This May Help Reduce Risk on a Portfolio Level

IRVINE, CA—Diversification and allocation to non-correlated alternative asset classes may reduce risk while simultaneously enhancing returns, Shopoff Realty Investments' SVP and national sales manager Eric Retzlaff tells GlobeSt.com. Retzlaff, who recently joined the firm, has an extensive background in distribution, marketing, training and management, having helped to develop and manage direct and indirect investment offerings in real estate, energy, insurance and mutual funds. Prior to joining Shopoff, Retzlaff served as managing director of RightSource Distributors, where he managed and advised emerging sponsors with product design and capital formation. We spoke with him exclusively about his new role and trends in investment management and finance in the commercial real estate space.

GlobeSt.com: What do you hope to accomplish in your new position with Shopoff?

Retzlaff: I see my role as trying to fully connect our CRE business and what I call our “investment engine” to investors who qualify as potential clients through their financial advisors. I feel that the more that accredited investors know about Shopoff, the more attractive we are.

GlobeSt.com: What trends are you noticing in investment management and finance in the commercial real estate space?

Retzlaff: Recent regulatory and legislative activities are causing great uncertainty in financial services and investment management. Client and advisor education is key to helping pull back the veil of uncertainty and helping advisors better serve their clients.

GlobeSt.com: How are investors' views on CRE investment, as opposed to other types of investment, changing?

Retzlaff: The endowment model that has been embraced for decades by the large foundations including Yale, Harvard, and Princeton has demonstrated that through diversification and allocation to non-correlated alternative asset classes, including hedge funds, private equities and real estate, may reduce risk on an overall portfolio level while simultaneously enhancing returns. Many industry participants have taken note of this and are helping financial advisors bring products to their retail clients that may enable their portfolios to benefit. Additionally, with the stock and bond markets at historic highs, many investors feel that there are outsized risks in those asset classes. Allocation to alternative asset classes requires better asset-selection skills, illiquidity, high minimum investment and certain threshold client qualifications, which every individual client may not meet. Alternative investment performance can be volatile, and illiquid alternative investments may involve additional risks. However, it is also worth noting that there is no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful or meet its investment objectives.

IRVINE, CA—Diversification and allocation to non-correlated alternative asset classes may reduce risk while simultaneously enhancing returns, Shopoff Realty Investments' SVP and national sales manager Eric Retzlaff tells GlobeSt.com. Retzlaff, who recently joined the firm, has an extensive background in distribution, marketing, training and management, having helped to develop and manage direct and indirect investment offerings in real estate, energy, insurance and mutual funds. Prior to joining Shopoff, Retzlaff served as managing director of RightSource Distributors, where he managed and advised emerging sponsors with product design and capital formation. We spoke with him exclusively about his new role and trends in investment management and finance in the commercial real estate space.

GlobeSt.com: What do you hope to accomplish in your new position with Shopoff?

Retzlaff: I see my role as trying to fully connect our CRE business and what I call our “investment engine” to investors who qualify as potential clients through their financial advisors. I feel that the more that accredited investors know about Shopoff, the more attractive we are.

GlobeSt.com: What trends are you noticing in investment management and finance in the commercial real estate space?

Retzlaff: Recent regulatory and legislative activities are causing great uncertainty in financial services and investment management. Client and advisor education is key to helping pull back the veil of uncertainty and helping advisors better serve their clients.

GlobeSt.com: How are investors' views on CRE investment, as opposed to other types of investment, changing?

Retzlaff: The endowment model that has been embraced for decades by the large foundations including Yale, Harvard, and Princeton has demonstrated that through diversification and allocation to non-correlated alternative asset classes, including hedge funds, private equities and real estate, may reduce risk on an overall portfolio level while simultaneously enhancing returns. Many industry participants have taken note of this and are helping financial advisors bring products to their retail clients that may enable their portfolios to benefit. Additionally, with the stock and bond markets at historic highs, many investors feel that there are outsized risks in those asset classes. Allocation to alternative asset classes requires better asset-selection skills, illiquidity, high minimum investment and certain threshold client qualifications, which every individual client may not meet. Alternative investment performance can be volatile, and illiquid alternative investments may involve additional risks. However, it is also worth noting that there is no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful or meet its investment objectives.