The Distribution by Juniper Square

Wesley Wilson, CFO of Avanath Capital Management, joins Brandon Sedloff for a special interview during Juniper Square's IMN CFO/COO conference in May of 2023. Links:Avanath Capital ManagementWesley on LinkedInLearn more about Juniper SquareProvide feedback for the podcastConnect with Brandon Sedloff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/Timestamps(00:00:47) Avanath and Affordable Housing(00:02:01) Wes’ experience at IMN(00:03:42) How do rising interest rates affect your asset class?(00:04:40) Do you have any concerns for housing over the next 18 months?(00:05:45) What do you oversee in your role?(00:06:22) How are you thinking about operational efficiency?(00:07:28) What caused the decision to outsource one of your open-ended vehicles?(00:08:54) How does technology help you make decisions?(00:10:20) What are you hearing from investors and their ability to allocate capital and their expectations?(00:13:49) What’s something people should know about your organization?(00:14:58) What are you optimistic about over the next 12 months?(00:17:55) Office to Residential conversions(00:18:31) What priorities do you have as a CFO in 2024?

On today’s episode, I sit down with Michael Phillips, a Principal and the President of Jamestown, a global, design-focused real estate investment and management firm with a 40-year track record. During his tenure as President, Jamestown has grown its portfolio of assets in key markets throughout the US and expanded its investment footprint to South America and Europe, more than tripling the firm’s assets under management. Michael is the driving force behind the company’s adaptive reuse projects including Chelsea Market in New York City, Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Industry City in Brooklyn, and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. In our conversation, we talked about making real estate more accessible and interactive, reinforcing the human connection to a physical place, why Jamestown decided to invest in timberlands more than a decade ago. Let’s get into it.Links:JamestownMichael on LinkedInPopular Jamestown PropertiesTimberland FundChatGPTLearn more about Juniper SquareProvide feedback for the podcastConnect with Brandon Sedloff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/Timestamps(00:01:20) Michael’s Career and Jamestown(00:03:20) What is the built environment?(00:06:00) Jamestown’s incredible projects(00:10:34) How do you identify what you will spend your time on?(00:15:46) How are you thinking about the future of the office asset?(00:19:48) What happens to all of these buildings that never come back online?(00:25:13) How do the next 3 years look when it comes to the balance of power between employees and employers?(00:29:28) What trends are you seeing come to the forefront in your portfolio?(00:34:23) Jamestown’s Timber project(00:41:33) What’s your take on folks avoiding ESG due to its impact on returns?(00:43:53) The Metaverse, Web3.0 and its impact on real estate(00:50:21) The Digital Twin(00:51:35) How will AI change the landscape of this industry?(00:53:40) What advice would you give to folks looking to innovate the way Jamestown is?

On today’s episode, I sit down with Jeff Toporek, co-founder and principal of FD Stonewater, a boutique development, investment, brokerage, and asset management firm. As a leader in the firm’s investment and asset management platforms, Jeff focuses his entrepreneurial energies on creating value from every angle of a transaction, including property operations, leasing, portfolio and risk management, and capital markets execution. During our conversation, we discuss how FD Stonewater approaches single-tenant assets, how they’re using technology to drive greater efficiency, and his search for the Holy Grail of dashboards.Let’s get into it.Links:FD StonewaterJeff on LinkedInProphiaJtoporek@FDStonewater.comLearn more about Juniper SquareProvide feedback for the podcastConnect with Brandon Sedloff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/Timestamps(00:01:05) - Jeff’s background and career(00:03:37) - What was the business thesis for starting FD Stonewater?(00:06:17) - How did you come to know the folks at Fortress and how did that inform the direction of the company?(00:09:06) - How has the capitalization of the business evolved?(00:13:09) - What is your unique advantage at FD?(00:15:33) - What are some of the headline stats for the organization?(00:20:09) - Why did you choose to pursue the non-institutional capital route?(00:27:31) - What is a single-tenant deal, who is the tenant and what do the economics look like?(00:34:51) - How much do you care about the type of tenant and their credit?(00:39:17) - What is your outlook on our economic environment today?(00:44:20) - What are you seeing from the Investor's perspective given these choppy waters?(00:50:04) - What lessons have you learned since launching an open end-fund?(00:52:59) - How have you embraced technology in your business and how does the industry need to implement data and machine learning going forward?(01:03:42) - Do you have any predictions for 2023 Capital Markets?(01:05:16) - What’s the best way for people to learn more?

