Investment Philosophy

Over the past few decades, technology has changed the way we live, work, and play. From e-commerce to remote work, technology has transformed our daily lives, and in turn, it has also impacted the way we interact with real estate. E-commerce has revolutionized the retail industry, and with it, the demand for warehousing has increased while the need for traditional retail space has decreased. The rise of remote work and the prevalence of cloud-based collaboration tools has decreased the need for traditional office space. Online marketplaces and rental platforms have created a more transparent marketplace for buyers and renters of housing. Technology has enabled the Work-From-Home trend resulting in an increased need for decluttering to create home offices. Technology has enabled the Work-From-Home trend resulting in an increased need for self storage as people declutter their homes to make room for offices.

The self storage sector has evolved in several ways over the last few decades and is on the front edge of its next paradigm shift. In the beginning, self storage facilities were typically one-story buildings with drive-up units. As land costs and demand for self storage increased developers built multi-story facilities as a way to maximize their footprint. Next, as more Americans adopted self storage for different purposes, developers added climate-controlled units, which provide stable temperature and humidity levels, to meet consumer demand for storage space that protects their property from weather-related damage. Most recently, the advent of SEO marketing strategies marked another significant change in the self storage industry. In the past, self storage facilities relied heavily on traditional advertising methods such as the yellow pages, print ads, and billboards. However, with the rise of the internet and search engines, self storage facilities have been able to target their marketing efforts more effectively.

The next paradigm shift in the self storage sector is the advent of the Virtually Managed operating model. Advancements in PropTech now enable an owner to drive sales and operations through a centralized, off-site location. The result is better decision making, reduced operating expenses, and increased customer satisfaction. These technological advancements benefit traditional, drive-up self storage facilities the most as they are the most inefficient to operate under traditional methods. New technologies enhance the convenience factor that draw tenants to drive-up self storage facilities. As they are the most ubiquitous type of self storage, drive-up facilities represent the largest investable universe in the sector.