The Alternative Investor

When I was on the other side of private equity (i.e. operating businesses), I always thought those in investing were out there counting money, doing deals, and going home at 4 p.m. … but now that I’m doing deals, I realize the reality is a lot different. So in today’s episode, Brad and I are talking about some of the surprising and counterintuitive aspects of being in private equity and real estat...

In today’s episode we thought it would be fun if we did something a little bit different! We want to share with you some of our favorite tools that we use in our jobs everyday — from software and technology, to resources and newsletters. A lot of these tools can be used in many different industries and we hope we can help streamline some of what you do everyday by sharing a few of our most-used to...

Today’s show is going to be all about asset prices and what we’ve been seeing lately. Don’t lose hope — it’s not all bad! Things may seem expensive right now (and are expensive!) but there are some things you can do to to ensure you’re investing in worthwhile assets!  In this episode, Brad and I go over what we’re seeing right now in terms of pricing in both the real estate and private equity...

In today’s episode we’re talking all about qualified opportunity zones — these things are amazing. They’re portions of the country that are economically disadvantaged, and if you invest in those areas you get incredibly favorable tax treatment. First, we take you through the history of qualified opportunity zones (which has a pretty interesting history in itself!) — then we get to the really excit...

In this episode, Brad takes us through some of the different types of real estate asset classes and gives us the pros and the cons of each! He also gives us some ideas on what we should think about when investing in each of the types, why some people choose to invest in them (or not), and the risks vs. the rewards.  From multi-family real estate investing and affordable housing to office buil...

Today we’re talking about how to source off-market deals! It’s easy enough to go on LoopNet or MLS Deal Finder but anybody can get those deals, so we want to share some solid trade secrets with you all today and help you find those sweet, sweet off-market deals. In a prior episode, we’ve gone into the differences between off-market and on-market deals, but today we want you to join us to get right...

Just in case you were wondering if you have what it takes to be an alternative investor, today we thought we’d share with you all of the things — the behaviours, the attitudes, and the skills — that go into sourcing and doing diligence on closing a deal! There’s a lot of aspects that go into shaping an excellent alternative investor — from qualitative to quantitative skills. You need to be an expe...

Today we’re going to talk about Adjusted EBITDA — or in Brad’s world, Adjusted NOI; Net Operating Income. So what is it? First off, it depends who the player is. Are they legit?  It’s a super critical number and important to get right — so tune in for today’s short and sweet episode all about Adjusted EBITDA! Key Takeaways: [:13] About our topic today: Adjusted EBITDA! [:22] What is Adjusted...

Today on The Alternative Investor we have our first guest on the show: Brent Beshore! Brent is the CEO and founder of Adventur.es — a private equity firm in Columbia, Missouri. Adventur.es has a unique investment approach: they seek boring businesses. They explain this perfectly themselves:  “Boring businesses endure because they consistently solve a meaningful problem and were patiently buil...

Today’s an exciting show — we’re talking about business quality. Who doesn’t want to buy a quality business? Business quality is a little bit of an amorphous term, but today we focus on thoroughly explaining what it is and why you should care about it as investor. We also put together a framework of categories for high quality businesses, such as: the organic grower, the mergers and acquisition ma...

Today we’re talking about debt! It’s an investor’s best friend … or enemy.  We answer all the questions you may have about debt, such as: what is debt? When do you get debt? How much debt do you put on an investment? We also address the various restrictions that come with debt, why you should get debt (and some of the great — and not so great — reasons that can come with it), how much debt to...

In today’s episode, we address a recent listener’s question on how to identify or pick out an investment theme. We think of investment themes as something that can help you narrow down (what seems like) an infinite list of opportunities into something more manageable and actionable. Not only does a theme help narrow down your own list of investment opportunities — it helps differentiate you in the...

Risk is an often misunderstood and poorly communicated concept. Even professional investors can be afraid of risk.  However, risk is going to be a part of every single investment decision that is ever made and there’s no such thing as a risk-free investment. So hopefully, in this episode, we can provide some tools and a framework to help you think about risk and overcome any hesitance you may...

Today we’re going to talk about how to figure out how much to pay for an asset. When you’re buying an asset, price is the most important variable you’ll be looking at — probably not the only variable — but definitely the most important! Arguably, you should be spending 90% of your time answering the question: what is this asset worth? So today Brad and I cover — from real estate to private equity...

Today we’re talking about accredited investors. To become an accredited investor you have to meet the SCC’s income and net worth requirements (such as needing to have $200k of income in the last 2 years if you’re single, $300k if you’re married, or $1 million in net worth not including your home.) So why would you want to become an accredited investor? Or how? And if you became an accredited inves...

Today’s episode is all about preferred equity — so we’re going to try and keep it light and fun.  Firstly, we talk about what equity is and how preferred equity differs from it — then, we get into common reasons for using preferred equity in a real estate or private equity deal. We also give some examples of the differences between it and common equity and explain why, more and more, we’re se...

It’s finally here — the day we talk about blockchain. Blockchain is a new technology — providing a global marketplace, allowing you to transact with a click of a button. Blockchain is a highly evolving area and not a day goes by without some new, interesting developments. So don’t worry if you don’t understand what the blockchain is — we’re here to give you a basic understanding so you can go fort...

Broker deals and off-market deals are night and day. Everybody thinks that an off-market deal is the holy grail and that you’ll score a way better price. At least that’s what most people think — but it’s not necessarily true. So today, we’re going to go through the key differences between broker deals and off-market deals and break everything down so that you can make an informed decision as a buy...

You find a real estate property you like, you sign it, you wrap up the deal under LOI, sign the purchase agreement, and then you get into diligence — which is what we’re going to be talking about on today’s show. Diligence is that 30-60 day period after you sign the purchase agreement and before you get into the official closing documents. In this episode, we highlight everything that happens duri...

Today, we take a deeper dive into looking at private equity. Private equity is Grayson’s world — so we switch the script and I ask him all of the questions I have about private equity. We discuss how private equity can help grow businesses, get debt to help your returns, the high risk/high return nature of private equity, precise strategies, what to look for when you’re investing, how to know how...

Today we’re going to talk about what goes on behind the glass curtain — what it actually looks like inside of a real estate private equity firm. We go over the different types of teams within the firm, the importance of each of their roles, as well as their hierarchy; the two types of private equity funds; how these firms make money through the different types of fees they charge; and the general...

We’re talking real estate today. Brad walks us through the ins and outs of finding a good deal in real estate — covering the basics and then diving deep further into the episode. Everybody should have some real estate exposure outside of their current residency. You don’t want to think of your home as a real estate investment so you should get out there and look at some real estate deals!  Th...

Today we’re talking about LOIs — Letters of Intent. LOIs are kind of like you and the seller are dating — you’re testing the waters and have the intent of moving forward with a relationship, but not the obligation — you’re still shopping. When you sign an LOI you don’t have inclusivity but it can help you lay out the basic business terms of the deal and get it moving forward. This episode we discu...

Today we’re talking about how not to lose your hard-earned money through fraud. One of the advantages of alternative investments are that they are less heavily regulated by the federal government — but that also means you have to do more work when you’re investing in alternative assets to make sure you’re investing in a legitimate opportunity. This episode, we discuss a few things you can do to to...

The guys go deep on what a private equity investment in a operating business looks like. Grayson tells the story of how he purchased Birdwell Beach Britches, a beloved surfer brand that was underperforming relative to its potential. This episode covers the how the deal was identified and closed, how the investors analyzed this private equity investment and how they formalized their ownership. For...