Columbus Circle, NYCColumbus Circle, New York City

what we do

Forecast Economist
FINRA-Registered Investment Bankers (CRD #1282733)
E-2 and EB-5 Investment Programs
Full Regional Center Management and Support Services
International Investor Network

Broad Oak and PenberaParis Form Strategic EB-5 Joint Venture

August 15, 2011 – Broad Oak Management, LLC and PenberaParis, LLC announced today a strategic joint venture to provide a full suite of investment banking, economic, marketing, management, funding, and administrative support services to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service investment programs. “Conducting business with PenberaParis offers our clients superb technical expertise, access to the international capital markets, and the protections afforded by compliance with U.S. and international securities laws,” said John C. Braddock, managing partner of Broad Oak. This joint venture between an accomplished investment banking firm and an experienced econometric and regional center management firm is the first of its kind in the U.S. It is aimed at assuring that issuers, project companies, and investors receive high quality, cost competitive, and effective services. “The bridge with Broad Oak allows PenberaParis to execute its ‘2020 Plan’ integrating premier econometrics with efficient regional center administration, investment banking, and SEC-compliant investor recruitment on behalf of multiple top-tier regional centers across the U.S.,” said Dr. Joseph J. Penbera, chairman of PenberaParis.

Broad Oak Management and PenberaParis Provide the Following Services:

Overview

Principals of Broad Oak and PenberaParis have many decades of combined international investment banking, econometric, academic, EB-5 fundraising, regional center management experience, and extensive careers on Wall Street in New York City. In aggregate, they have consummated over US$3.9 billion of investment banking, private equity, and venture capital transactions and operating company gross revenues. Regional centers currently under management and being formed by Broad Oak and PenberaParis involve more than $1 billion of investment capital and the proposed creation of more than 20,000 jobs. Broad Oak and PenberaParis principals have an extensive network of contacts and business relationships with institutional investors, investment banks, and high net-worth individuals throughout Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and the Middle East. We assemble and lead seasoned working groups of financial, economic, regional center management, legal, accounting, marketing, immigration, securities law, and other experts with whom we have close professional relationships and who we task to achieve client objectives in an expedited, creative, low-cost, and efficient manner.

Broad Oak and PenberaParis take primarily an institutional approach to funding EB-5 projects. With PenberaParis’ prestigious academic, econometric, and business experience and Broad Oak’s U.S. SEC registered broker-dealer affiliation, FINRA registrations, and long-standing relationships, our team has entrée to and developed strategic relationships with investment banking counterparts at major financial institutions around the world and their extensive international network of wealthy families, whose backgrounds, capital resources, and compliance with tax, currency transfer, and other laws in their home countries make them highly qualified EB-5 candidates. Broad Oak and PenberaParis have the credentials and experience that meet the due diligence and fiduciary criteria of international investment banks, commercial banks, insurance companies, and other institutional and individual investors and authorized agents. We access large numbers of high caliber prospective EB-5 investors through the wealth management divisions of top international investment and commercial banks and insurance companies. We also work with our extensive network of immigration attorneys and authorized agents and migration brokers. In this manner, we are able to engage in sales practices with offering materials that comply with local as well as U.S. securities regulations. This ensures that the highest quality investment opportunities are presented to EB-5 investors, regional centers are protected from legal liabilities, and, for issuers who receive EB-5 funding, compliance with relevant securities regulations enables us to also help them attract financing from non-EB-5 funding sources. Furthermore, compliance by regional centers and issuers with U.S. and foreign securities laws from the beginning assures smooth funding. It also gives issuers the legal foundation for re-selling regional center projects in private transactions to institutional and other professional investors or as initial public offerings years later, once green cards are issued to EB-5 investors who seek return of their regional center principal investments.

The funding of EB-5 projects involves the sale of U.S. securities to foreign investors and the flow of foreign funds into projects back in the U.S., a process that is governed by U.S. securities laws established and amended by the SEC since 1934 and further regulated by FINRA, the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA’s mission is to protect America’s investors by making sure the securities industry operates fairly and honestly in the U.S. capital markets. Currency out-flows are regulated by foreign governments and in-flows to the U.S. by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Broad Oak and its FINRA-registered professionals seek to shield clients from liability to U.S. and foreign securities and currency law violations, potential class action lawsuits, costly investment rescission by investors, and severe economic and potential criminal penalties through strict compliance with applicable laws. Lastly, Broad Oak and PenberaParis have developed a proprietary legal structure we call a Foreign Community Investment Vehicle (“FCIV”). Each FCIV purports to be compliant with both U.S. and the securities laws of the countries in which EB-5 investors live. The FCIV allows Broad Oak and PenberaParis to aggregate pools of capital from wealthy investors referred to them though their network of financial institutions and authorized agents and direct those funds into high quality EB-5 projects that it identifies.

