While financial innovation stories may focus on trading technology or a hot fintech startup, real creativity and economic impact is happening in an unexpected place: equipment finance. From small ticket lenders that are foundational to consumer and small business lending to large ticket lenders funding multimillion-dollar deals, equipment finance is breaking new ground in capital formation and driving economic growth.
In the new podcast, “The Real Impact of Equipment Finance: Collaboration, Culture, and Career Advice,” ELFA CEO Leigh Lytle spoke with Eric Miller, CEO of Ansley Park Capital, a two-year-old lending and specialty finance platform and affiliated portfolio company of certain Ares Alternative Credit funds. Ansley Park Capital recently closed a $400 million asset-backed securitization (ABS)—the largest first-time issuance in the large-ticket equipment finance market. During the interview, Miller and Lytle discussed a range of topics, including the creativity and opportunities found in the $1.3 trillion equipment finance industry.
Opportunities Abound
Miller’s background spans both bank and non-bank lending sectors, giving him a broad view of the opportunities across the equipment finance field. He cut his teeth at organizations like Wells Fargo and GE Capital. From the start, he didn’t want to be a “me too” lender and, instead, looked for new ways to offer truly custom-tailored solutions to customers. Ansley Park does just that, with creative funding solutions for a wide range of customers and assets. “Being in a non-bank space really allows you the flexibility to do that without taking on any more loss risk,” he said.
Such flexibility is particularly important now, as technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are causing so much disruption in virtually every industry. Miller thinks AI will ultimately drive great growth, profitability, and efficiency. “We’re about to head into the largest industrial revolution our country has ever seen,” Miller said.
While he is concerned about AI’s impact on entry-level jobs, Miller believes the technology is also creating opportunities for people who are curious and ready to learn about it. In addition, while innovation is happening within the equipment finance industry, it’s also a human business, where relationship-building and character are important. Some of the core members of his 30-person team at Ansley Park Capital have worked together at various companies for more than 25 years.
Powering the Real Economy
While Miller said that no one he knows set out to become an equipment finance professional, the field is full of rich opportunities for young professionals. With myriad companies ranging from generalists who work with a wide range of clients to captive or niche lending organizations with defined specializations, equipment finance helps businesses operate and grow. People with drive and determination, analytical and basic financial skills, and character are often good candidates for careers in this industry. While he’s been in the business nearly three decades, he said this is a business of continuous learning.
Miller had much more to say about how equipment finance is misunderstood, how Ansley Park got its capital stack rated on first issuance, and why equipment finance offers exceptional career opportunities, among other topics. Watch the entire podcast here.
