According to conference coordinators, 240 executives are already pre-registered for the one-day event, which will take place April 9 at Manhattan's Roosevelt Hotel. This marks the RealShare's second conference in New York City--the first, held last year, had a regional focus.

"We have people coming from around the country, which is indicative that net leasing is a national niche," says Rich Kelley, director of New York-based Real Estate Media's conference series. "The strong turnout represents the strong performance these leasing vehicles are having on commercial real estate right now. Net leasing is one of the most active parts of the industry."

The program kicks off with a keynote from Leo Wells, president and founder of Wells Real Estate Funds, which focuses on the acquisition of income-producing properties preleased long-term to large tenants. The firm currently manages more than $2 billion in assets for approximately 70,000 investors.

His remarks will be followed by an hour-long town hall meeting centered on off-balance-sheet financing. With the stock market still shaky, many people have recently turned to real estate as a safe investment vehicle, particularly triple-net leases and credit tenant properties. Sale-leaseback business has also gotten a boost from the recent nervousness surrounding synthetic leases. This town hall meeting, moderated by Gerald Levin of Mesirow Financial, will attempt to answer the questions surrounding these investment arenas, including structural considerations, accounting concerns and exit strategies.

The 1031 exchange market will also be addressed during the conference, given that this sector makes up 80% of all net-leased properties. This session--moderated by Randy Blankstein, president of the Boulder Group--will highlight the challenges and concerns surrounding zero cash flow properties and pay down re-advance debt structures.

CFOs and sale-leaseback dealmakers will also come face-to-face during next week's RealShare event. The two opposing groups will explain their views on a "hypothetic deal" presented by the conference organizers. End users will be asked to address the sensitivities and political issues they're dealing with internally, while net lease principals will outline a typical cost budget and explain potential problems. Brant Bryan, a principal with Cresa Partners Capital Markets, will lead this general session.

RealShare Net Lease is produced by the Real Estate Media Conference Series and held in conjunction with CoreNet Global. Conference sponsors include Benenson Capital Company, CB Richard Ellis Investors, Commercial Net Lease Realty, Deloitte & Touche, Deutsche Bank Mortgage Capital LLC, Fremont Investment & Loan, iStar Financial, Marcus & Millichap, Mesirow Financial, Piper Rudnick LLP, Wells Real Estate Funds and W. P. Carey & Co. LLC. Conference hospitality sponsors include: Capital Lease Funding, Cardinal Capital Partners, Grubb & Ellis, Lexington Corporate Properties Trust, Net Lease Capital Advisors, Real Capital Analytics and United Trust Fund.