Updated:
Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp
Jay Lown runs Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp, a publicly traded mortgage REIT focused on Agency RMBS and servicing-related assets.
Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp
Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp was formed in 2013 and structured as a real estate investment trust. The firm is externally managed by Cherry Hill Mortgage Management, LLC, with Jay Lown serving as President and CEO and Julian Evans as Chief Investment Officer. Rather than originating mortgages directly, the firm invests in and manages a portfolio of residential mortgage assets, predominantly agency RMBS. The firm's investment strategy centers on Agency RMBS, which are guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, alongside opportunistic allocations to Servicing Related Assets including mortgage servicing rights. This capital allocation targets a levered carry from the spread between the yield on its mortgage assets and its cost of financing. The portfolio construction emphasizes hedging interest rate risk through derivative instruments, making the performance profile distinct from equity-focused real estate investors. The firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CHMI and operates from its headquarters in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. As a publicly traded entity, Cherry Hill's capital structure combines common equity with various forms of secured and unsecured financing, including repurchase agreements. The management team's compensation is tied to the external management agreement, which aligns fees with shareholders' equity performance. A structural differentiator for Cherry Hill is its external management model. The firm's investment decisions are executed by Cherry Hill Mortgage Management, creating a separation between the public REIT entity and its investment adviser. This architecture contrasts with internally managed mortgage REITs, placing a governance premium on the terms of the management agreement and the incentives they create for portfolio leverage and operating expense ratios.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2013
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Tinton Falls
Corporate office
Tinton Falls, NJ, United States
Principals
Jay Lown
President and Chief Executive Officer
Julian Evans
Chief Investment Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp's core investment mandate?
The firm invests primarily in Agency Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities, which carry an explicit or implicit guarantee by a U.S. government agency or government-sponsored enterprise. The portfolio also includes Servicing Related Assets such as mortgage servicing rights. Cherry Hill generates income primarily from net interest margin — the spread between the yield on its mortgage assets and its cost of financing — rather than from direct property acquisitions or distressed mortgage workouts.
How is Cherry Hill structured relative to its investment manager?
Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp is a publicly traded REIT externally managed by Cherry Hill Mortgage Management, LLC. This means the REIT itself has no employees. The external manager provides the investment team, including Chief Investment Officer Julian Evans, and receives a management fee and potential incentive compensation. This structure separates the corporate entity from the investment adviser and places significant weight on the management agreement's terms when evaluating alignment with shareholders.
Who runs investment decisions at Cherry Hill?
Julian Evans has served as Chief Investment Officer since October 2023, according to the firm's SEC filings. CEO Jay Lown oversees the firm's strategic direction. Because Cherry Hill is externally managed, the investment team is employed by the external manager, not the REIT itself, and portfolio decisions — including asset selection, hedging, and financing — are centralized under Evans' oversight.
How does Cherry Hill hedge its interest rate exposure?
As a mortgage REIT holding long-duration fixed-income assets, Cherry Hill uses interest rate derivatives including swaps, swaptions, and Treasury futures to manage duration and convexity risk. The hedging program is designed to mitigate the impact of rising rates on book value and net interest spread. The specific composition of the hedge portfolio is disclosed quarterly and is a critical factor in evaluating the sustainability of its dividend.
Is Cherry Hill a direct lender or a bond investor?
Cherry Hill is a bond investor, not a direct lender. The firm acquires residential mortgage-backed securities in the secondary market rather than originating mortgage loans to borrowers. Its credit exposure is therefore to the performance of securitized pools of mortgages, substantially shaped by prepayment speeds, default rates, and the credit profile of the underlying agencies when applicable. It does not underwrite individual homeowner mortgages.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: