of education and information among real estate researchers, academics, students, and industry leaders. Currently, he is a member of the Chairman's Circle of the Advisory Board. Established in 2009, the Chairman’s Circle provides a place for senior executives in the real estate industry the opportunity the contribute at a higher level to the program and Center[1].

Philanthropy

Throughout his professional career, Arroyo has been active in giving his time and money to charitable organizations. He is a staunch supporter of Family Church (First Baptist Church) of West Palm Beach, Florida, which is a network of neighborhood churches in South Florida[2]. As healthcare is important to Arroyo, he supports numerous organizations that provide vital health care services. One organization is an international family of charities, known as the Order of St. John, Priory in the USA. They have hospitals and provide First Aid and medical responses to more than 21,000 members globally through 11 Priories[3]. Arroyo also supports Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA, and the Christian Veterinary Mission, Seattle, WA. Additionally, Arroyo supports Red Sneakers for Oakley, which is a nonprofit that educates and advocates for food allergy awareness; it was formed after 11-year old Oakley had a fatal reaction to a mild nut allergy[4].

Arroyo also strongly supports the University of Florida Foundation, which connects private donors with their passions at UF[5]. Arroyo, his partners, and affiliated companies started and sponsor The Treehouse Foundation in Orlando, FL[6]; this foundation provides free social services, residential programming, and information to assist managers in affordable housing with helping residents become self-sufficient.

Personal Life

Angel Rafael Arroyo is married to Dr. Irma I. Morales-Arroyo. He met his wife, a fellow UF graduate and veterinarian, in 1990 at the University of Florida. They have one daughter, Camilla. Since 1988, Arroyo has lived in Brevard, Columbia, Alachua, Orange, and Palm Beach Counties. Arroyo and his family have been residents of the Town of Palm Beach since 2004. Arroyo is fully bilingual, speaking and writing fluently in English and Spanish.

References[edit]

[1] https://warrington.ufl.edu/real-estate-center/2022

[2] https://gofamilychurch.org/locations/downtown-west-palm-beach-church/

[3] https://www.saintjohn.org/#more

[4] https://www.redsneakers.org/

[5] https://www.uff.ufl.edu/foundation/

[6] https://www.thetreehousefoundation.org/home

External links[edit]

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