Steven Zoernack

Steven Zoernack is an American entrepreneur, asset manager, international business consultant, and technical stock index trader. Zoernack is currently the Managing Director of Alliance Partners, a Sarasota, Florida-based commercial real estate firm. He specializes in ownership, financing, development, management, and disposition of large balance income-producing commercial and multifamily real estate. He is also an international business consultant, who offers his expertise in online reputation management, investment strategy development, and commercial real estate investing to existing clients globally.
He is the founder of a new cutting edge investment vehicle named Investor Held Accounts (IHA), an investment vehicle that allows institutional investors to hold their funds in their own accounts while allowing the Asset/Portfolio Manager "trade only" access to increase account security and accuracy.
Zoernack has worked as an asset manager in New York, as well as a hedge fund manager and a stock index specialist in New York and Newport Beach, CA. He is most known for establishing four New York based International investment funds as well as a Wall Street commercial real estate finance firm that sold and securitized commercial CMBS loans sized at $5 million and up.
==Current Project==
Mr. Zoernack is turning 1000s of acres of dying citrus groves in Florida to eco-friendly and sustainable bamboo plantations. "Bamboo grows best on citrus land, uses similar irrigation and nutrition practices but has no material pests and diseases and can produce profits 5 times what an acre of citrus can. When planted, clumping-type bamboo looks similar to an orange grove, with a planned setting and everything precisely in its place,” according to Steven Zoernack. He also states that "bamboo is an incredibly versatile crop, with a wide range of potential uses. It can be used in construction as a sustainable alternative to wood, for example, or in the production of textiles, paper, and even food products. This versatility means that bamboo has the potential to be a significant contributor to the global economy, providing new opportunities for farmers, investors and entrepreneurs alike.
==Early life and education==
Zoernack was born in White Plains, New York, to German immigrant parents who moved to the US in 1959. His father served in the US army as a ski instructor in Colorado and became a union electrician, and his mother was a seamstress and homemaker. 
Zoernack’s first language was German and learned English in his kindergarten class. By age 7 he was asked to skip 3rd grade, and later skipped 8th-grade math. Later he attended Boston University’s School of Engineering, and played attack position for the school’s lacrosse team. Zoernack left college early in order to pursue his dream on Wall Street.
==Career==
Zoernack started his career while he was still in college. He opened a small trading account out of mere curiosity, which resulted in him acquiring a great love of trading.
Once employed by a major commodities broker on Wall Street, Steve was taken under the wing of a secretive Greek trader, Mr. Kyriakou. Working under the mentorship of Mr. Kyriakou, Zoernack learned technical analysis and gained recognition with one of his first trades in the Coffee futures market. Within a year, at age 23, Zoernack became the brokerage firm’s nationwide “Rookie of the Year” and the NY branch’s top 3 brokers out of 50. 
Zoernack then joined one of the top 5 investment banking firms of the time, Bear Stearns & Co. in 1984. He successfully applied his newly acquired Quant trading strategies to stock index arbitrage during the 80s and 90s.
Helping his clients/investors to make money led to his own continued financial success and allowed Steve to join Half Moon Bay Yacht Club at age 28 and Westchester Country Club at age 30 where he was married in 1996. His first son was born in 1997 and a daughter in 2005 along with another son in 2011.
In 1998, Zoernack’s focus began on commercial real estate lending and formed what became Alliance today, a Sarasota, Florida-based real estate firm. 
On his Life Quest Steve ends up in a minor battle with the government - In early 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) determined, among other things, that in one of the family of hedge funds Steve founded, called EquityStar Global Partners, the outside and independent accounting firm (Apex Fund Administration) wasn’t properly expensing salaries in one of the 4 investment funds, treating them as a “due from affiliate”, or a “draw” or “loan” rather than the more appropriate “expense”. Salaries were an allowable fund expense and described in the fund prospectus but weren’t being accounted for properly by the fund’s outside vendors.
Steve and his attorneys fully cooperated with the SEC and quickly settled with them.
Its noteworthy that before Steve knew of any case against him, he replaced the negligent accounting firm, he and his new accounting firm immediately disclosed the error to investors in letters and tax documents. Steve took full responsibility and began making investor reimbursements for the accounting error.
The accounting firm Apex Fund Administration was ultimately fined and sanctioned by the SEC for this error and also for similar errors they made with other hedge funds. The SEC’s official court order stated: “Apex caused EquityStar’s and Zoernack’s violations of Sections 206(2) and 206(4) of the Advisers Act and Rule 206(4)-8“.
However, despite the issues being fully settled between Steve and EquityStar’s investors, and in process of being reimbursed by Steve and the Fund, the government came along after the fact and felt that Steve should still be fined and punished. Steve looks at it as a learning experience that’s now in the past. He also feels he‘s now more focused, stronger, disciplined, and knows what really matters in life.
==Personal life==
Zoernack was first married in 1996. He is the father of three children, two sons and a daughter. He is an avid golfer and his hobbies include tennis, travel, athletic coaching, deep sea fishing, sailing, scuba diving, chess, high end audio/video, yoga and gardening.
==Volunteer Pursuits==
Zoernack, apart from his career in the real estate and financial sectors, is also an avid philanthropist and a sports enthusiast. Steve gave back a lot of time and money and coached a Special Olympics softball team that won Gold in the State of Florida in 2017, taught religion to 3-7 year olds, and sponsored and chaperoned the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Buddies Program for underprivileged kids
==A Clear and Better Future==
Steve was challenged to make changes within himself and experience personal growth.
This transformation and atonement led him to what worked best - the success he had enjoyed when life was still simple. Steve learned a very valuable lesson: life when lived in its simplest form is often life lived at its best.
Steve continues to enjoy helping others and co-exists with notable business executives in the international business world a stronger, smarter, and more experienced professional.
==References==
==External links==
* Official Website
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Category:American entrepreneurs
Category:American money managers
Category:American consultants
Category:Boston University College of Engineering alumni