Due Diligence & Risk Management Consulting

FactRight is seeing a trend in non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) that are seeking to diversify their funding sources by offering 1031 exchange investment opportunities with the potential to be UPREITed into the sponsoring REIT at some later date. The UPREIT transaction would be done under section 721 of the Internal Revenue Code, which provides for continued tax deferral of the original capital gains. These investment opportunities provide a significant opportunity to the right investors, and long as they understand the ramifications of such investments. Let’s look at the main considerations for determining whether investing in a DST program with an UPREIT option is appropriate for your client.

As far as true confessions go, this is rather lightweight: I love spreadsheets and financial models. There’s something about the designing, linking and debugging that is satisfying, even after several decades. There are always new analytic approaches and different formulas, not to mention Excel updates that add even more features.

Broker-dealers and RIAs need to have a robust due diligence process to satisfy regulatory requirements and make informed investment decisions with respect to private placements. And let’s face it, thorough due diligence of private placements does not always take a straightforward route. Investment strategies are wide ranging, transparency is typically limited, and offering structures often vary significantly, even for “similar” deals.

I’ve always been a big proponent of ongoing due diligence coverage on direct participation programs. Back when I was an assistant portfolio manager for a large mutual fund company, our coverage of a company certainly didn’t stop after the buy trade was processed. Later, as a product sponsor in the independent broker-dealer channel, I was struck by the disinterest in our selling syndicate once the selling agreement was executed.

FactRight is pleased to announce the promotion of Kathryn Stephany to General Counsel. In her expanded role, Kate will oversee FactRight's legal, IT, and HR departments while leading and supporting FactRight's operational due diligence engagements.