Independent Financial

Shad Besikof serves as Chairman and CEO and maintains direct oversight of the firm's investment committee, consistent with the founder-led structure he has held since 2003. The firm has not disclosed deputy CIOs or a separate investment committee chair, suggesting investment authority remains concentrated with Besikof.

The firm originates loans through a regional network concentrated in Sun Belt and Mountain West markets, relying on direct relationships with commercial real estate sponsors, mortgage brokers, and middle-market intermediaries. This origination model focuses on assets between $5 million and $50 million, a size bracket where national direct lenders are less active.

Independent Financial raises discretionary private funds and separately managed accounts, then deploys capital into directly originated loans and structured investments. The firm does not operate as a fund-of-funds and has not publicly disclosed commitments to external managers.

The firm deploys capital across three primary verticals: private credit (including asset-backed and specialty finance), commercial real estate debt (bridge loans, mezzanine financing), and structured equity (preferred equity positions on commercial properties). These strategies are yield-oriented and collateral-backed.

Independent Financial targets the middle-market segment — loans of roughly $5 million to $50 million — below the minimum check size of large institutional direct lenders. The firm maintains a regional origination presence in secondary growth markets and operates without an external financial sponsor, which preserves investment committee independence on deal-level decisions.

There is a separate publicly traded entity also named Independent Financial (Independent Bank Group, based in McKinney, Texas), but Shad Besikof's firm is a privately held alternative investment manager with no disclosed affiliation to that banking institution. The firms are distinct entities operating in adjacent parts of the financial services landscape.

The firm manages capital for institutional investors including pension funds, insurance companies, and family offices, primarily through private fund vehicles and separately managed accounts. It has not publicly disclosed total assets under management or specific institutional clients.