IRVINE, CA—Recently, GlobeSt.com spoke with Rick Chichester, president and CEO of Faris Lee Investments, about the trends he's seeing in retail real estate investment and where he thinks the smart money is going. Here, he updates us on buyers' motivations for retail property investment and his thoughts on why net-lease investment from non-traditional buyers is accelerating.

GlobeSt.com: What would you say are buyers' greatest motivations for retail property investment these days?

Chichester: Retail is not a segment that everybody wants to invest in, but they like that it is the pulse of the economy. It's the most predictable indicator of the economy. In terms of tenants, you can adjust your risk relative to the type of tenants in retail properties. For example, necessity-based retailers like grocery stores are popular even during a recession because you still need food. You can manage your downside risk by having tenants with necessity-based items.

Retail is a business within a business. You're not just buying the real estate. It's really operating the retail center so tenants are successful, dynamic and support one another. Multi-tenant retail is not typically a passive investment. It is probably the most management intensive and demanding, but it also benefits from strategic creative and thoughtful management.

GlobeSt.com: We've heard a lot of talk about non-traditional investors starting to invade the net-lease space. What are you seeing, and why is the trend accelerating?

Chichester: There are more new investors looking at real estate as an alternative investment, especially in triple-net because it is predictable, steady, long-term cash flow. The Baby Boom generation is moving out of sophisticated, management-intensive assets into triple net, and that has to do with investment strategies based on time and age. The Baby Boomers are the largest and wealthiest generation in history, and they're beginning to adjust their investment needs for the balance of their lives. They're also doing long-term family and generational planning, and net-lease investment fits well in that plan.

Also non-traditional is the demand from international investors for all of the obvious economic and political reasons. US real estate is the safest risk-investment option in the world, and the money is coming in pretty strong. Chinese investors want to invest in the US for safety and risk. They're moving their money out of their countries into a more predictable or safe investment option in the US. This is good news for the US right now: we are the favored risk-adjusted investment market in the world.