Hi {{first_name}},
My wife, Chelsea, and I washed the truck last Saturday.
It turned into something close to couples therapy.
Soap, water, and two people who've been through ups and downs…
…and a 2017 Ram Eco-Diesel with almost 200,000 miles on it that drives like a champ!
Washing the truck.
I thought about how much I love this truck and why I’ll likely NEVER upgrade it:
It always starts.
Not an ad or an affiliation of Cobblestone 😄
It always pulls what I need.
It always has room to haul away the trash at family gatherings and Saturday cleanups.
That truck is like the asset class I've spent over a decade operating in…real estate.
Versatile.
Long-lasting.
Tough.
The one that just…works, almost every time.
(…of course, when you give it fuel and don't try to drive it like a sports car.)
Yes, I went there…an investment in a solid diesel truck is akin to an investment in a solid real estate deal.
The diesel won’t be the fastest on the road, but it will be the most reliable, strongest, and can save the stranded and pull them out of the ditch…if you’re patient.
Real estate investments can do the same, and for most of American history, the largest pool of retirement capital in the country has not been allowed to buy the most reliable investment in the planet.
That changed on March 30.
The Department of Labor released a proposed safe harbor rule that, in plain language, opens a path for 401(k) and other defined contribution retirement plans to allocate to private real estate. The DOL itself estimates $178 billion will eventually flow into alternatives across roughly 4.5 million participants once the rule is finalized.
Public comment closes June 1.
That gives operators a few days to get on the record.
And roughly 24 months to build the structure, the reporting, and the investor relations systems that will determine whether they're eligible to receive a piece of that capital in 2027 and 2028.
Most operators won't be ready.
Not because they can't be. Because they aren't paying attention.
The retirement money isn't going to buy the asset class. It's going to buy the operators who built their version of the truck.
The ones who put 200,000 miles on a real strategy.
The ones whose reporting cadence, valuation governance, and product structure can pass an institutional inspection without embarrassment.
I broke the whole thing down in this week's letter:
The four product structure requirements plan fiduciaries are going to require.
The investor relations gap most operators don't see yet.
The Anderson v. Intel case sitting in front of the Supreme Court that's going to make this selection process tighter than most operators expect.
If you operate in private real estate, or you allocate to it, this is the most consequential structural change to the capital stack in a decade.
Read the full breakdown here: andrewlebaron.com/letter
Also…
I’m currently at the Family Office Club NYC conference and it’s been excellent. Today is day 2.
Yesterday, Abram Campbell from F6 Partners let us know what F6’s alternative real estate investment strategy looks like, here are some notes:
F6 started when two men decided alternative real estate investment management could be done even better
Blackstone originally partnered with F6’s founding principal, Marcus Ridgway, then partnered with Marcus again after he was able to execute well
The experienced operations of a real estate platform builder who eventually took the company public is present at F6 Partners
Student Housing and Senior Living investment opportunities currently remain the focused thesis of F6 Partners
Abram Campbell of F6 Partners
I’ll send another update later as I gather my thoughts and organize the insights I’ve extracted from the conference.
Wishing you a great weekend,
Andrew LeBaron
P.S. If you want to talk through what your product, reporting, or investor relations system needs to look like to be in the consideration set when this capital starts flowing, grab 15 minutes with me here: andrewlebaron.com/meetwithandrew
Why You Should Meet F6 Partners
$1.3B AUM
Led by Co-founder of Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH)
Same leader partnered with Blackstone to allocate over $4.5B in the world’s largest SFR portfolio
F6 Partners’ Founder, Marcus Ridgway, Talks Institutional Co-Ventures
F6 Partners is an alternative real estate asset manager that I’m currently advising, specifically assisting in the buildout of their Investor Relations department to raise another $100M for Student Housing, and so far they are on a roll.
I build LP investor relations infrastructure (lead list building, pitch development, data room, family office strategy, nurture systems, and accountability structures) so your raise actually closes.
Three things I do that most placement firms don't:
If you're raising for a real estate deal or a fund in the next 90 days, reply to this email or visit this page and fill out the form and let’s see how my team and I can help you.
THIS WEEK’S📈HIGHLIGHTS
🏢➕🏢➕💍🟰6️⃣9️⃣B AvalonBay and Equity Residential merged to form the largest apartment REIT in U.S. history $69B enterprise value, 180,000 units, $4.4B development pipeline — the institutional consolidation play of the cycle. SEC 8-K filing
💰➕🏥➕🏫🟰5️⃣.1️⃣2️⃣B Kayne Anderson Real Estate closed its largest-ever opportunistic fund at $5.12B — 70% over target Medical office, senior housing, student housing, and light industrial. The "supercycle" call landed. Kayne Anderson press release
🏦➕🛍️➕🤝🟰3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣M Bain Capital and 11North Partners deployed $300M into a retail acquisition push Institutional money is back in open-air retail — and is moving in scale, not toes-in-the-water size. Commercial Property Executive
✈️➕🏢➕📋🟰4️⃣.3️⃣M Airbus tapped JLL to manage its 4.3 MSF U.S. real estate portfolio A major win for the brokerage and a signal that corporate occupiers are outsourcing more, not less, in this cycle. Commercial Property Executive
THIS WEEK’S📉LOWLIGHTS
💸➕🏠➕📈🟰6️⃣.5️⃣3️⃣ The 30-year mortgage rate hit 6.53% — the highest level in nine months Up despite a pullback in Treasury yields. The CPI spike from earlier this month is still bleeding into mortgage pricing. Freddie Mac PMMS
🏦➕🗑️➕📉🟰❌ Banks are finally cutting losses on troubled CRE loans after years of "extend and pretend" The slow burn of regional bank purges is turning into discount sales. Distress is being recognized, not deferred. CRE Daily
🏢➕🪧➕🏙️🟰6️⃣9️⃣1️⃣K 691,000-sq-ft Two North LaSalle in Chicago hit the market as JLL marketed it REO The Loop's Class B office reckoning is now showing up in marquee buildings, not just C-grade product. Connect CRE
🏛️➕💵➕📉🟰1️⃣7️⃣M The federal government sold its property overlooking the Tidal Basin for just $17M A trophy D.C. office building moved at distress pricing — even Uncle Sam couldn't get a premium for it. Bisnow
📊➕📈➕📉🟰❓ Treasury yields are rising while SOFR is falling — and CRE lenders are caught between the two Floating-rate borrowers get relief, fixed-rate refis get punished. The basis trade is broken in both directions. CRE Daily
MULTI-SECTOR REAL ESTATE DASHBOARD
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