Lessons Learned From a $50BN Contrarian

Hello GowerCrowders! I’ve got a lot in store for you this week, including several new deals like the Port 99 Industrial Park from CrowdStreet, the Spartan Investment Growth Fund, and the Simm Cap Wealth Fund. I’ve also got new updates from Crowdfund Insider about the launch of Homebase’s new NFT fractional real estate investment platform and a look at Yieldstreet’s new RIA partnership. As always, we’ll look at our most recent deal data, which you can only find here at GowerCrowd, and a new podcast: The Dangers of Crowdfunded Real Estate Investing.

Let’s get into it.

New Crowdfunding Platform Deals

The Port 99 Industrial Park is a new investment opportunity hosted on CrowdStreet. The project is for a development of a Class-A distribution center in the fastest-growing mega-region in the US, close to the International Port of Texas. Once complete, the property will offer valuable access to rail, lines, shipping terminals, and major freeways- allowing goods to travel freely from Port 99 to all corners of the US- and the world. 

Invest in Port 99 on CrowdStreet, here.

The Spartan Storage Growth Fund is a $45 million fund open to accredited investors looking to deploy capital in opportunistic self-storage in markets across the United States. The fund purchases well-vetted ground-up development as well as lease-up investment opportunities. They typically seek out underperforming self-storage, with more than 40,000 net rentable SF, often in high-growth markets. 

Learn more about the Spartan Storage Growth Fund here.

The Simm Capital Wealth Fund is an investment opportunity focused on Class B and C+ multifamily family assets. The fund acquires existing multifamily properties in high-growth markets with demonstrated increases in population and other positive demographic characteristics. The fund has a minimum investment of $100,000, a targeted equity multiple of 2.5-3x, a preferred dividend of 8%, and a target cash-on-cash of 15-18%. 

Check out the SIMM Cap Wealth Fund, here.

General Crowdfunding Industry News

Homebase is the latest platform to enter into the non-fungible token scene, with the company launching fractional real estate investment offerings via NFT. Using cryptocurrency Solana, Homebase allows investors to generate returns from rental properties- starting at low as $100. Returns are paid via the stablecoin USDC. Get the rest of the scoop on Crowdfund Insider, here.

Crowdfunding Platform Updates

Crowdfunding platform YieldStreet recently announced a new RIA partnership with Kubhera Wealth Management, joining the direct-to-consumer real estate platform as its first registered investment advisor (RIA) partner. Kubhera clients can now diversify their portfolios with alternative assets like real estate, art venture capital, private equity, and more. 

The move comes on the heels of a record-breaking year for YieldStreet and gives Kubhera’s 300+ clients the opportunity to diversify their portfolios with private asset classes. Learn more at Crowdfund Insider, here.

SEC Filings Graphs

We saw a steep decline in the total amount of funds raised (tracked via GowerCrowd’s exclusive SEC Filing Report Data), with the total amount dropping significantly from Week 7 to Week 8. The total amount raised in Week 8 was $0.25 billion, down from $1.02 billion last week. The total number of deals actually fell as well, from 29 total deals in Week 7 to 21 deals in Week 8. 

Interestingly, Nevada made the top of the list of states by dollars raised, with $0.09 billion, while Week 7’s winner, Oregon, fell to 5th place with $0.01 billion. If you want to see the top five states by number of deals or dollars raised, click this link to access Week 8 SEC Filing Data– only available here at GowerCrowd.

Multimedia Links (Videos, Podcasts, etc.)

We’ll finish things off with a new podcast from Multifamily Made Simple, Episode 346: The Dangers of Crowdfunded Real Estate Investing. In this episode, hosts Anthony Vicino and Dan Krueger of Invictus Capital discuss some of the pitfalls involved with crowdfunded real estate- and a look at why many offerings are only offered to accredited investors. 

This podcast is a must-listen for anyone on the fence about crowdfunded real estate- as research and due diligence are fundamental to a good real estate crowdfunding investment strategy. Listen for yourself on Listen Notes, here.

That’s it for this week- but I’ll see you next week with lots more new deals, news stories, platform updates, podcasts, and so much more. Ciao!

Greetings, GowerCrowders!

