GP | Principal | CIO | Head of Capital Markets
DWG Capital Partners · SM Capital, Inc.
Institutional capital markets strategist bridging commercial real estate finance, structured debt, equity formation, and proprietary market research across complex transactions.
Max Ozkural is a Principal at SM Capital, Inc., where he has served as Chief Investment Officer since 2017. In this role, he leads the structuring and execution of complex debt and equity financings across commercial real estate transactions. He has developed deep relationships across the institutional capital landscape and has been instrumental in building the firm’s advisory-driven approach to delivering solutions for sophisticated transactions.
In parallel with his responsibilities at SM Capital, Max serves as Head of Capital Markets at DWG Capital Partners. He plays a key role in fundraising and capital strategy, holding General Partner (“GP”) participation in The Great American Industrial Fund I. He led the initial capital raise of over $45 million within the first 90 days, including a $20 million institutional seed investment. The fund is targeting $80 million in equity commitments and approximately $300 million in total assets under management.
Over the course of his career, Max has raised more than $450 million in equity and has been involved in the capitalization and management of nearly $1 billion in real estate private equity assets. He has also led and contributed to transaction origination exceeding $10 billion in total volume.
Max began his career in investment banking, including roles at Oppenheimer & Co. (OPY), where he focused on alternative investments such as hedge funds, fund of funds, private equity, private credit, infrastructure funds, real estate private equity funds, and non-traded REITs. Prior to that, he was part of the AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) U.S. Commercial Real Estate Debt (CRED) team, where he underwrote and evaluated investment opportunities across multiple asset classes and markets.
He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Finance & Management from Hofstra University’s Zarb School of Business and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Columbia Business School at Columbia University.
In addition to his professional work, Max is the Founder & Editor of REI Market Research, a platform focused on proprietary real estate insights and analysis. He is also actively involved in community initiatives and serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations.
General Partner ("GP") participation stake, and senior leadership responsibilities in connection with the capital formation activities of DWG Capital Partners including, the capital raise for the firm's latest closed-end fund launch, the Great American NNN Sale Leaseback Fund I, LLC; (the "Fund"). Leads institutional capital raising, investor relationship management, and the structuring of debt and equity solutions across DWG's commercial real estate portfolio. Responsibilities include deal origination, portfolio construction, LP communications, and building strategic relationships with family offices, sovereign wealth funds, and institutional allocators.
Oversaw the arranging of debt and equity financing for complex commercial real estate transactions. Managed capital source relationships across the institutional lending landscape, led deal structuring and underwriting, and helped engineer the firm's collaborative advisory culture. Assisted in capitalizing a real estate private equity fund while leading origination across $3B+ in transactions.
Engaged in the analysis and due diligence of alternative investment products including hedge funds, private equity funds, private credit strategies, and non-traded real estate investment trusts. Contributed to $1.5B in AUM growth through alternative investment portfolio construction and comprehensive investment committee presentations.
Worked on the US Commercial Real Estate Debt (CRED) team, managing credit underwriting and financial analysis. Evaluated new investment opportunities across various asset classes and geographies, performing investment committee diligence that developed the structuring expertise and execution discipline defining his capital formation work today.
Deep specialization across institutional capital markets, structured finance, and commercial real estate.
Institutional equity capital raising, LP relationship management, family office outreach, and investor relations strategy for real estate private equity platforms.
Complex transaction structuring across senior debt, mezzanine financing, preferred equity, bridge loans, and construction financing for commercial real estate assets nationwide.
Institutional-grade credit underwriting and financial modeling for commercial real estate debt investments across multifamily, office, industrial, retail, and mixed-use asset classes.
Due diligence and portfolio construction across hedge funds, private equity, private credit, non-traded REITs, and other alternative investment strategies for institutional portfolios.
End-to-end commercial real estate lending and capital advisory, structuring financing assignments arranged through key capital sources including, institutional lenders, family offices, debt funds, insurance co's, agency platforms and more.
Proprietary CRE capital markets research distributed to institutional investors, lenders, and family offices. Editor of REI Market Research, reaching 21,000+ individual subscribers across platforms.
Proprietary research and market intelligence distributed to institutional real estate investors, lenders, and capital markets professionals.
A proprietary CRE capital markets research publication distributed across multiple platforms to 21,000+ individual subscribers. Covers interest rate trends, lending market dynamics, equity capital flows, deal structures, and investment themes shaping commercial real estate finance.
Subscribe on LinkedInWeekly analysis of mortgage-backed securities markets, benchmark rate movements, agency spreads, and their direct impact on commercial real estate lending. Focused insights for originators, investors, and capital markets professionals tracking real-time rate environments.
A family office capitalized investment firm specializing in the financing, origination, and acquisition of first lien commercial real estate debt and equity solutions.
SM Capital, Inc. is a family office capitalized investment firm specializing in the financing, origination, and acquisition of first lien commercial real estate debt and equity solutions transactions. Proven track record in asset acquisition and structured finance, leveraging the firm’s explicit discretion of more than $4 billion in proprietary assets under management (AUM) immediately deployable — ensuring precise execution for the investors we serve.
The firm’s autonomy of capital, highly skilled teams, and cutting-edge technology have provided the engine responsible for successfully closing $10 billion in CRE debt and equity transactions prior to reaching the firm’s 10-year anniversary inception date.
For capital formation inquiries, investment opportunities, research partnerships, or media engagements.
