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  • Twitter is the Ultimate Cryptocurrency Stock to BUY NOW

    Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) shares have soared more than 55% and counting in the past year, 2021 (Sun, The Motley Fool). An iconic platform best known as a micro-blogging social network, Twitter is quickly evolving. Moreover, it’s developing into something that’s likely even more influential and lucrative with the rise of cryptocurrencies. 

    Back in July 2021, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jack Dorsey announced that Bitcoin would become a “big part” of Twitter, specifically via integration with the company’s products and services. While this may not be well-known to investors, Twitter has already seen a huge rise in its bottom line due to the influx of cryptocurrency developers (Sun, The Motley Fool).

    An Extremely Unique Advantage for Twitter

    Unlike with stocks, there isn’t a centralized Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) database (called EDGAR), where investors can go and get the latest information and financials for cryptocurrencies; until now. Twitter is quickly beginning to play the role of a “decentralized SEC” for the crypto community. Users can follow developer teams on Twitter, thereby getting the newest information on material changes in protocol, new partnerships, and significant events (the equivalent of 8-Ks at the SEC), as well as regular financial reports (10-Qs and 10-Ks). Furthermore, individuals can even report cryptocurrency tweets deemed to be scams or pump-and-dump schemes. A common practice in the vast majority of equity markets, this leads to a prototype of self-regulation (CFA Institute).

    Due to this phenomenon, Twitter is becoming exceedingly popular among altcoin networks such as Ethereum, Avalanche, Solana, Reserve Rights, Chainlink, Monero, and PirateChain, amongst many others. Their setup has attracted likely millions of users specifically desiring to stay up-to-date with the development of their latest tokens. Twitter’s capitalized on this financially by charging developers to promote their accounts via advertisement spending. Developers are incentivized into this because traffic is organic and directly within their target audience. Through this process, Twitter doesn’t even need to spend money on their own advertising. Celebrities, such as Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, repeatedly use the platform to tout digital currencies such as Dogecoin to his fans, obviously generating substantial viewing activity.

    Financials Back Up Recent Boost in Success and Future Hype for Twitter

    During the second quarter of 2021, Twitter grew its monetizable daily active user base by 10.8% year over year to 206 million (Twitter, Inc – Financial Information). During the same time, revenue grew by a stunning 74% to $1.19 billion (Twitter, Inc – Financial Information). The company’s earnings have recouped their losses from the pandemic recession. Moreover, they more than doubled in the quarter ending June 30th (Twitter, Inc – Financial Information). They’re very clearly currently on track for stellar growth.

    Additionally, Twitter is doing well in terms of liquidity, with cash and investments outweighing its debt plus convertible notes by a factor of two (Twitter, Inc – Financial Information). Most experts agree it is both a great tech and crypto stock to buy at 10 times revenue. Expect continued profits and share gains as part of the boom in cryptocurrencies.

  • Twitter is the Ultimate Cryptocurrency Stock to BUY NOW

    Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) shares have soared more than 55% and counting in the past year, 2021 (Sun, The Motley Fool). An iconic platform best known as a micro-blogging social network, Twitter is quickly evolving. Moreover, it’s developing into something that’s likely even more influential and lucrative with the rise of cryptocurrencies. 

    Back in July 2021, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jack Dorsey announced that Bitcoin would become a “big part” of Twitter, specifically via integration with the company’s products and services. While this may not be well-known to investors, Twitter has already seen a huge rise in its bottom line due to the influx of cryptocurrency developers (Sun, The Motley Fool).

    An Extremely Unique Advantage for Twitter

    Unlike with stocks, there isn’t a centralized Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) database (called EDGAR), where investors can go and get the latest information and financials for cryptocurrencies; until now. Twitter is quickly beginning to play the role of a “decentralized SEC” for the crypto community. Users can follow developer teams on Twitter, thereby getting the newest information on material changes in protocol, new partnerships, and significant events (the equivalent of 8-Ks at the SEC), as well as regular financial reports (10-Qs and 10-Ks). Furthermore, individuals can even report cryptocurrency tweets deemed to be scams or pump-and-dump schemes. A common practice in the vast majority of equity markets, this leads to a prototype of self-regulation (CFA Institute).

