Columbia Investments creates opportunities in real estate, transportation and manufacturing that drive value for investors and communities. We’re grounded in the tradition of old school hard work, customer service and pragmatic, focused investments. Headquartered in Portland, Columbia Investments seeks partnerships with like-minded investors, banks and private equity firms in major U.S. financial centers.

Columbia Investments’ philosophy is rooted in the professional and personal story of its founder Peter Stott. Peter grew up in a working-class neighborhood in the 1950s, mowing lawns and picking berries by age 9 to help support his family. He was a Boy Scout and a Mazama who reached the Mt. Hood summit by age 14. Peter attended Portland State University in the 1960s and worked nights and weekends as a laborer and truck driver. As a college senior in 1969, he combined $90 in savings, a professor’s loan and a $212 draw against his life insurance policy to buy his own truck. After two years, he turned that one-truck business into a company, Market Transport Ltd. He built Market Transport into one of the largest logistics companies on the West Coast with 2,500 employees and $359 million in annual revenue. Market Transport, Ltd. was acquired in 2006 by UTI Worldwide and subsequently, in 2015, by DSV Global Transport and Logistics. While building Market Transport, Peter pursued business ventures in other industries. In 1988, he co-founded forest products company Crown Pacific and served as CEO until 2004. He also served as vice chairman and a principal of SKB, a real estate investment firm in Portland, from 2005 to 2010.

Through their foundation, Peter and Julie Stott provided financial support for dozens of organizations that benefit education, the environment, the arts and disadvantaged communities. Peter provided financial support for 14 students to attend college and has endowed university scholarships and professors. The Peter W. Stott Center at Portland State University is the home court for the Vikings’ basketball and volleyball teams.