Red Stone Equity Partners Deepens Executive Bench Amid Double-Digit Year-Over-Year Growth

News provided by

Jun 29, 2023, 15:10 ET

Elevates Ryan Sfreddo to CEO and Michael Wiggers to President; Founder and CEO Eric McClelland

Transitions to Executive Chairman

NEW YORK, June 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Red Stone Equity Partners LLC ("Red Stone Equity" or the "Company"), a privately-owned real estate finance and investment company specializing in affordable multifamily fund management, announced today that founder and Chief Executive Officer, Eric McClelland, will transition to Executive Chairman, and that Ryan Sfreddo will be promoted from President to CEO and Michael Wiggers from CFO to President & CFO, effective July 1, 2023. These elevations come on the heels of the Company having increased its executive management team from six (6) members to 10 members over the past 18 months, and the Company having achieved record results in 2022.

In his new role, Sfreddo will lead a team of executives in achieving Red Stone Equity's goals and objectives; he will oversee the day-to-day operations of the firm's affordable housing and renewable energy tax equity syndication businesses, strategic initiative implementation, and client relations with the Company's customer base. Most recently, Sfreddo has served as Red Stone Equity's President where he has led the firm's tax equity syndication business, focusing on acquisitions, investor relations and portfolio management. He has 25 years of real estate and affordable housing experience, and has been a member of Red Stone's executive management team since joining the company in 2011. Sfreddo is current Board President of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition and will continue to work out of the Company's New York City office.

In his new role, Wiggers will be responsible for overseeing all financial and operational matters, evaluating Company performance, and managing the Company's overall direction by working closely with the executive management team; he will also continue to oversee human resources, as well as the firm's information technology strategy, planning and implementation. Wiggers has most recently served as Red Stone Equity's CFO where he has overseen the Company's corporate finance and treasury activities, and provided executive leadership over the Company's portfolio management and operations departments. He has 26 years of accounting, real estate and affordable housing experience, and has been a member of Red Stone's executive management team since joining the Company in 2010. He will continue to work out of the Company's Charlotte office.

Red Stone Equity raised $445 million of Low Income Housing Tax Credit ("LIHTC") equity in the first half of 2023, and its various funds invested in 27 underlying affordable housing communities during the same period. Red Stone Equity added an investment in Jackson, WY, increasing the breadth of its investment portfolio to span 47 states, The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Since inception, Red Stone Equity-sponsored investment funds have been used, along with other project-level financing sources, to finance the construction and/or rehabilitation of more than 700 LIHTC properties containing more than 60,000 units of affordable housing and 932 megawatts of stand-alone solar energy installations.

"Building Red Stone Equity into a best-in-class investment management firm with such a talented and collaborative team has been the gift of a lifetime," said McClelland. "My partners and I are thrilled that Ryan and Mike are stepping up and into these important leadership roles. Both of them are incredibly welldeserving of these promotions and were natural choices to lead us forward given their depth and breadth of experiences in tax equity syndication, as well as their countless contributions to our Company's growth and success over the last decade plus. They are the right leaders for Red Stone Equity," added McClelland, who will focus on the Company's strategic planning, corporate development, enterprise growth initiatives and corporate philanthropic activities.

"I want to thank Eric for having the vision and the fortitude to start this incredible Company over 16 years ago," said Sfreddo. "I have been in this transformative and rewarding business of improving underserved communities for 25 years now, and it is with a great sense of responsibility that I step into the CEO role of this purpose-driven organization and working alongside so many talented and passionate colleagues. I am excited to build on our strong footings to further scale Red Stone Equity's ecosystem and drive increased value for all of our stakeholders."

Wiggers added, "Having run multiple LIHTC business units both here at Red Stone Equity and prior to my joining the Company in 2010, I have a deep appreciation for what it takes to lead this Company to the next level. I look forward to working closely with Eric, Ryan and the rest of the leadership team to capitalize on the many opportunities ahead and to usher in Red Stone Equity's next chapter of growth and success."

As part of its first-half 2023 fundraising and investment activities, Red Stone Equity raised $239 million in proprietary/separate account LIHTC fund format, as well as a $206.5 million multi-investor LIHTC fund with the closing of Red Stone Equity – Fund 99 Limited Partnership ("Fund 99") in May. Fund 99 is the 20^th multi-investor LIHTC fund offering to close since the Company's inception and includes investments from 10 different institutional investors, nine of which are repeat Red Stone Equity investors and one of which is a first-time Red Stone Equity investor. Fund 99's proceeds will be used, along with other projectlevel financing sources, to finance the construction and/or rehabilitation of nearly 1,300 units of affordable rental housing contained within 21 properties located across 13 different states.

About Red Stone Equity Partners LLC

Red Stone Equity Partners LLC ("Red Stone Equity") is a leading real estate investment firm specializing in the syndication of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Renewable Energy Tax Credits to facilitate the development of affordable multifamily rental housing and renewable energy projects, respectively. Red Stone Equity prioritizes environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors in all aspects of its business, and builds upon long-lasting relationships with investors and developers as it acquires, structures, and provides long-term asset management services to its institutional clients. Since inception, Red Stone Equity has raised over $9 billion of tax credit equity. These funds have been used to finance the construction and/or rehabilitation of more than 60,000 units of affordable housing and 932 megawatts of stand-alone solar energy installations located 47 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Red Stone Equity has offices in Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and San Diego. For more information, please visit us at rsequity.com or on LinkedIn or Twitter.