    Due to this phenomenon, Twitter is becoming exceedingly popular among altcoin networks such as Ethereum, Avalanche, Solana, Reserve Rights, Chainlink, Monero, and PirateChain, amongst many others. Their setup has attracted likely millions of users specifically desiring to stay up-to-date with the development of their latest tokens. Twitter’s capitalized on this financially by charging developers to promote their accounts via advertisement spending. Developers are incentivized into this because traffic is organic and directly within their target audience. Through this process, Twitter doesn’t even need to spend money on their own advertising. Celebrities, such as Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, repeatedly use the platform to tout digital currencies such as Dogecoin to his fans, obviously generating substantial viewing activity.

    Financials Back Up Recent Boost in Success and Future Hype for Twitter

    During the second quarter of 2021, Twitter grew its monetizable daily active user base by 10.8% year over year to 206 million (Twitter, Inc – Financial Information). During the same time, revenue grew by a stunning 74% to $1.19 billion (Twitter, Inc – Financial Information). The company’s earnings have recouped their losses from the pandemic recession. Moreover, they more than doubled in the quarter ending June 30th (Twitter, Inc – Financial Information). They’re very clearly currently on track for stellar growth.

    Additionally, Twitter is doing well in terms of liquidity, with cash and investments outweighing its debt plus convertible notes by a factor of two (Twitter, Inc – Financial Information). Most experts agree it is both a great tech and crypto stock to buy at 10 times revenue. Expect continued profits and share gains as part of the boom in cryptocurrencies.

  • The United States NO LONGER Leads the World in CRE Investing

    It’s been covered extensively, but the COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to CRE investment. Unfortunately, from looking at Real Capital Analytics CRE investment numbers for July 2021 and the general trajectory over a longer-term period, the CRE investing landscape in the US is not likely to change anytime soon (Clark, 2021). That considers far more than the decline in CRE investment we witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It largely considers the reality that the world’s leading financial giants are contemplating a permanent hybrid work schedule. Real estate still continued to dominate as an investor-friendly asset class, in fact the largest in the world. However there’s no doubt CRE subsector investment dropped significantly and is continuing to, as a result of the pandemic. 

    How the US Fell Behind in CRE Investment

    When the COVID-19 pandemic created a recessionary period March 2020 for the United States economy, the EU began flourishing. According to the same Real Capital Analytics report, “US investment volume for deals priced $10 million and greater slipped behind those in Europe by $19 billion” (Clark, 2021). Unfortunately for the US economy, this occurred in simultaneous months. As soon as the EU began to pick up momentum in deals, they grew quicker and larger. The United States economy – largely attributed to government political infighting – was placed on the back burner at that time. Then President Trump was in the heat of his re-election celebrations, until a global pandemic that’s been pegged as worse than the Spanish Flu, came around (Cox, USA Today).

    This understandably sidetracked the Trump administration into both shock and damage control. While lawmakers in the United States were looking for who to blame for the pandemic’s “miss”, a Brookings University study concluded other countries were busy seizing on the opportunity to attract new business. Predominantly African countries, but definitely also many of those previously really hurting in the EU. 

    Jim Costello, Senior Vice President at Real Capital Analytics, described how investors are facing greater uncertainty around “underwriting future income trends for a property” because of the then relatively novel coronavirus.

    “The social safety nets of European countries can look more expensive, but in a time of crisis, they can also help investors understand how economic losses will be distributed. A single large entity-level transaction boosted quarterly European deal activity ahead of that of the US in late 2017, but otherwise the U.S. has been a larger investment market.”

    – Jim Costello, Real Capital Analytics

    Where CRE Investment in the US Currently Stands and the Outlook Moving Forward

    It’s worth noting the report states that in under normal circumstances, the US is the world’s “most liquid region” for commercial real estate activity. However, in the second quarter of the 2020, Europe moved past the US as a “hub for investment” (Clark, 2021). The trend is yet to discontinue. As CRE investing, raising capital through debt issuances, crowdfunding, and other methods of obtaining credit for CRE projects are rapidly declining, investor confidence is dropping in parallel. While data hasn’t favored bullish CRE investors since the onset of COVID-19, we’ve continued to cover hypothetical positive CRE resurgences.

