After fleeing Iran when he was a baby in 1978, Reza Jahangiri and his family knew they had to take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves here in the United States.
“I had parents that had to uproot, leave all their assets behind and figure things out from scratch,” Jahangiri said. “As an immigrant, you don’t take things for granted.”
The Newport Beach resident hasn’t and is now living his version of the American Dream as chief executive of Orange-based American Advisors Group, the nation’s top player in the reverse mortgage lending industry. The company owns more than 25% market share.
Some might recognize the company for its broad market presence and notable ad campaigns, with commercials featuring actor and film producer Tom Selleck or the late Fred Thompson, former Tennessee senator.
Jahangiri, one of five honorees at the Business Journal’s 18th annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards held March 12 at Hotel Irvine, has watched his company’s revenue grow from $10 million in 2010 to over $280 million today (see profiles of other winners, pages 1, 6 and 8).
“This was a passion project of mine 15 years ago,” Jahangiri said.
He said more than 90% of people want to stay in the home where they live when they get older.
“The most effective options to age in place when you’re living on fixed income is to utilize a reverse mortgage.”
American Advisors changed its business model last year, branching out to related products, such as providing financial advice to seniors.
“American Advisors Group ‘1.0’ was more reverse mortgage. ‘2.0’ is more product solutions,” said Jahangiri.
“We were addressing a gap that was in the market and knew how to interact with seniors better than anyone else.”
Eventually, Jahangiri, who also serves as co-chair of National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, wants to see his company transition into a third version, which he envisions as a “retirement brand, getting involved with adjacencies [for seniors] like in-home care, healthcare needs and medical supplements,” just to name a few.
‘A Powerful Tool’
A University of California-Irvine graduate with a bachelor of science in economics, Jahangiri was involved in the health industry before entering the reverse mortgage sector.
Along with his father and brother Ali, who is now chief executive of EB5 Investors, the trio formed HeartSavers, a preventative cardiac imaging company that also partnered with different academic associations.
“I knew nothing about reverse [mortgage] product when I was introduced to it in 2004. The more I researched, the more I learned that [they] were an effective and powerful tool.”
This led to the sale of HeartSavers and the beginning of American Advisors, with the intention to “help address the financial crisis of a growing 65-and-older population,” using what Jahangiri said was an underutilized asset in the form of home equity.
“There was low awareness, high utility, with a trend of an aging demographic and a lack of liquid savings.”
Despite the collapse of the capital market from 2007 to 2009, Jahangiri held his ground, instead increasing capital and picking up market share from those who exited.
The reverse mortgage industry has seen its fair share of critics due to high fees. However, Jahangiri pointed out that his company is trying to do the right thing in an industry that’s been tarnished by bad apples elsewhere.
850 OC Workers
Jahangiri also attributes the company’s success to his leadership team that has been augmented over the last five years.
Along with the most recent hire of Joe Stephenson, former head of mortgage operations at Morgan Stanley to serve as senior vice president of operations, the team includes Martin Lenoir, chief marketing and operating officer, and Jules Vogel, chief legal officer.
Among the 1,200 employees over six main offices spread out across the country, 850 are in its Irvine and Orange offices.
Its total OC footprint is nearly 150,000 square feet of office space.
Jahangiri also has his hands in philanthropic work, serving as chairman of Willow International, an Orange County based nonprofit dedicated to eradicating human trafficking in Uganda.
If he’s not answering phone calls and emails, the busy chief executive chooses to spend the little free time outside of the business with his family. “Nothing beats a day with my boys.”
He’s married to Kate Levering, who was a Tony-nominated actress on Broadway; the couple has three sons: Holden, Greyson and Ashton.