On today’s episode, I sit down with Matt Ellis, CEO & Founder of Measurabl, the world’s most widely adopted ESG data management solution for real estate. Measurabl helps the industry’s most innovative companies optimize their ESG performance, assess exposure to physical climate risk, and act on decarbonization and sustainable finance opportunities. Before founding Measurabl, Matt spent five years with CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services company. There, he led CBRE’s Sustainability Practice Group, implemented its industry-first global carbon neutrality program, and served as the company’s first Director of Sustainability Solutions.In today’s conversation, we take a deep dive into the growing role of sustainability in real estate investing, how sustainability metrics, or mandates, will be the norm in transactions over the next several years, and how the real estate industry is evolving to meet these new requirements. Links:MeasurablMatt on LinkedInSustainability ResourcesContact Matt: Matt@Measureable.comLearn more about Juniper SquareProvide feedback for the podcastConnect with Brandon Sedloff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/Topics:(00:01:31) - Matt’s career & Measurabl’s background(00:05:10) - How did you know sustainability was a need to be filled in the market during the GFC?(00:07:20) - What are the headline stats for Measurabl today?(00:10:48) - What has the growth of sustainability in Real Estate looked like over the years?(00:14:17) - How do you handle differing attitudes from investors as it pertains to ESG criteria?(00:18:12) - What’s your response to folks who are on board ESG criteria, but feel they won’t be able to make a return on their investment if they address it?(00:24:36) - Where should Investment Managers start on their sustainability journey?(00:28:10) - How can Real Estate Personnel learn how to report on ESG?(00:40:26) - What do you see on the horizon for ESG in the next 1-5 years?(00:43:19) - What else can we do from a capital markets perspective?(00:46:14) - What’s next for Measurabl?

Heather Border and Jennifer Stevens, Co-Founders of Alliance Global Advisors, discuss strategic growth solutions for real asset investment managers, focusing on transparency, ESG, and industry evolution. They highlight organizational enhancement strategies, client-service provider relationships, and the evolving real estate investment landscape, emphasizing adaptability, communication, and driving progress within the industry.

Antonio Marquez of Comunidad Partners discusses raising institutional funds, creating programs for tenant well-being, and government initiatives to combat affordable housing crisis. Topics include social impact, workforce housing, virtual healthcare services, evictions prevention, and strategies for addressing housing affordability.

Chris Powers, Founder of Fort Capital, shares his journey in real estate, focusing on industrial properties. Discusses strategic shifts, syndication, and challenges in scaling the business. Explores the evolution and success of Fort Capital, raising capital, and future growth plans.

Matt Slepin, Managing Director and Co-head of Real Estate at ZRG Partners, discusses his career journey, trends in hiring, and building a diverse workforce in the real estate industry. They explore coaching career pivots, relationship dynamics, sustainability efforts, and the impact of technology on real estate. A insightful conversation for those interested in the commercial real estate sector.

Robb Bollhoffer, Managing Principal at 29th Street Capital, discusses driving efficiency with a lean team, having acquisition managers invest in deals they bring, and the advantages of the non-fund model. He also shares insights on the transition from single-family to multifamily investments, the importance of occupancy over renovation, and navigating real estate investment challenges.

Cortland is one of the largest multifamily firms in the U.S. Founded in 2005, they are now a global, vertically integrated multifamily investment, development, and management firm. Headquartered in Atlanta, they own and manage apartment communities across the U.S. with regional offices in Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Greenwich, Houston, and Orlando. Internationally, they operate a build-to-rent (BTR) management and development platform in the UK.Jason oversees and leads Cortland’s investments, capital markets, corporate finance, investor relations, tax, and accounting teams. He has an impressive career with time spent at JP Morgan, HSBC Bank, and LaSalle Investment Management.In our conversation, we discuss what forces Jason thinks will bring buyers and sellers back to the table in 2023, investor sentiment, and why today’s macroeconomic environment isn’t the same as The Great Recession.Links:Jason on LinkedInCortlandGet in touch with Juniper Square Access to the video version of this podcast Provide feedback for the podcastConnect with Brandon Sedloff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/Topics:(1:28) - Jason’s career background(3:41) - How has Cortland evolved over the years?(6:52) - What was the catalyst for expanding into the UK Multifamily market?(8:59) - What is your take on the current market environment?(16:55) - How do you look at the opportunity set looking into the medium term?(19:40) - How does the current environment compare to the 2008 GFC?(25:07) - What are you hearing from investors around allocations to Multifamily?(29:52) - Are there any asset fundamental concerns in Multifamily?(32:13) - How many times do you think the FED will raise rates over the next 12 months?