    Nearing the conclusion of Jim Costello’s findings, different calculations tell the same story. Commercial real estate holdings in the US are not the most advisable investment presently (Costello, 2021). The early figures for July show a double-digit decline in the number of commercial real estate deals in the US. However, deal volume for July is projected to be more than $10 billion. In 2009 – the last officially recorded recession – deal activity averaged around $6 billion per month for the whole year and was closer to $5 billion for July (Costello, 2021).

    The findings Jim Costello referred to align with data collected by Statista, a well-known statistics portal for large market data.

    Figure 1 – Commercial Real Estate Investment Volume in US, 2019-2020 ($B of USD)
    Source: Statista Consumer Data, 2021
    Figure 2 – Totaled Values of Commercial Real Estate Sold in US, 2019-2020 ($B of USA)
    Source: Statista Consumer Data, 2021

    “So while conditions in the US are poor, as of yet, investment activity is not as bad as the last downturn, the commercial real estate data suggests that there is less confidence in the US at the moment.”

    – Jim Costello, Real Capital Analytics

    Those final words from Jim Costello in this piece concisely summarize the point we’ve been driving home. While you may not agree with Jim’s rationale, the data does not lie. CRE investments in the US have been going downward since the start of COVID-19 and furthermore, the vast majority of reputable real estate financial analysts would not agree CRE is the best real estate vehicle to invest in at this time, at least relatively passively. It’s perhaps most important to conclude by reminding investors of the 2008 recession, ultimately collapsing from a massive residential housing market bubble. The lessons of 2008 not only taught investors, but also regulators to be vigilant of potential bubbles with systemic risks. However in this case, all the experts suggest the “crash” of US CRE investing during COVID-19 had to do with consumer confidence.

    Once it began to fall, CRE investing opportunities essentially bottomed out because investors ran to relocate their assets. From placing investments much more frequently in REITS and other well diversified real estate vehicles, direct CRE investors became harder and harder to come by. When you add hybrid work schedules, to a push for more productive work-at-home time, and bottom line cost cuts from closing down “brick-and-mortar” offices, at best, the uncertainty of the delta variant in the COVID-19 virus is continuing to hold back CRE investing in the US. At worst – or most likely – CRE investing in the US is, at least temporarily, does not appear to favor any realistic bullish outlook.

  • Study Finds Long, Working Hours Kill Nearly a Million Individuals a Year

    According to the WHO (World Health Organization), long-working hours are directly attributed to the death’s of thousands, upon thousands, upon thousands in global cities (check out this past year, alone). We’re talking about nearly a million people in 2016 alone. The study – again conducted by the incredibly prestigious WHO and cited in BBC News – has some truly alarming statistics. This global survey contains data that is some of the first of its kind and begins gathering data to reach the hypothesis that was likely reached as early as 2016 (BBC News Service).

    As this research was being conducted all the way dating back to 2016, it’s vital to note this takes into account labor market conditions mostly prior to the global, COVID-19 pandemic. Following the aftermath of the pandemic, we’ve seen companies adapt more of a hybrid office schedule for employees. We’ve even seen some companies abandon office schedules altogether (at least for the time being). Perhaps once these working conditions began, it was somewhat refreshing to those who commuted to the office everyday. However, as other studies have shown, while many really didn’t mind working from home, some individuals who were previously content with their weekly schedules became increasingly uncomfortable. Nonetheless, as labor market conditions are returning closer to pre-pandemic times, we can likely expect to see a bit more hybrid working schedules, but largely the same pre-pandemic conditions as in 2016 (BBC News Service).

    Some Alarming Conclusions

    Referring back to that 2016 study done by the WHO and initially reported on by BBC News, of the various alarming statistics, the very first one jumps out: 745,000 people died in 2016 as a result of stroke and heart disease due to long working hours. The article goes on to cite several egregious examples of worker abuse. Lora Jones, a 22 year-old described her initial role at a digital marketing firm as “cult-like”, regarding their adherence to a 72-hour minimum work week (Jones, BBC News).

