After announcing expansion to international investors in September, real estate equity Crowdfunding firm, Fundrise, is aiming to further widen the investor base that can take part in their deals. The new product comes in the form of what they call the world’s first ever e-REIT.
With the new real estate investors trust (REIT), Fundrise is hoping to raise $50 million for the project. The fund uses Regulation A+ of the JOBS Act which went into effect earlier this year and allows private firms to raise up to $50 million in capital from unaccredited investors. Through this arrangement, Fundrise will be able to open up their deal flow to a wider array of investors, which until now had been limited to accredited investors.
Similar to other REITs, the Fundrise REIT will be investing in real estate and paying investors dividends based on the operational cash flow of the fund. According to Fundrise, the REIT will be focusing on a “diverse portfolio of US commercial real estate properties, such as apartments, shopping centers, and office buildings”. The REIT will be managed by Fundrise Advisors LLC and choosing investments that are available to accredited investors on the Fundrise crowdfunding platform.
Speaking to Finance Magnates in the past, Dan Miller, President and Co-Founder of Fundrise, explained that the crowdfunding platform was first created as a tool to help him and his brother to fund their own real estate deals. It has since evolved into a marketplace platform of developers and investors where 50% of deals are introduced by third parties.
Commenting on the launch, Ben Miller, C0-Founder and CEO of Fundrise, stated: “Today is a massively historic day for the Fundrise team -- the result of over four years of work! Soon anyone in the country will be able to access the same investments as billion-dollar institutional funds but with roughly 1/10th of the fees, heightened transparency, and low investment minimums of $1,000.”
