A Deeper Look at Fundrise's Proposed e-REIT

WASHINGTON, DC—Fundrise filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week to launch a $50 million initial public offering under Regulation A+ of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. Clearly this is CEO Ben Miller’s baby; in its announcement that was included with the filing, the company called the forthcoming offering no less than “the world’s first e-REIT…available to anyone in the United States, no matter their net worth.”

The e-REIT moniker, at first glance, needs little explanation to anyone familiar with Fundrise specifically and CRE crowdfunding in general. Fundrise will be offering its shares for sale online and indeed, like so many things that come from the Internet, the cheaper distribution costs will be passed down to investors in the form of lower fees. Because it doesn’t charge or pay any broker-dealer distribution fees, investors save approximately 70 percent to 90 percent in upfront expenses as compared to a traditional non-exchange traded REIT, Fundrise said in its filing.