    While this may not surprise many, Goldman Sachs was thrown under the rug for overworking entry-level analysts. One report details entry-level analysts joining together to have a discussion with their managers at Goldman. They asked for an 80-hour work week cap, calling their current working conditions “abusive” and even “inhumane”. Nonetheless, in a subsequent BBC Report, Goldman CEO David Solomon had no problem with – now – a 95-hour work week. While applauding the courage of the entry-level personnel, Solomon noted “going an extra mile can go a long way”. Everyone reading this should understand the meaning of that pretty clearly.

    Furthermore, the research compared those working a 55-hour work week with those working 35-40 hours. It found that those working a 55-hour work week had a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared to those working 35-40 hours.

    A final study, conducted by the International Labour Organization (ILO), concluded men were clearly at a higher risk. Specifically, they reported nearly three quarters of those that died due to working long hours were middle-aged or older men.

    What Will The Future Impact Be?

    BBC News continued with additional regurgitations of the same message; there’s a renewed interest in debating US working class conditions. Reports not cited by BBC show CEOs and executives taking great interest in the happiness of their everyday staff. With that, it’s important to note we’re not suggesting these BCC reports are fair portrayals of the average executive attitude, or average company culture. As we noted in the beginning, a key impact will be many companies adapting a hybrid work routine. This should appease both employees who don’t mind working from home and those who want to be in the office.

    While hybrid work schedules aren’t necessarily great news for CRE investors, they are already a reality. This isn’t something companies are considering doing in the long-run; this is something several big companies have pledged to. The list is likely to only keep growing. These positive changes, combined with a renewed interest in publicly debating this topic, bodes well for the working class. For bullish CRE investors, perhaps not so much.

  • Technological & Digital Disruption

    While it’s commonly known that tech disruption is rapidly occurring, are you aware of which sectors of the US economy are being transformed the most? Initially presented in a Microsoft Business Forward forum, this research is key to assessing the sectors that need to gear up and prepare to deal with the newest technologies. The chart below substantiates just how much technological innovation and digital transformation are disrupting critical, traditional sectors within the nation’s economy.

    Top 6 Industries Impacted by Technological & Digital Disruption

    Microsoft: Top 6 Sectors Affected by Tech / Digital Disruption (Satya Nadella, 2020)

    PropTech addresses technological innovation specifically in the real estate segment. Moreover, you’ll notice that the Top 6 industries affected are most likely ones you come across in your everyday life. What does this mean for management, consumers, and the working class (specifically in these industries)? The article that complements Satya’s research shares a grim prognostication:

    “Digital disruption is well upon us. While a survey conducted by the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation for the large and mid-sized private sector companies agreed, to varying degrees, that digital disruption comes with its own set of benefits, it is also true that Digital Disruption is threatening the survival of many businesses and industries.

    Futuristic businesses and start-ups are exploring new avenues of re-inventing their business activities and industries all together to compete with and dislodge incumbents. The last decade alone has witnessed some exponential progress in technological disruption – think Airbnb, Paytm, Netflix and Uber.

    And this disruption is gradually influencing every industry, including banking, healthcare, hospitality, construction, manufacturing, packaging, logistics, and insurance amongst others (discussed in detail by Satya in Microsoft’s 2020 Keynote Forum).”

    Embee Staff

    Conclusion: What Does This Mean for Real Estate Investors?

    Succinctly, to have longevity in a given industry, the necessity for technological innovation has proven to be non-negotiable. Avoiding this reality will get you nowhere – or worse, out of business – quickly. As the abundance of digital and cloud transformation technologies are increasing, many are finding themselves playing catch-up. The information Microsoft presented suggests nearly all industries will be behind if they refuse to acknowledge technological progress. Not only acknowledge it, but make drastic changes, as necessary, to adapt alongside it.

    We’ve summarized the role technological innovation will play at length in the real estate market moving forward, specifically. Finally, ponder this. Imagine the impact to real estate markets, even globally, if critical industries and large corporations were to fall ‘behind-the-curve‘. What would this mean for CRE investors, who have continued to struggle as of late? The data study produced by Microsoft illustrates just how cataclysmic failures to adapt to new technologies – no matter the reason – can cause widespread fragility beyond the individual companies, or even those particular industry segments. It’s imperative to always look at the bigger picture. In this case, failure to adapt to new technologies will almost certainly cause broad, undesired consequences for investors.

