023 Family Office Investing: Evolutions in Real Estate and Venture with Kristina Chang, CEO @ Westlake

In this episode of Money Moves, host Neil Devani speaks with real estate investor and CEO of Westlake, Kristina Chang. Kristina describes her journey from interning at a shopping center REIT to running and expanding her family’s real estate business. She explains how she integrates institutional discipline into a family-run operation, detailing her approach to acquisitions—especially in niche areas like self-storage and industrial outdoor storage—and emphasizing how meticulous execution is often as critical as the initial buy. 

Kristina also candidly recalls her best and worst deals, illustrating the importance of attention to detail, and outlines the ways she and her firm raise money, diversify risk, and plan exits. Finally, she offers insights into structuring personal portfolios, stressing that real estate can provide valuable yield alongside other alternative assets.

Topics Discussed in the Episode:

• Transitioning to Real Estate: Kristina recounts her early exposure to her family’s real estate business and subsequent experience at institutional firms, highlighting how this background shaped her investment style.
  
  
• Finding Alpha in Different Sub-Asset Classes: She discusses how she looks for alpha in areas like self-storage and industrial outdoor storage and the importance of monitoring where institutions are starting to place their capital.
  
  
• Importance of Operational Excellence: Beyond just buying properties at the right price, Kristina underscores effective asset management and execution as vital to realizing strong returns.
  
  
• Best and Worst Deals: She shares the story of a self-storage project in Sacramento that surpassed expectations after initial struggles, as well as a street-retail property in San Mateo where a critical miscalculation led to a lackluster outcome.
  
  
• Fundraising and Alignment: Kristina reflects on raising outside capital for the first time, the value of having her own “skin in the game,” and how appropriate GP/LP alignment is essential for successful partnerships.                

• Portfolio Strategy and Tax Efficiency: She advises entrepreneurial investors on allocating across real estate and other alternatives, noting how depreciation, 1031 exchanges, and real estate professional tax status can be powerful levers for optimizing returns.                                                                        

Connect with Kristina Chang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-chang-044b639/.

Connect with host Neil Devani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neildevani/.

For more information on Necessary Ventures, visit the website at: https://www.necessary.vc/.