Founder and CEO
Matt Burk is the founder and CEO of Fairway America and Chief Investment Officer of Fairway America Fund VI, Fairway’s sixth and latest real estate loan and asset based fund. After graduating from the University of California, Davis in 1986 with a BA in Economics, Mr. Burk began his early career working at banks, thrifts, and finance companies. In 1992, he founded Fairway Financial Services, Inc., predecessor to Fairway Commercial Mortgage and Fairway America, LLC and has since led the company’s successful ascent as one of the leading private money lenders and mortgage pool fund managers in the Pacific Northwest. As CIO of all of Fairway’s proprietary funds since the company’s inception, his disciplined underwriting decisions have produced outstanding results that have distinguished him amongst his peers in the small balance mortgage pool space and stood the test of time.
He has been the catalyst and driving force in the growth of Fairway from a small mortgage broker to a firm that has created and managed multiple successful mortgage pool funds. He has also procured and managed bank debt for use in Fairway’s real estate lending business and funds, including a $50,000,000 institutional credit facility during the height of the market meltdown which was repaid in full. Mr. Burk’s expertise includes real estate lending, valuation, and underwriting as well as mortgage pool fund creation, growth, administration and management. He has led Fairway’s successful capital raising efforts through family offices, wealth managers, registered investment advisors, high net worth individuals, successful business owners and entrepreneurs, and other accredited investors.
Mr. Burk is a recognized industry veteran and leader in the real estate loan and asset based pooled fund space. Having started and then overseen the growth and success of five, going on six, funds from scratch over a 15 year period, he has deep experience in the trenches of real estate lending, raising capital, and managing pooled investment funds. Through Fairway’s advisory and consulting practice, he brings this expertise to other private lenders and real estate dealmakers in the space to help develop up and coming managers and create best-in-class funds through proper structure, administration, and governance (including alignment of interests, transparency and communication). His blogs, webinars and speaking engagements are widely considered the industry benchmark in the small universe of private lenders and 506 Reg D mortgage pool funds.
He is passionate about entrepreneurship and has been actively involved in Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), the world’s most influential community of entrepreneurs, for the last 11 years. He served on the board of the Portland Oregon chapter for 5 of those years, including President in 2006-07, was EO’s Western US Area Director in 2008-09, and is a leading mentor for EO’s Accelerator program, which fosters up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
Mr. Burk enjoys reading, history, cycling, golf, yoga, mentoring, travel and spending time with his family.