  • Investigating a Critic of Real Estate Investing

    Why Rental Properties Are Not Good Investments

    While real estate continues to be the biggest asset class in the world, there are still asset managers who are skeptical about recommending it to their clients as an investment vehicle. As Andy Rachleff puts it:

    One of the most common pieces of financial advice our clients hear from their friends and family is to invest their excess cash in rental properties. Unfortunately, this is terrible advice for all but a lucky few.


    Andy Rachelff

    The piece goes on to give four distinct reasons for critics’ deviation from traditional logic. Let’s break it down one by one.

    Income Isn’t Guaranteed

    While this is true, this is true when it comes to any financial investment vehicle. According to the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), as of Q1 2021 the average 25-year return for private commercial real estate properties held for investment purposes slightly outperformed the S&P 500 Index, with average annualized returns of 10.3% and 9.6%, respectively. Residential and diversified real estate investments also averaged returns of 10.3% (NCREIF). Keep in mind, this data takes into account both the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Each calamity gravely deflated assets in the real estate market. So while it’s certainly true that income isn’t guaranteed, over a 25-year period both commercial and residential real estate holdings outperformed the S&P 500 Index. While income is almost never guaranteed, this should make you feel more at ease about investing your money in the real estate sector.

    It’s Hard To Generate A Compelling Return

    Another generic statement that can be said about almost any investment vehicle. If generating a compelling return was easy, everyone would follow the same system. When you invest in real estate, whether it be through direct property management or a REIT, you still maintain some level of ownership over a physical asset. Conversely, with stocks, as an example, you own a piece of a publicly traded company that has a board of directors, executives, and senior management controlling the day-to-day operations. In other words, your money is in the hand’s of others. With the majority of real estate investment vehicles, you are in control. Therefore, you are the one who has the ability to make decisions that generate a more compelling return, versus leaving those decisions in other people’s hands. It’s easier to generate a compelling return when you have control because at the end of the day, no one will care as much about your money as yourself. Additionally, the under 8% net over eight years earned by Weatherfront’s portfolio is not only a logical fallacy as it is only one data point, but their complaint is largely surrounding the tax structure of rental properties investors will have to pay. It is anecdotal data tailored to disprove a very generic argument to begin with.

    It’s Better To Diversify Your Portfolio

    In this section, the writer essentially makes a compelling argument to investing in a REIT versus direct real estate investing. While we’ve covered both strategies in depth, it’s true that in the long-term a REIT, REIG, or some form of pooled investment will mitigate your portfolio’s risk. This is especially true for individual properties that “fall out of favor”, sometimes due to external factors (i.e. COVID-19 pandemic). The writer correctly points out the substantial risk in a situation where you have enough capital to invest in only one property and advises you against it, but then makes a perfect argument for how to actually diversify your capital within the real estate market. After all, diversification is cited by a vast majority a major benefit to the real estate investment sector. Irrespective of how much money you have to invest upfront, you have control over how much risk you want to take on. Therefore you can choose to diversify your real estate portfolio, or you can put all your eggs in one basket. We are in agreement with Weatherfront that the latter generally isn’t advisable.

    Liquidity Matters

    Depending on what approach you take to real estate investing, the writer has a point. If you take a direct approach to real estate investing, you can easily get stuck with an undesirable property. Alternatively, investing in a real estate index fund, gives you the same liquidity as investing in any other index or stock. Nowadays, it’s very rare to see an investor take all their excess investment capital and tie it down in one property. If they do, they’re doing so at their own peril. With so much data available that shows national long-term economic growth is cyclical, one would have to have a very high appetite for risk to directly invest in a single property. Diversification has been proven to be an essential component to any successful investment portfolio.

