The $4.5 Billion Platform: Inside Crowd Street's Alternative Investment Revolution

Welcome to the Allocate Podcast, an interview and educational content series to help investors learn and navigate investing in alternatives. Join us to hear from leading founders, fund managers, and allocators on the latest trends and the keys to successfully participating in the private markets.

In this episode of the Allocate Podcast, host Nic Millikan welcomes Crowd Street executives David Govshtein and Anna-Marie Allander Lieb as the pair discuss their platform's transformative journey in democratizing commercial real estate investing for accredited investors. Born from the 2012 JOBS Act, Crowd Street has grown from a novel concept to a robust platform deploying $4.5 billion across 800 transactions, with a unique $25,000 minimum investment that provides access to institutional-quality deals. The conversation explores the platform's evolution, rigorous deal screening process, insights into various real estate sectors, and the impact of changing economic conditions. With 300,000 members and a recent leadership transition, Crowd Street is now expanding beyond commercial real estate into other alternative investments like private credit and private equity, positioning itself as a comprehensive private market investing platform that empowers accredited investors with sophisticated investment opportunities.

About David Govshtein & Anna-Marie Lieb

David Govshtein serves as the Managing Director at Crowd Street, leading the team responsible for online capital formation and investor relations. Since joining Crowd Street in 2018, David has held various roles, including Managing Director of Capital Markets and Associate in Sales Development. His leadership has facilitated numerous successful equity raises, such as the acquisition of 2 Executive Drive in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, in collaboration with Rhino Capital Advisors.

Anna-Marie Allander Lieb is tis an Executive Managing Director at Crowd Street, where she has been since 2016, bringing over 15 years of experience in commercial real estate finance and capital raising. As a key member of the Offering Review Committee, she plays a crucial role in optimizing investment structures for our members while ensuring regulatory compliance. Prior to her role at Crowd Street, Anna-Marie worked at PNC, where she specialized in underwriting and structuring innovative tax credit equity and debt financing solutions for Historic Tax Credit, and Low Income Housing Tax Credit investments. Anna-Marie started her real estate career in Boston where she was a member of the CBRE New England Capital Markets Team. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Crowd Street is the largest online private equity real estate investing platform, connecting accredited investors with institutional-quality commercial real estate opportunities across the United States. Since its inception, Crowd Street has facilitated the funding of over $3.6 billion in investments, enabling individual investors to diversify their portfolios with direct access to a wide range of real estate projects. The platform's success is attributed to its rigorous investment screening process, commitment to transparency, and dedication to providing investors with comprehensive educational resources.

Disclosures: Private real estate is, by nature, generally less volatile than the stock market. This lack of volatility does not necessarily translate to private real estate not fluctuating in or losing value. Further, the value of private real estate investments will fluctuate, and the value of real estate often lags behind general market conditions.

Tax aspects of such investments can be complex and may differ depending on the property or offering and on individual tax circumstances. Neither Crowd Street or its affiliates offer tax or legal advice. Investors are strongly encouraged to seek advice from qualified tax professionals and/or legal experts regarding the tax consequences based on their particular circumstances.

Timestamps:

Topics in this conversation include:

* Welcome and Guest Introduction (1:10)

* Evolution of Crowd Street (2:17)

* Growth of Investor Base (5:42)

* Challenges of Early Adoption (7:56)

* Competition and Differentiation (8:46)

* Deal Screening Process (11:36)

* Investor Choice and Portfolio Construction (14:04)

* Minimum Investment Trends (16:29)

* Investor Education Focus (20:38)

* Office Space Investment Strategies (24:20)

* Multifamily Market Dynamics (27:52)

* Interest Rates and Market Dynamics (31:06)

* Creative Financing Solutions (34:45)

* Understanding Risk and Reward in Real Estate (38:08)

* Expanding into Private Credit (40:47)

* Building Expertise for Alternative Markets (42:11)

* Closing Remarks and Future Opportunities (43:14)

Disclosure

The information on this page constitutes market commentary and is provided by Allocate Management Company, LLC, any of its affiliates or any of its or their affiliates, directors, officers, employees or advisers (collectively referred to herein as “Allocate”) for informational purposes only.

Any opinions, assumptions, assessments, statements or the like (collectively, “Statements”) regarding market condition, future events or which are forward-looking, including Statements about investment processes, investment objectives, goals, risk management techniques, views of possible future outcomes in any investment asset class or market, or of possible future economic developments, constitute only market commentary based on the subjective views, beliefs, outlooks, forecasts, projections, estimations or intentions of Allocate, should not be relied on, are subject to change. Although Allocate believes that the expectations reflected in the Statements are reasonable, no representation is made or assurance given that such Statements are correct or that the objectives of an investment product or service will be achieved or that investors will receive a return of their capital or will not sustain losses. All investments involve risks and uncertainties, as disclosed in the applicable offering documents. Allocate undertakes no responsibility or obligation to revise or update any Statements. Statements expressed herein may not be shared by all personnel of Allocate. This page and the Statements are not intended as investment advice or recommendations by Allocate. It is Allocate’s policy that investment recommendations to its clients must be based on the investment objectives and risk tolerances of each individual client.

This page and Statements may contain or are based on third-party sources that, although believed to be reliable, have not been independently verified. Market and investment views of third parties presented herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Allocate. All such information is as of the date indicated, if indicated, may not be complete, is subject to change. All rights to the trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property listed herein belong to their respective owners and the use of such logos hereof does not imply an affiliation with, or endorsement by, the owners of such trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

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