Full EB-5 Regional Center Business Planning, Job Creation, Project Funding, Management, and Support Services

Broad Oak and its strategic partner PenberaParis, LLC offer the following services to regional center clients and issuers of EB-5 securities:

  • Regional Center Formation, Management, and Administration:
    • Preparing USCIS:
      • Regional center application
      • Business plan
      • Job creation study
      • Annual status reports
      • Opinion letters to accompany I-526 and I-829 investor petitions
    • Assistance in drafting offering documents
    • Regional center management, administration, and IT support

  • SEC-Registered Broker-Dealer & FINRA-Registered Investment Bankers:
    • Top-tier project selection
    • Due diligence research
    • Operating capital budgeting and funding
    • Risk management policies and procedures
    • Structuring and valuing EB-5 securities
    • Assistance in preparing risk disclosure, subscription documents, translation
    • EB-5 Funding Sources:
      • Institution Channels (wealth management divisions of international investment banks, commercial banks, and insurance companies)
      • Proprietary Retail Investor Networks - Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and Mideast
      • U.S. Immigration Attorneys
      • Authorized Agents and Migration Brokers
    • Non-EB-5 funding for the regional center ”Capital Stack”
    • Post-green card project monetization: institutional investor network

  • Legal and Regulatory Compliance:
    • USCIS
    • SEC-registered broker-dealer
    • FINRA-compliant sales practices
    • International securities and currency regulations
    • Escrow
    • OFAC clearance

EB-5 Background

In 1990, the U.S. Congress created the “Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) visa program” – one of five categories of immigration to the U.S. In 1993 Congress expanded the program to accommodate “Designated Regional Centers.” It is a program sponsored by the U.S. Federal Government, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to encourage foreign investment in the U.S. The program generates employment for U.S. citizens. In 2011 it is expected to attract over a billion dollars of investment capital to projects throughout the United States. The program allocates “green card” visas to each non-U.S. investor and their family members under the age of 21.

Broad Oak

Broad Oak is an international investment banking boutique with specializations that include EB-5 regional center finance and management. We provide financial services to clients around the world. We have offices in Manhattan, Dallas, Seoul, and Kuala Lumpur. Principals of Broad Oak have completed an aggregate of US$3.9 billion of international financial transactions during their careers and include a Harvard-educated economist and professionals with extensive investment banking, financial engineering, international marketing, management, venture capital, and regulatory experience, including with regard to EB-5 regional centers. Our partner in Asia is a registered venture capital fund manager in Korea and Malaysia with an extensive fundraising network of investors, government agencies, and financial institutions. The firm and its wholly owned Delaware registered subsidiaries include Broad Oak Advisors, LLC, a U.S. investment banking boutique. Broad Oak Management, LLC provides investment banking and fundraising services primarily for investment programs regulated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Broad Oak Asia, LLC provides international investment banking advisory services, fundraising in Asia, and due diligence research and investment monitoring services in the U.S. for Asian clients holding North American assets. Principals of Broad Oak Group International companies hold U.S. Financial Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") securities registrations.

PenberaParis

PenberaParis is an economic consulting firm founded in 1976 in Washington, D.C. by Dr. Joseph J. Penbera, Ph.D, who has been cited by Knight Kiplinger, editor of The Kiplinger Magazine as one of the top forecast economists in the U.S. The firm has operations throughout California, including Fresno (headquarters), Silicon Valley, Sacramento, and Los Angeles.  Dr. Penbera was formerly dean of two university business schools, and was appointed Senior Fulbright Scholar in Economics in 2005.  He also served as director of International Programs and liaison to the World Bank at the USDA, a director of Rug Doctor for more than 20 years and through its sale to ACAS (NYSE), and as a director of Vendo (NYSE) through its sale to Sanden of Japan.  PenberaParis’ clients have included The White House Consortium of Cabinet Agencies, Deloitte and Touche, Chyrsler, Economic Office of the President of Poland, Planning Secretariat of the Office of the President of Brazil, the Port of San Diego, Ruiz Foods, and many other public and private entities.  Since 1998, the firm has prepared EB-5 regional center applications for centers in California, Texas, and Florida, as well as business plans and RIMS II and Implan job creation studies for many projects.  Since 2002, it has prepared hundreds of professional opinions accompanying I-526 and I-829 immigrant investor petitions from Europe, Central and South America, China, Asia, and the Middle East. These centers and projects encompass over $1 billion of investment capital and target the creation of 20,000 U.S. jobs.

 

View/download printable Broad Oak & PenberaParis Competency Profile (.pdf, ~1.3MB)

View/download Broad Oak regional center investor network (.pdf, ~350k)

Broad Oak Statement of Qualifications (available to clients on request)

PenberaParis Competency Package (available to clients on request)