When you’re a Viking, it’s easy to be misunderstood
Two real estate pros, Bret Caller of Lexington and Steven Miller of Cincinnati, have formed Viking Partners LLC, a commercial real estate investment firm that is seeking investors to buy good properties that are bargain priced due to the current economic slump or owner desperation.
“Invoking the spirit of the Vikings, who were known for their prowess in exploring new lands and navigating in uncharted seas, the firm seeks to capitalize on real estate-related investment opportunities with strong fundamental value,” Caller and Miller said in a statement.
But in an age of accused scamsters like Bernie Madoff, Allen Stanford and Arthur Nadel, is it wise to name your business after the Vikings? They were great explorers, no doubt, but they also practiced pillage, plunder and piracy in conquering much of Europe?
Arthur Nadel, in fact, managed at least three investment funds with names that included “Viking” or “Valhalla,” a place in Norse mythology.
“We said ‘Viking’ in the sense of an explorer, not in the sense of a pillager,” Miller explained. “We want to be careful not to be put into that bucket.
“What we are saying is that this is a difficult time. We are going to navigate these waters and who better to navigate than a couple of players who have been doing this for a long time” — nearly 40 years total.
The Web site, www.vikingpartnersllc.com, features these words: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
It’s from Warren Buffett, the wise investor’s Viking.
