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Forum Equity Partners
Richard Abboud founded Forum Equity Partners in 1996, now managing $3.8B across real estate, private equity, and infrastructure in Canada and the US.
Forum Equity Partners
Forum Equity Partners was founded in 1996 by Richard Abboud, initially as a real estate brokerage before making its first principal investments in 2002. The firm is headquartered in Toronto and operates across Canada and the United States. Abboud remains CEO and chairs the investment committee, and the senior team includes former Onex investor Tate Abols and ex-Hullmark executive Aly Damji. The firm runs three verticals. Real estate covers residential and commercial development, including the ALMA branded apartment portfolio in Ontario and Quebec, The Quad student residences in Toronto, and a transit-oriented rental project at King West Station announced in April 2026. Private equity targets middle-market sustainable infrastructure and essential-service platforms across North America — confirmed positions include Subterra Renewables, Broadlinc in Kentucky, and Chill Brothers in Texas. The infrastructure legacy book holds P3 assets such as the Billy Bishop pedestrian tunnel in Toronto and the Surrey Pre-Trial Services Centre in British Columbia, alongside energy platforms like BioStar Renewables in Kansas and the Empire State Connector transmission project in New York. Forum reports enterprise AUM of $3.8 billion and a team of 54 professionals. No additional offices beyond Toronto have been confirmed on the firm’s site. Vice Chair Satish Rai, former CIO of OMERS and TD Asset Management, and Vice Chair John Sullivan, former CEO of Cadillac Fairview, serve on the investment committee. The firm fields a dedicated fund called the Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund, which reported Q4 2025 results in March 2026. In April 2026 the firm acquired Subterra Renewables, adding geothermal drilling and energy infrastructure capabilities to the private equity portfolio. Forum’s architecture blends balance-sheet capital with managed third-party funds — the core funds are REIIF for real estate and MSSF alongside separate accounts. The firm’s ability to act as developer, asset manager, and co-investor on the same project creates a vertically integrated model that few mid-market Canadian managers replicate. Governance includes an advisory board and a team that mixes institutional hires with entrepreneurial hires, reporting directly to an active founder-CEO still chairing the investment committee.
General information
Firm type
Generalist
Year founded
1996
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
Canada
City
Toronto
Corporate office
Toronto, ON, Canada
Principals
Richard Abboud
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Tate Abols
Managing Partner, Corporate Development and Private Equity
Aly Damji
Managing Partner, Real Estate
Satish Rai
Vice Chair
John Sullivan
Vice Chair
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Forum Equity Partners?
The investment committee is chaired by founder and CEO Richard Abboud. Managing Partners Tate Abols (private equity) and Aly Damji (real estate) are committee members, alongside Vice Chairs Satish Rai, the former CIO of OMERS, and John Sullivan, the former CEO of Cadillac Fairview. The firm has no publicly disclosed independent investment-committee members.
How is Forum Equity Partners different from a typical infrastructure fund?
Forum is vertically integrated: it operates as both a developer and an asset manager. The legacy infrastructure book contains self-developed P3 assets like the Billy Bishop pedestrian tunnel in Toronto, while the private equity arm acquires operating companies such as Subterra Renewables. This structure allows the firm to originate construction-phase projects and hold them through stabilized operations, blending development risk with yield-focused asset management.
What does the real estate portfolio actually own?
The real estate vertical develops and asset-manages residential and commercial properties. Named holdings include the ALMA apartment portfolio across Guelph, Ottawa, Oshawa, Toronto, and Montreal; The Quad student residences in Toronto; and office assets at 100 Lombard in Toronto and THEO in Ottawa. A transit-oriented rental project at King West Station in Toronto was announced in April 2026.
Are Forum’s vehicles open to external investors?
Yes. Forum manages a dedicated commingled vehicle, the Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund, and reports working with institutional and ultra-high-net-worth investors. The firm’s Managing Director of Alternative Assets is a registered Portfolio Manager in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, indicating active capital raising from private wealth and family-office channels.
What is Forum’s known posture on US investments?
Forum operates in the US through its private equity and legacy infrastructure books. Confirmed US holdings include Broadlinc in Kentucky, Chill Brothers in Texas, GreenMarbles in California, BioStar Renewables in Kansas, United Wind in New York, and National Energy Partners in New Jersey. The investment committee has not published a target US allocation percentage.
How did the firm’s leadership evolve into the current structure?
Richard Abboud founded the firm as a brokerage in 1996 and converted it into a principal investor in 2002. Tate Abols joined after a 15-year career at Onex, and Aly Damji arrived from Hullmark where he helped grow AUM 15x. Vice Chairs Satish Rai and John Sullivan were added to the investment committee to bring institutional-grade oversight, blending founder control with public-pension and large-scale real-estate experience.
What is the significance of the Subterra Renewables acquisition?
The April 2026 acquisition of Subterra Renewables added geothermal drilling and energy infrastructure services to Forum’s private equity portfolio. It signals the firm’s intent to build out an energy-transition platform inside a middle-market buyout strategy, complementing legacy infrastructure holdings that include a transmission project in New York State.
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