    Concisely, do we agree with the critic’s assertion to avoid investing in real estate holdings? No, we don’t. While the writer points out some opportunities to improve your real estate investment strategy, they don’t provide a compelling argument to avoid investing in the entire segment. While some data is anecdotal and some is actual, they make a good case to be wary of rental properties. At the same time, they make a great case for diversification through REITs and other real estate index funds. The fact is there will always be critics and skeptics of any investment choices. There are analysts who are paid to do just that. However real estate has been the world’s largest asset class for awhile and it isn’t going anywhere. For investors, it would be wise to embrace that and research the abundant amount of strategies available within the real estate segment. Diversification will always be critical. Especially if you’re not currently invested in the real estate market, it would be prudent to look into various strategies because you’re all but sure to find some that suit either your short or long-term goals.

  • Investigating a Critic of Real Estate Investing

    Why Rental Properties Are Not Good Investments

    While real estate continues to be the biggest asset class in the world, there are still asset managers who are skeptical about recommending it to their clients as an investment vehicle. As Andy Rachleff puts it:

    One of the most common pieces of financial advice our clients hear from their friends and family is to invest their excess cash in rental properties. Unfortunately, this is terrible advice for all but a lucky few.


    Andy Rachelff

    The piece goes on to give four distinct reasons for critics’ deviation from traditional logic. Let’s break it down one by one.

    Income Isn’t Guaranteed

    While this is true, this is true when it comes to any financial investment vehicle. According to the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), as of Q1 2021 the average 25-year return for private commercial real estate properties held for investment purposes slightly outperformed the S&P 500 Index, with average annualized returns of 10.3% and 9.6%, respectively. Residential and diversified real estate investments also averaged returns of 10.3% (NCREIF). Keep in mind, this data takes into account both the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Each calamity gravely deflated assets in the real estate market. So while it’s certainly true that income isn’t guaranteed, over a 25-year period both commercial and residential real estate holdings outperformed the S&P 500 Index. While income is almost never guaranteed, this should make you feel more at ease about investing your money in the real estate sector.

    It’s Hard To Generate A Compelling Return

    Another generic statement that can be said about almost any investment vehicle. If generating a compelling return was easy, everyone would follow the same system. When you invest in real estate, whether it be through direct property management or a REIT, you still maintain some level of ownership over a physical asset. Conversely, with stocks, as an example, you own a piece of a publicly traded company that has a board of directors, executives, and senior management controlling the day-to-day operations. In other words, your money is in the hand’s of others. With the majority of real estate investment vehicles, you are in control. Therefore, you are the one who has the ability to make decisions that generate a more compelling return, versus leaving those decisions in other people’s hands. It’s easier to generate a compelling return when you have control because at the end of the day, no one will care as much about your money as yourself. Additionally, the under 8% net over eight years earned by Weatherfront’s portfolio is not only a logical fallacy as it is only one data point, but their complaint is largely surrounding the tax structure of rental properties investors will have to pay. It is anecdotal data tailored to disprove a very generic argument to begin with.

    It’s Better To Diversify Your Portfolio

    In this section, the writer essentially makes a compelling argument to investing in a REIT versus direct real estate investing. While we’ve covered both strategies in depth, it’s true that in the long-term a REIT, REIG, or some form of pooled investment will mitigate your portfolio’s risk. This is especially true for individual properties that “fall out of favor”, sometimes due to external factors (i.e. COVID-19 pandemic). The writer correctly points out the substantial risk in a situation where you have enough capital to invest in only one property and advises you against it, but then makes a perfect argument for how to actually diversify your capital within the real estate market. After all, diversification is cited by a vast majority a major benefit to the real estate investment sector. Irrespective of how much money you have to invest upfront, you have control over how much risk you want to take on. Therefore you can choose to diversify your real estate portfolio, or you can put all your eggs in one basket. We are in agreement with Weatherfront that the latter generally isn’t advisable.

    Liquidity Matters

    Depending on what approach you take to real estate investing, the writer has a point. If you take a direct approach to real estate investing, you can easily get stuck with an undesirable property. Alternatively, investing in a real estate index fund, gives you the same liquidity as investing in any other index or stock. Nowadays, it’s very rare to see an investor take all their excess investment capital and tie it down in one property. If they do, they’re doing so at their own peril. With so much data available that shows national long-term economic growth is cyclical, one would have to have a very high appetite for risk to directly invest in a single property. Diversification has been proven to be an essential component to any successful investment portfolio.