This week, I’ve got some good stuff for you, including a Core-Plus Marriott Portfolio in a Tourist Hotspot from CrowdStreet, alongside a Dallas Multi-Family Property Development hosted on Yieldstreet. I will also explore the March edition of “Lay of the Land,” AcreTrader’s monthly newsletter, and take a gander at CrowdStreet’s C-REIT Q1 update webinar. 

As is custom, I’ll compare and contrast the last few weeks of activity in the space with my weekly SEC Filing Report, which you can only find here at GowerCrowd. Lastly, I’ll finish things off with an examination of the $50 billion contrarian, Ira Lubert, who is the focus of the latest edition of Fundrise’s Onward podcast. 

Let’s get into it.

New Crowdfunding Platform Deals

Crowdstreet is holding an offering webinar for the Missoula Marriot Portfolio on March 7th, sponsored by New Castle. During the interactive Q&A, investors will be able to request more information about this Missoula, Montana, hospitality project in a hot tourist zone.

30 minutes into the call, the project will open for investment with offer pre-approval taking place at 5 PM PT the same day- giving investors the opportunity to e-sign documents and start to finalize the investment process. You can register for the webinar (or watch a recording) here.

Yieldstreet is offering the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a preferred equity investment in a Class A, a 336-unit multifamily property in Dallas, TX. Monthly interest payments of roughly 3.6% will be made to investors, while the remaining interest will accrue and compound over time. This deferred payment of accumulated interest will be made at maturity- with an expected equity multiple of 1.3x.

Learn more about this Dallas multifamily opportunity on Yieldstreet, here.

General Crowdfunding Industry News

AcreTrader recently sent out the March edition of “Lay of the Land,” their monthly farm-focused real estate crowdfunding newsletter. In this month’s issue, they look at different opportunities across the agricultural spectrum, including news from California citrus country, a new wave of environmental stewardship in the timber space, and the rise of fintech leadership in the heartland. 

You can read all about new developments in the agricultural investment sector on AcreTrader, here.

Crowdfunding Platform Updates

CrowdStreet is holding their REIT 1 (C-REIT), quarterly update on March 15, 2023, at 10 am PST. Portfolio team members Thomas McDonald and Sheldon Chang will join forces with John Robertson from the investor relations team to review the portfolio’s current positioning, highlight new deals, and provide investors with their unique outlook on the market. 

As a refresher, C-REIT offers investors access to roughly 20-25 growth-oriented private commercial real estate projects from several sponsors, all through a single fund managed by CrowdStreet Advisors. 

You can register for the webinar on CrowdStreet, here.

SEC Filings Graphs

We saw a slight uptick in the number of new deals in Week 9, with 25 total Reg D (b) and Reg D (c) deals, compared to 21 in Week 8. The total amount raised more than tripled, from $0.25 billion in Week 8 to $0.87 billion in Week 9. New York, California, and Texas tied for first place with 3 deals each. 

However, California took a commanding lead in dollars raised, with $0.35 billion compared to New York’s $0.12 billion and Texas not even making the top 5. The deals skewed small, similar to Week 8, with 11 small deals, 6 medium deals, and 6 large deals. Week 8 saw a wide proliferation of smaller deals, with 10 small deals, 3 medium deals, and 2 large deals. Gain a granular understanding of the Reg D (b) and Reg D (c) scene with a look at the deal data you can only find on GowerCrowd.

Multimedia Links (Videos, Podcasts, etc.)

As always, I’m going to finish things off with a look at a new podcast. In keeping with our platform-related news, I’m bringing you the latest episode of Onward, the official Fundrise podcast. In the latest episode, CEO Ben Miller interviews Ira Lubert, a veteran entrepreneur and investor who spent decades building a broad ecosystem of funds now worth tens of billions of dollars. 

Lubert is the chairman and co-founder of Independence Capital Partners and Lubert Adler Partners. He has involvement in a diverse array of investments, including tech equity, healthcare, life sciences, debt funds, hotel management, hedge funds, and yes, real estate. Ira credits his professional success to his ability to understand markets alongside his characteristic contrarianism, allowing him to buck trends and see unseen opportunity.

Listen to his insights on Onward by Fundrise, here.

That’s it for now- but I’ll see you soon with even more real estate crowdfunding news, new deals, platform updates, podcasts, and more! Until then!