We are fundamentally different than most managers of real estate securities and through our differences we strive to create value for our investors.
- We have investment and operating backgrounds. Unlike a more typical team we have operating and board level experience, which allows us to see real estate through a different prism than just an income statement or balance sheet. We have served on more than a dozen boards for public companies, private companies and organizations and understand how and why managers make decisions.
- We have worked on the sell side and in investment banking. Understanding the motives and constraints of the community that underwrites real estate securities and publishes research allows us to filter information in a more complete way than a management team lacking these experiences.
- We own the company and our money is in our strategies.
- We are comfortable with our convictions. Unlike large investment firms that are interested in benchmarking, we aren’t. If we conclude a specific segment of real estate is a poor investment choice, we won’t own it – at all! Many managers will reluctantly own stocks in sectors they don’t like because they are part of the index to which they benchmark.
- We are not seduced by “cheap” stocks. We search first for the frustrated tenant and this bias drives a consistent quality focus in our portfolio, and only then do we consider valuation. That is to say we will not buy a company just because its cheap. Many value investors reverse this process and seek out value first, worrying about quality after the fact.