About us
Steel Lending Group LLC (“Steel Lending”) was founded by Kevin Simrin and Kirk Simrin, who together have over 60 years of experience in lending and the automotive industry.
Firm overview
They currently have assets under management of more than $150 million in real estate and automobile loans. Kevin and Kirk recognized as the real estate market started experiencing more modest appreciation, that it was time to study, analyze and explore other asset classes for their lending platform. It became clear that the niche market of subprime automobile financing could provide investors returns higher than a typical real estate loan.
Steel Returns LP (the “Fund”) is a debt fund that acquires automobile loans from originating dealers. Steel Lending Group serves as the Fund’s General Partner. The acquired loans are underwritten according to the firm’s proprietary guidelines to maximize returns for the Fund’s investors. All loan funding, servicing, compliance, collections, and loss recovery are performed in-house to ensure consistency and reduce risk.
While the Fund focuses on a single asset class, it is diversified both geographically and demographically, resulting in better returns than traditional investment vehicles. The pool of loans, approaching 5,000, balances the unique upside potential of this niche market while broadly spreading a potentially higher risk.
The Fund utilizes metrics to monitor performance at both the micro and macro levels to help preserve capital and achieve targeted returns.
Meet the team
The people who underwrite, service and answer for the Fund. Open a card for the full background.
Pam Hoepfl
Director of Capital
Pam Hoepfl has been the face of Precision Capital since 2003, and serves as Director of Capital.
Book a call with PamFull background
Pam Hoepfl has been the face of Precision Capital since 2003, and serves as Director of Capital. For over two decades, she has provided investors with private money real estate loans and fund participation with a portfolio exceeding $160 million. Pam was the recipient of the “Women of Excellence” Business Woman of the Year Award for the State of Oregon from Governor Victor Atiyeh (1986). Pam is registered to sell real estate securities, is a Certified Fund manager, an Accredited Investor and an Oregon Association of Realtors Certified Instructor.
Her business is 100% word-of-mouth, with over 700 Investors. She loves what she does and therefore says she never works a day in her life.
Kevin Simrin, CFM
Founder & Chief Investment Officer
Kevin is a serial entrepreneur. He has spent the last 30 years creating wealth in all aspects of the real estate and lending industries, including ownership of multiple RE/MAX franchises, title and escrow, and auto and real estate lending.
Full background
Kevin is a serial entrepreneur. He has spent the last 30 years creating wealth in all aspects of the real estate and lending industries, including ownership of multiple RE/MAX franchises, title and escrow, and auto and real estate lending. After acquiring PacWest Funding in the late 1990’s, he transformed it into one of the premiere real estate private capital firms in the pacific northwest. Nearly a decade ago, he established the Precision Accredited Fund to provide a pooled investment vehicle. Now with four major funds, Kevin and his team have over $150 million under management.
Kirk Simrin, CFM
Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Kirk has more than three decades of leadership in the transportation industry.
Full background
Kirk has more than three decades of leadership in the transportation industry. After selling his profitable business, Kirk joined Kevin to take the thriving real estate private capital investment model to the automotive lending sector. Kirk is also a long-term investor. As Co-founder of Steel Lending Group LLC, Steel Returns’ General Partner, Kirk oversees both the Reg D and state-specific investment funds in the transportation financing space.
Doug Drager
President
With nearly thirty years in the automotive lending industry, Doug leads the team of professionals who underwrite, service and protect the loan assets to ensure maximum return for investors’ capital.
Full background
With nearly thirty years in the automotive lending industry, Doug leads the team of professionals who underwrite, service and protect the loan assets to ensure maximum return for investors’ capital. Prior to joining Steel Lending Group, Doug served in similar roles with Wells Fargo, Oregon Auto Finance and Reliable Credit Association. Doug received his MBA from the University of South Dakota.
April Burleigh
Chief Financial Officer
Overseeing all accounting and financial reporting, April ensures the companies’ compliance with local, state and federal requirements for investment and lending.
Full background
Overseeing all accounting and financial reporting, April ensures the companies’ compliance with local, state and federal requirements for investment and lending. She has developed comprehensive systems for her team that support senior management in review and critical decision-making. April graduated from the University of Oregon.
Barb Thomas, CPLA
Chief Strategist
Barb brings a broad range of corporate experience from her more than forty five-year career.
Full background
Barb brings a broad range of corporate experience from her more than forty five-year career. Drawing on her product portfolio management roles with Houghton Mifflin and Dun & Bradstreet, and data analysis support for big pharma and biotech companies, she works closely with the Co-founders to ensure the company maintains the technology and processes to remain competitive.
Mission
The goal of Steel Returns is to expand our lending platform throughout the Western United States, resulting in further diversification while remaining laser-focused on our target asset class. Not the biggest, or all things to all people, we do intend to grow the Fund using our demonstrated strategies and processes.
Our mission is to continue building our teams, systems, and technology to ensure that we can quickly pivot in the market as needed to expand our reach within our highly-focused business niche.
Talk with the people who run the Fund.
A short call with the capital team: your goals, the Fund, and whether it fits.