    Concisely, do we agree with the critic’s assertion to avoid investing in real estate holdings? No, we don’t. While the writer points out some opportunities to improve your real estate investment strategy, they don’t provide a compelling argument to avoid investing in the entire segment. While some data is anecdotal and some is actual, they make a good case to be wary of rental properties. At the same time, they make a great case for diversification through REITs and other real estate index funds. The fact is there will always be critics and skeptics of any investment choices. There are analysts who are paid to do just that. However real estate has been the world’s largest asset class for awhile and it isn’t going anywhere. For investors, it would be wise to embrace that and research the abundant amount of strategies available within the real estate segment. Diversification will always be critical. Especially if you’re not currently invested in the real estate market, it would be prudent to look into various strategies because you’re all but sure to find some that suit either your short or long-term goals.

  • The Future of Capital Markets Technology

    Capital Markets are where savings and investments are channeled between suppliers, people, or institutions with capital to lend or invest — as well as those in need (Hayes, Investopedia). Suppliers typically include banks and investors while those who seek capital are businesses, governments, and individuals. Capital markets are composed of primary and secondary markets.

    The most common capital markets are the stock market and the bond market. However other, more complex, markets include the CRE (Commercial Real Estate) Market, Equity Capital Market (ECM), as well as many others that are typically geared towards a specific investor. Therefore there is not as much trading volume or frequency, since the broader excitement is not the same. Even though real estate is the world’s largest asset class, we’ve seen a recent decline in CRE investment. Medium recently posted an article detailing the advantages of a platform called Beacon Platform, Inc, which was a critical, major acquisition for Centena.

    Medium: Modernizing the Capital Markets Technology Stack: Centana’s Investment in Beacon Platform, Inc.

    Why do customers choose Beacon?

    Time-to-Value and ROI. Today, companies continue to deal with cumbersome internal applications that have been stitched together, often with legacy code and/or 3rd party vendors in the Trading and Risk Management space, which are “black box” and difficult, if not impossible, to alter.

    Beacon’s entire code base is flexible and transparent (i.e. the code is made available to customers) and seamlessly integrates with existing software and other 3rd party solutions (like Murex and Calypso), or in-house proprietary solutions, which helps drive quick time-to-value and high utility.

    In a fraction of the time and cost of alternative solutions, Beacon has helped customers achieve objectives such as migrating workloads to the cloud, expanding into new markets, upgrading legacy code by placing it within a modern developer wrapper and extending analytics and applications to customers’ end-users.

    -Matt Alfieri
    Key Takeaways

    When it comes to capital markets technology, the evolving nature of the tech space all but ensures we will see new technologies introduced into capital markets operations. Additionally, while this may sound like an advertisement for Beacon (though FinYork has absolutely no affiliation to it), the critical feature to note is this is an exemplary illustration of where capital markets technology appears to be heading.

    Vertical SaaS or cloud industry solutions, instead of legacy or proprietary in-house solutions, are showing us that they’re easier to replace than many executives originally thought. You should expect to see a similar effect here as with PropTech, as it becomes more widely available and accepted by savvy executives and high net worth real estate investors. You definitely do not want to be the firm who is continuing to use antiquated capital markets technologies. This puts you at an immediate, huge disadvantage. It makes it that much harder to catch up with your competitors, who have a leg-up as they’ve already implemented innovative technologies.

    All this goes to say that SaaS, digital transformation, cloud technologies, PropTech, and even niche technologies that aim to improve efficiency in capital markets are going to play an integral part of the future. The success of firms who will adapt them largely depends on the success those firms will have in the implementation process. To be sure, capital markets technology is only going to continue getting more efficient, robust, and easier to adapt.

  • The Future of Capital Markets Technology

    Capital Markets are where savings and investments are channeled between suppliers, people, or institutions with capital to lend or invest — as well as those in need (Hayes, Investopedia). Suppliers typically include banks and investors while those who seek capital are businesses, governments, and individuals. Capital markets are composed of primary and secondary markets.

    The most common capital markets are the stock market and the bond market. However other, more complex, markets include the CRE (Commercial Real Estate) Market, Equity Capital Market (ECM), as well as many others that are typically geared towards a specific investor. Therefore there is not as much trading volume or frequency, since the broader excitement is not the same. Even though real estate is the world’s largest asset class, we’ve seen a recent decline in CRE investment. Medium recently posted an article detailing the advantages of a platform called Beacon Platform, Inc, which was a critical, major acquisition for Centena.

