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07.09.2014

Faith Investments

Faith InvestmentsTo have “skin in the game,” as defined by Wikipedia, “is to have incurred monetary risk by being invested in achieving a goal.”  The origin of this unusual phrase is unknown. Some say it is drawn from William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, and others say it is attributed to Warren Buffett. I prefer the more modern association, simply due to the fact that Warren Buffett has proven (to the tune $62 billion dollars) that his model of investing works.

So what does this have to do with electrical contracting? Well, actually quite a bit. In the world of construction, subcontractors are usually selected to build a project based on low bid and/or a set of qualifications specified by the owner and general contractor. Once awarded a job, the subcontractor typically takes an approach that focuses on profitability margins, as opposed to the overall success of the project. As long as they get paid, most subcontractors walk away content when the job is done. The burden of the overall success of the project remains with the general contractor and ultimately, the owner. With no “skin in the game,” the typical subcontractor will meet the needs outlined by the project plans as provided by the general contractor and go no further.

Faith Technologies has taken a different approach, and focused more on the confidence of our clients overall needs by creating Faith Investments. Faith Investments strategically aligns our financial resources with key customers and partners to help them achieve their business goals. These capital investments demonstrate our company’s commitment to the success of our customer’s business solution long after our electrical installation work is done. We look to invest capital in sound, strategic opportunities with developers and customers that have a track record of success, and where we have the ability to add value early in the development process. Capital investments come in many different forms, a few that we typically see are:

  • Equity Investment: Money invested in a project in return for an ownership equity position. Repayment usually takes place when the project is refinanced or sells.
  • Mezzanine investment participation:  Money that is provided to a project in the form of a loan. Repayment is usually based on a payment structure or convertible to an ownership or equity interest.
  • Equity Co-Investment: Investment directly into an operating company alongside a financial partner or private equity investor and in return we receive a minority ownership.

At Faith Investments, our focus is to have a diversified portfolio of projects in a number of different sectors.  Ideally our investments have a 1-5 year participation timeframe and we are part of a preconstruction team early in the process.

There are many different ways to create a partnership to build or develop a project. How do you make sure your team has “skin in the game”?