Blackstone’s US$70 billion real estate income trust (BREIT) is now trading on LODASMarkets.com, a Kansas-based online marketplace for buying and selling alternative and real estate investments.
“The first trade of Class D BREIT shares was executed in the LODAS marketplace at US$14.42, which is equal to January's NAV (net asset value) and just below February's NAV of US$14.47,” says Brian King, LODAS Markets chief executive officer. “This is big news for investors as BREIT capped redemptions for the fourth straight month in February, redeeming just US$1.4 billion despite receiving US$3.9 billion in total requests.”
In February, LODAS announced that investors could trade Starwood Real Estate Income Trust (SREIT) in its marketplace. SREIT also limited withdrawals in recent months, leaving many investors in the approximately US$15 billion fund scrambling for ways to convert their assets to cash.
“In both BREIT and Starwood REIT, we're attracting institutional buyers that have designated millions of dollars to these funds. It’s a significant opportunity for liquidity for investors who don’t want to wait another month to test their luck in redemption queues,” King notes.
Brad Webb, an adviser with Second Level Capital in St. Louis, Missouri, says: "By introducing clients to the LODAS marketplace, I’ve given them a way to easily liquidate securities that they otherwise may have been unable to convert to cash. My clients can open an account, place their shares for sale and execute their order all within minutes of me telling them about LODAS.”
Launched in 2021, LODAS operates the first fully automated online marketplace that matches buyers and sellers of alternative and real estate investments. It operates like an exchange where assets such as non-traded real estate investment trusts, business development corporations, and private real estate investments are traded just like corporate stocks.
According to LODAS, its marketplace has nearly US$1 billion in total buyside interest and more than 30 funds being traded. All trades are paperless, potentially executed in a day, and settled in as quickly as five days.
