Peter Smith, a 20-year veteran of the real estate finance industry, has joined AION Partners, a real estate investment and asset management company, as a principal and managing director. He will be involved in sourcing new investment opportunities and securing financing for the firm's acquisitions in major markets throughout the country, primarily in New York and Washington, D.C. "Peter brings more than two decades of structured debt product experience to the firm," Michael Betancourt, principal of AION Partnerssaid. "His comprehensive background encompasses workouts, interim financing, mezzanine loans, CMBS and portfolio purchases. Peter perfectly complements our core team of executives and his addition will help us expand our growing portfolio." Before joining AION, Smith was a managing director at Credit-Suisse. Prior to Credit Suisse he was head of loan originations and a founding member of UBS's Global Commercial Real Estate Group. Smith began his real estate career at Heller Financial in Chicago after a background in public accounting. AION Partners is a real estate investment and asset management company that partners with other sources of capital and brings leadership to acquisition, development and financing opportunities across the U.S. The AION Partners team is best known for their success in core-plus and value-add office, mixed-use redevelopment and stabilized and market rate apartments, having assembled a portfolio of prime properties in Manhattan, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. AION Partners is headquartered in New York.