    Medium: Modernizing the Capital Markets Technology Stack: Centana’s Investment in Beacon Platform, Inc.

    Why do customers choose Beacon?

    Time-to-Value and ROI. Today, companies continue to deal with cumbersome internal applications that have been stitched together, often with legacy code and/or 3rd party vendors in the Trading and Risk Management space, which are “black box” and difficult, if not impossible, to alter.

    Beacon’s entire code base is flexible and transparent (i.e. the code is made available to customers) and seamlessly integrates with existing software and other 3rd party solutions (like Murex and Calypso), or in-house proprietary solutions, which helps drive quick time-to-value and high utility.

    In a fraction of the time and cost of alternative solutions, Beacon has helped customers achieve objectives such as migrating workloads to the cloud, expanding into new markets, upgrading legacy code by placing it within a modern developer wrapper and extending analytics and applications to customers’ end-users.

    -Matt Alfieri
    Key Takeaways

    When it comes to capital markets technology, the evolving nature of the tech space all but ensures we will see new technologies introduced into capital markets operations. Additionally, while this may sound like an advertisement for Beacon (though FinYork has absolutely no affiliation to it), the critical feature to note is this is an exemplary illustration of where capital markets technology appears to be heading.

    Vertical SaaS or cloud industry solutions, instead of legacy or proprietary in-house solutions, are showing us that they’re easier to replace than many executives originally thought. You should expect to see a similar effect here as with PropTech, as it becomes more widely available and accepted by savvy executives and high net worth real estate investors. You definitely do not want to be the firm who is continuing to use antiquated capital markets technologies. This puts you at an immediate, huge disadvantage. It makes it that much harder to catch up with your competitors, who have a leg-up as they’ve already implemented innovative technologies.

    All this goes to say that SaaS, digital transformation, cloud technologies, PropTech, and even niche technologies that aim to improve efficiency in capital markets are going to play an integral part of the future. The success of firms who will adapt them largely depends on the success those firms will have in the implementation process. To be sure, capital markets technology is only going to continue getting more efficient, robust, and easier to adapt.

  • Key Players in the CRE Market

    Many property types within the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) market are generally agreed to have had a poor performance the past few years, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Particularly, office and retail property types. The real question investors are asking themselves is whether or not it has the potential for an emphatic return, or if a commercial real estate focus is not likely to be a great long-term investing strategy. The opportunities for successful CRE investments are still there. There are still plenty of marketplaces exclusively geared towards CRE investment, which have uniquely positioned themselves in the broader real estate investing market.

    Before committing your resources to a given investment strategy, new investors should understand who the market players are for a CRE deal. Below is a thoroughly compiled list of the key players (roles) in the commercial real estate market, which then goes onto provide an additional link to a description of each role.

    Key Players in CRE :
    • Buyer & Seller
    • Brokers: Buy-side and Sell-side
    • Legal Counsel: Buy-side, Sell-side, and Lender Counsel
    • Mortgage Broker
    • Lender/Loan Officer
    • Title Company
    • Capital Partners/Investors
    • Property Management
    • Insurance Provider
    • Appraiser & Surveyor
    • Environmental Consultant
    • Accountant: Buy-side and Sell-side

    The following article shares a useful and detailed look at the key players in CRE. Refer to the link below. It provides key details about the key players in CRE’s marketplace.

    What Are The Key Players And What Are Their Roles In A Commercial Real Estate Transaction

    As a commercial real estate investor, either as a buyer or as a seller, you work with multiple parties to move a deal from discovery through to closing. To manage a deal process efficiently, it is of utmost importance to understand all of the key players in a commercial real estate transaction.

    GerCNergy.com (Administrator)
    https://getcnergy.com/knowledge-base/key-players-in-a-commercial-real-estate-transaction/
    Summary

    The above players all comprise parts of the CRE deal. It is important for a sophisticated investor to be familiar with the various players as they can understand the dynamics of a deal and align with the sponsors who will work with most of the players mentioned.