Beyond Stocks

Summary In this conversation, Chihiro and guest David Kotter delveinto the concept of hybrid debt funds, exploring their structure, benefits, and the unique opportunities they present for accredited investors. David explains how these funds blend traditional debt with equity upside participation, offering developers a simplified capital stack while retaining depreciation benefits. The discussion c...

Summary In this episode of Beyond Stocks, host Chihiro Kurokawa interviews Garland Benton from Direct Equity Source, who shares insights into the self-storage investment sector. As with many asset classes, in an industry of this size, not all self storage facilities are the same. Garland's firm specializes in Class-A self storage, meaning newly-built facilities with features like climate contr...

A conversation with Haroon M. Cheema, a seasoned international tax attorney, discussing the complexities of cross-border taxation, investment structures, and tax incentives. He's done many deals, so he has thoughts on what you should look out for when considering an investment. Haroon shares his journey from New Jersey to Dubai and back, offering valuable insights into the world of internation...

In this episode of the Beyond Stocks show, Chihiro Kurokawa interviews Cory Rodriguez, a crypto and Bitcoin mining expert. They discuss the evolution of mining technology, the unique business model of NFN8, and the competitive landscape of Bitcoin mining. Cory explains the risks associated with Bitcoin mining investments and how NFN8 mitigates these risks through strategic power contracts and inno...

In this conversation, Chihiro interviews James Wang from Mimosa Ventures, exploring his journey into venture capital, the differences between angel investing and venture capital, and the current state of the VC ecosystem. They discuss the impact of AI on various industries, particularly healthcare, and the future of AI technology. James emphasizes the importance of strategic partnerships in invest...

In this conversation, Pedro De Leon asks Chihiro Kurokawa for the details from his journey in multifamily investments, discussing the reasons behind his choice of this asset class, his first experiences, and the current state of the market. He highlights the challenges faced in today's multifamily landscape, including rent growth and tenant demand, and offers predictions for the future of the...

In this episode of the Beyond Stocks Podcast , Pedro and Chihiro dive into the world of Private Credit — exploring how it has evolved since the Great Recession of the late 2000s and what investors need to watch out for today. After 2008, new regulations forced traditional banks to tighten lending standards. This opened the door for private lenders to step in, offering loans to borrowers deemed too...

What You'll Learn In this episode of the Beyond Stocks Podcast , we sit down with Nic Espanet — multifamily investor, syndicator, and host of the FLEX Forward Podcast . Nic shares his journey from being a passive investor to leading large multifamily syndications, managing thousands of doors, and helping people invest as Limited Partners into commercial real estate. If you’ve been curious abou...

Most investors have heard Buffett's expression about being greedy when others are fearful. But knowing it and doing it are entirely different. John Bullman is the Chief Investment Officer at LGT Financial Advisors, and he has decades of investment experience including 15 years at a leading family office. This discussion was packed with brilliant insights including John's thoughts on whethe...

Jared Benson with Clotine Capital is our favorite kind of investor. He started with a regular job like most other people, but at the young age of 25 he made his first investment into a private offering. He's also tried his hand in multiple businesses as an entrepreneur but wisely concluded that he should only create and run businesses that are in his area of expertise. This mindset allowed him...

Keith Blackborg and his wife Jessica did well with their businesses and real estate investing, but they eventually faced existential questions like "Why are we still doing this?" They sold their assets and took a three year vacation, after which they formed Financial Journey. FJ serves self-directed millionaires who learn about wealth creation, wealth preservation, investments and tax st...

Today our guest is Jeff Murphy from North Texas Angel Network. NTAN is a network of dozens of accredited investors who invest in early stage startups. They regularly meet in Dallas Fort Worth to listen to pitches from startups that are raising capital. The group setting helps investors consider outside viewpoints before making an investment. If you think you need to have millions in investable cas...

