Investment Matters: Frank Talk About Opportunity

<p>Frank Forte was the kind of kid who was already fascinated by Wall Street by the time he was about 15. He was a whiz at math, and rather precociously, he also loved reading about options, derivatives and the market. But even back then commercial real estate was on his radar, too. After a few well-timed twists and turns early in his career, he made his path into real estate investment.</p><p>Ten years ago, he co-founded a private equity investment firm that he named Lucern Capital Partners, which he runs with David Hansel, the firm&#39;s co-founder and managing partner. Since then, he’s been involved in transactions valued at more than $380 million across a wide swath of the East Coast.</p><p>Lately he’s been finding attractive opportunities in the burgeoning small-bay industrial market at a time when he believes the larger industrial sector has become overbuilt. Forte discusses the economic climate that&#39;s impacting the decision-making of his customers and prospects. He talks about the bid-ask gap and his strategy for underwriting potential deals.</p><p>In our conversation, my guest addresses what it takes to build a successful commercial real estate investment business and offers caveats about the traps that new participants can fall into. He emphasizes the importance of taking a clear-eyed view of market opportunities. </p><p>And he cautions against buying into the myth that commercial real estate is some kind of get-rich-quick scheme. He told me that &quot;what people don&#39;t see is (that) to really generate the value, you need to roll up your sleeves, and you need to be a good operator.”</p><p>Yet for all the hard work that success demands, Forte doesn’t think of it as being a grind. As he puts it: “I feel like I never work a day in my life, so I&#39;m very lucky.” Take a listen.</p><p><em>Follow, rate and review CPE’s podcasts on </em><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/192KwbDpOsZbF3dBXfaDkS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Spotify</a><em> and </em><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ro/podcast/commercial-property-executive/id1552202952" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Apple Podcasts</a><em>,</em> <em>and don’t forget to subscribe to CPE’s </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@CommercialPropertyExecutive" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">YouTube</a><em> channel!</em></p><p>Episode highlights: </p><ul><li><strong>(1:47) Launching a new investment platform</strong></li><li><strong>(4:28) What’s in a company name</strong></li><li><strong>(7:06) Career origins, from Wall Street dreams to private equity success</strong></li><li><strong>(11:05) Finding big opportunities in small-bay</strong></li><li><strong>(16:02) Lucern’s geographic sweet spot</strong></li><li><strong>(17:29) Caveats for new investors: play the long game</strong></li><li><strong>(19:30) The keys to operational excellence</strong></li><li><strong>(23:48) Navigating capital market complexities</strong></li><li><strong>(26:16</strong><em><strong>) </strong></em><strong>How volatility is impacting leasing velocity</strong></li><li><strong>(29:46)</strong> <strong>Inside the bid-ask gap</strong></li><li><strong>(32:28) Underwriting in an unsettled market</strong></li><li><strong>(34:01) Plan for powering through ’27 and ’28</strong></li><li><strong>(36:32) Executive off the clock: it’s a shore thing</strong></li></ul><p></p>