Why Castlelake: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

Castlelake Overview

Castlelake is an alternative investment firm which specializes in asset-rich, complex and cash-flowing opportunities in what they believe to be undercapitalized private markets.

The firm invests within three investment strategies:

• Real Assets
• Specialty Finance
• Aviation

As of September 2023, the firm manages funds on behalf of around 200 institutions and partners worldwide, including foundations, private and public pension plans, insurance companies, family offices, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds.

Rory O’Neill and Evan Carruthers founded Castlelake in 2005. Both are innovators in alternative investing with approximately five decades of combined experience. Currently, Castlelake is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Castlelake AUM

According to the most recent regulatory filings, Castlelake has $24.8 BB in assets under management as of March 31, 2023.

Castlelake Interview Process & Questions

The interview process may change with each candidate. Despite these changes, the general nature of the process at Castlelake (or a firm like it) stays the same for the most part. You can expect the following:

• 4 to 6 rounds of interview
• The HR team or junior investment professionals conduct the first rounds, while the more senior professionals supervise the later rounds.
• The whole process lasts for several weeks – unless it’s “on-campus” or “on-cycle recruitment initiative

Interviews at Castlelake will be a mixture of behavioral questions, fit questions, and technical or investing questions.

The Growth Equity Interview Guide is an excellent resource for anyone who needs help in preparing for growth/VC interviews.

Why Castlelake

Interviewers want to know if the candidate has specific reasons for choosing their firm, and not simply sending job applications to any firm with open positions. So make sure to get ready for the “Why this firm” question as it will most likely show up during your interview.

If you’ve made connections with employees at the firm, this is the perfect time to mention them and their positive influence on your decision through the experience and insights they shared with you about the firm.

To know more about the firm and tailor your answer to “Why this firm” question, it’s highly recommended to listen to interviews with its investors, founders, and management team.

To get you started, here’s a great interview with Eduardo D’Alessandro, Parter, Global Real Assets at Castlelake:

Castlelake Case Study

Candidates almost always have to perform a case study during interviews. Case studies are used in interviews to evaluate the technical and communication skills of their candidates.

Most of the time, case studies at firms like Castlelake focus on financial modeling and investment recommendations. But for junior roles, they may also require a cold calling case study.

I’ve discussed case studies in great detail inside my Growth Equity Interview Guide. Check it out if you want help preparing for it.

Castlelake Salary & Compensation

According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for their analysts is $79,909 per year, while the annual salary for associates is $98,260. These figures represent the median, and can still change depending on several factors such as education, experience, and qualifications.

Analyst

Associate

From other public data, recent associates have earned salaries of $125,000 per year, while there is no recent data for analyst hires.

Castlelake Careers, Jobs, & Internships

To view open roles at Castlelake, head over to our job board where we also feature opportunities from other similar firms.

Castlelake Portfolio & Investments

According to Crunchbase, Castlelake has made nine investments across four funds. Some of their notable deals include Oportun, SAS Group, and TradeBridge.

Notable Transaction: IMH Finans

Swedish specialty lender IMH Finans focuses on providing bridge loans backed by real estate assets and  financial support up to SEK 50 million to small to medium-sized real estate developers and investors. This addresses their short-term liquidity needs including operations and construction.

In May 2022, Castlelake made a $150 million investment in IMH. This includes the acquisition of IMH’s existing loans and also a financing facility for the origination of future loans.

Castlelake believes that in a market where there is almost no credit availability for borrowers, partnering with IMH is a strategic decision to help provide access to premium loans that can support local residential real estate investments.

This transaction stacks on Castlelake’s experience in investing in a diverse set of asset-rich opportunities in Europe, where the firm has acquired 7,000+ assets since its founding.

Next Steps

If you want to land a role at Castlelake (or a similar firm), I highly recommend that you check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

This self-paced online course will help you gain a competitive edge and ace your interviews which leads to better chances of landing your target role.

Inside the course, you’ll find step-by-step lessons, frameworks, and expert tips on topics like financial modeling, case studies, and many more. Get the course and start learning today!