A lot of people have the means but not the awareness to invest outside of the traditional system of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, asset managers, financial advisors etc. What if you could learn about how people invest directly into projects, cutting out all those middlemen? Pedro and Chihiro also do some mythbusting when it comes to the tax benefits often touted by commercial real estate syndicator...

Did you know that the United States is the world's leading oil producer? The #2 producer (Saudi Arabia) produces less than half of what the US does. With energy being such a large part of the US economy, it's no wonder that there are many private investment opportunities in oil. Tim Pawul is an expert in oil investing, and he shares his tremendous knowledge including red flags to look out...

In this episode, Pedro and Chihiro discuss an important consideration for people new to alts. Active investing is a job. Whether it's a stock trading strategy, buying a business through ETA or running a commercial real estate deal, it's a major time and capital investment and significantly riskier than passive investment. For these reasons, active investing isn't suitable for most peop...

Days ago, Bill Alpert of Barron's published an article claiming that by the end of 2026, Americans may have broad access to Alts through IRAs and 401ks. We discuss topics such as: Will offerings be limited to mega asset managers or will smaller-scale offerings be available? What will fee structures look like? How will this reconcile with Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) in light of the il...

Chihiro and Pedro like to attend and host in-person events in Dallas-Fort Worth. When we host, we are thoughtful about who we invite, and our events are not open to the public. But last week, that guy showed up and he had a me-first mentality, seeking capital for his business. We won't invite him again, but this brings up the question, what's the right way to network? It's pretty simple - you can'...

The thing about alt investments is that they are generally found through private offerings. By definition, they're harder to find than stocks on Robin Hood or E-Trade. So how do you find them? Well, you can start by joining the Beyond Stocks journey to learn what to look for, and what kind of deals are available. Our goal is to let the world know that there's a whole new world of investmen...

What are Alts??? In short, traditional investing refers to well-known financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds. Alts are everything else! Categories of Alts include business investing (private equity), commercial real estate, crypto, commodities, non-bank lending (private credit) and more. Pedro & Chihiro are motivated to spread the word about Alts (particular through pr...

James Ellis is the CEO of Arundel Group Holdings, a vertically integrated firm that designs, engineers and builds commercial real estate. James has over 4 decades of experience so he has learned what does and doesn't work in real estate development. Hear stories such as: How building on a former landfill led to a business losing $1 million per week! Conducting a Phase 1 Environmental Study can...

In Season 1 Episode 10 last week Pedro and Chihiro talked about finding somebody who has invested in Personal Seat Licenses. Well, we found Thien Bui! He has an inspiring immigrant story and shares how he went from being a schoolteacher to starting an energy business. He grew FirstClassUtilities.com from scratch into a seven-figure business and uses that income to invest into a variety of private...

Last week we: 1. Attended a public hearing for The Sunset Amphitheatre, a 20,000 seat live music venue that just broke ground in McKinney, Texas. We attended because it's an exciting development for our city, but also because they're offering an interesting investment wherein people can buy permanent tickets to firepit suites. They can sell tickets they don't personally use in order to...

Pedro and Chihiro discuss a recent report from JP Morgan (linked below) and focus on two themes in particular. 1. The persistent US housing shortage will create investment opportunities. While we agree about the long term, there's still potential for significant short term capital displacement particularly in office and multifamily as a correction may be ongoing. Also, building affordable hous...

Ron Glasgow is a Certified Financial Planner and founder of GlasgowInvestments.com . We brought him on the show to discuss how many of his clients diversify into alternative investments via Delaware Statutory Trusts. DSTs are vehicles for passive investment that provide many of the tax benefits of direct, active real estate investing, without having to be a landlord! For example, DSTs can accommod...

Pedro & Chihiro speak with Dan Olsen, who provides CFO services through his company NOW CFO. He has years of transactional experience and has seen great deals and terrible deals! His insights are valuable for people considering an investment in a deal that involves any mergers or acquisitions. If you're buying a company you need somebody like Dan on your team, and if you're investing i...