Philosophy

Driven by the entrepreneurial spirit that has guided it since its founding, Fifteen Group prides itself on testing the limits of its ideas and currently focuses on the following areas:

Fifteen Group’s principals are strong believers in efficient markets and rely on an evolving acquisition strategy that seeks to identify macro and micro level inefficiencies that have yet to correct. After initially acquiring nearly 20,000 units while specializing in undervalued and value-added multifamily real estate investments nationwide, Fifteen Group has broadened its scope to include the acquisition of all types of income producing real estate and land in select major US markets, as well as situational, value-added opportunities nationwide. Fifteen Group often repositions its investments through extensive capital improvements and realizes operating efficiencies through tactile asset management.

While Fifteen Group is comfortable finding investment value through all phases of a real estate cycle, it takes particular pride in its record of distress cycle investing and is at its most acquisitive when markets are shaky and capital flows are limited. Through multiple cycles, Fifteen Group has learned to thoroughly investigate the perceived risks of other investors and has often been able to execute on a successful hypothesis where others chose not to price the risk.

To present opportunities, email re@fifteengroup.com.

Fifteen Group has drawn on its extensive experience in bettering neighborhoods through strategic property acquisitions and major rehabilitation to make a natural progression into Development. In 2004, subsidiary Fifteen Group Land & Development LLC (FGLD) began pursuing development opportunities both within Fifteen Group’s existing portfolio and by aggressively scouting additional projects for development and redevelopment.

Fifteen Group does not seek to pay premiums for developable land, but rather to create value through astute buying and asset management. Fifteen Group has specialized in entitling or re-entitling undervalued land to either sell at a premium or develop. Projects are typically in emerging neighborhoods such as Echo Park and Silver Lake in Los Angeles or Edgewater, Midtown, and the Design District in Miami.

With nearly one third of US households currently spending more than 30% of household income on housing costs, tenant demand for affordable rental housing—regulated or not—has never been higher. At the same time, an entire generation of multifamily properties that were either originally built with or subsequently encumbered by restrictions governing rental rates are coming up on their 15-, 30-, 40-, or 50-year compliance anniversaries, in many cases signifying the end of mandatory rental restrictions and the conversion to unregulated, full market rate.

Now, after largely taking a pause from programmatic multifamily investing, Fifteen Group intends to pursue a multi-market, covered land investment strategy centered predominantly around the acquisition of rent regulated multifamily properties. The insatiable tenant demand for affordable working-class housing creates an extraordinarily low risk profile for investors, yet Fifteen Group believes it can accumulate these properties in geographies with strong job and population growth at higher capitalization rates than fully market rate properties. On top of this already premium yield for lower risk investments, Fifteen Group will enhance portfolio returns by occasionally harvesting opportunities to opt out of certain expiring affordable programs to pursue mark-to-market, re-entitlement and/or re-development strategies.

To present opportunities, email ah@fifteengroup.com.

In addition to direct investment in real estate, Fifteen Group also pursues the origination of real estate loans, acquisition of distressed real estate debt, as well as investment (either actively or passively) in other real estate operating companies. Fifteen Group also pursues opportunistic alternative investments including the acquisition of non-real estate operating companies.

Fifteen Group has rapidly expanded its direct investments platform to take a more prominent role in financing, developing and growing companies into world-class businesses. By leveraging our 27-year track record as a best-in-breed, value-oriented real estate investor and operator, Fifteen Group now has a growing portfolio of exciting corporate investments spanning many industries and stages, from pre-revenue to mature, cash-flowing businesses.

• We seek to invest growth capital and/or buy out existing shareholders in businesses with significant growth potential.
• We invest our principals’ own capital, with no institutional mandates or pre-determined timelines, which provides flexibility in structure and the ability to move quickly and efficiently.
• We have investment experience in real estate, software / technology, telecommunications, consumer services, fintech, medical devices, materials sciences, mobile and many others.
• We have an entrepreneurial spirit that enables us to identify opportunities not apparent to other.

To present opportunities, email pe@fifteengroup.com.