Alpha Alternatives is no more! 2017 brings a new name (Alpha Capital CRE), a new senior partner (managing director Trisha Connolly) and a new business mission focused less on fund placement and more on recapitalizing CMBS loans.

Alpha Capital managing partners Anthony Longo and Michael Riley were driven to adapt their business by the success they've had the past two years in the debt and equity markets. Longo said Alpha Capital has put together $3B in transaction volume during that time. The brand change is intended to clarify that new focus on commercial mortgage banking to the market.

But the main reason Alpha Capital is moving away from fund placement is a shift in the market away from utilizing placement agents. Longo said that of the 466 real estate funds being tracked in the market, 18 of them raised 80% of the dollars.

Longo, Riley and Connolly believe there is plenty of runway left in the capital markets to do deals. Connolly sees the recent interest rate hikes forcing some clients to refinance, rather than sell, because they will not be able to find the bids they are seeking. Riley said interest rate hikes are the great unknown in the next 12 to 24 months because there's no way to determine how investors will react.

Another area where Alpha Capital hopes to make an impact is in refinancing CMBS loans. There are $90B in CMBS loans set to mature this year, and Riley believes Alpha can find a place in the market recapitalizing those deals.

Connolly joined Alpha in November after nearly five years at Cushman & Wakefield, where she led its equity, debt and structured finance team. Her experience in debt financing and equity placement is a perfect fit for Alpha Capital's transition, and she said she has known Longo and Riley for years. "After four years of having the platform that Cushman & Wakefield offers, I wanted to take a risk on building relationships in this industry because of personal relationships and not service lines," she said.