Investors looking to diversify their portfolios and grow wealth often turn to real estate as an alternative investment idea. While there are many options for investing in real estate, Cadre offers a technology-driven way to invest in individual properties or a curated portfolio of commercial properties.
With an impressive track record and a unique approach, Cadre provides an intriguing option for investors seeking diversification. Read on to learn if Cadre may be the right choice for you.
Cadre provides accredited investors direct access to institutional-quality assets, including investments in opportunity zones. The company's minimum investment of $25,000 is among the highest of real estate platforms, but so is the historical return of 18.6% per year. Cadre is a good fit for high-net-worth investors without a need for liquidity who are looking to build a diversified portfolio.
- Strong historical performance.
- Very selective vetting process.
- Opportunity for liquidity through the Cadre Secondary Market
- Minimum $25,000 investment.
- For accredited investors only.
- Doesn’t guarantee liquidity.
Cadre Basics
Cadre is a real estate platform for accredited investors focusing on quality over quantity. Many competitors in the industry hold more properties in their portfolios, but Cadre aims to produce better returns by taking a more selective approach and focusing on investing in the best properties in high-growth markets.
The company was founded in 2014 and is focused on making commercial real estate a practical investment opportunity for those who otherwise could not invest in these deals.
Cadre relies on technology, data and extensive manual due diligence to identify what they believe to be the very best opportunities. The company invests in multi-family apartment buildings, offices, hotels, and industrial properties in the $50 to $150 million range, which they define as mid-market.
Although there are countless possibilities for those who choose to invest in real estate, Cadre stands out in a few key ways:
- They put their own money into the properties. Instead of simply providing a platform to invest, Cadre itself has significant skin in the game in each investment.
- They focus on opportunity zones. Not all of Cadre’s properties are part of opportunity zones, but many are, offering potential tax benefits.
- They’ve produced solid historical returns. Cadre reports an IRR of 27.6% per year from 2016 to 2022.
An experienced team leads Cadre, which has attracted a wide range of institutional investors such as Andreesen-Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and Goldman Sachs.
Ryan Williams, one of the company’s co-founders, serves as CEO. Investors include Mark Cuban and Joshua and Jared Kushner. Cadre has made headlines due to its ties with the Kushners and a potential conflict of interest due to Jared Kushner’s former position in the Trump administration.
Cadre’s holdings include more than $4 billion of owned transaction value, and the company has distributed more than $461 million to investors.
Types of Property Cadre Invests In
Cadre invests in institutional-quality commercial properties, including multifamily apartment buildings, office buildings, hotels and industrial buildings like warehouses. If you invest in the Cadre Direct Access Fund (more details below), you’ll own a share of a portfolio that is able to invest across all of these types of properties.
The due diligence and vetting process are part of how Cadre stands out from competitors and other real estate investing platforms.
Cadre relies extensively on proprietary technology to augment its Investment and asset management teams in selecting, acquiring, and managing the properties on its platform.
Their data science team tracks 50 metro areas across the US to determine the markets with the highest growth potential, which they call the Cadre 15. Within these markets, they perform due diligence on properties, deal sponsors or developers, and the sub-market where the property is located.
Their goal is to find properties with the potential to achieve “outsized risk-adjusted returns,” and they only invest in properties that meet very stringent requirements.
Additionally, Cadre co-invests in every deal closed on their platform. This isn’t the case with many other competitors, especially crowdfunding platforms, which typically only serve as a middleman.
In June 2021, Cadre announced a strategic partnership with DisruptAD that will open the way for Cadre to access more investors outside of the United States.
Investments in Opportunity Zones
Some of the properties that Cadre invests in are a part of opportunity zones. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 encourages investment in designated low-income census tracts by providing significant tax benefits for investors. Cadre uses this approach to maximize returns, although not all of Cadre’s properties are in opportunity zones.
There is some controversy surrounding opportunity zones. Although the incentives aim to help low-income neighborhoods, some people question who is benefiting from these investments.
Investors in opportunity zones receive significant tax breaks, both short-term and long-term. One of the immediate benefits is the deferral of taxes on capital gains realized from other investments if those gains are invested into opportunity zones.
For long-term benefit, investors may be able to eliminate 100% of taxes on capital gains from the opportunity zone investment itself, if the investment is held for at least 10 years.
Most opportunity zone projects have a longer target hold period for this reason.
While it’s clear that investors come out ahead, critics question how much the low-income residents benefit. The complaint is that wealthy investors receive benefits, but the law does not require them to provide affordable housing for those in need. For example, they could invest in higher-priced apartment complexes, making neighborhoods less affordable for people traditionally living there. In other words, opportunity zones may fuel gentrification.
Investors should consider their own stance on opportunity zone investing since this is a significant part of Cadre’s business.
Investment Options
Cadre offers three different options for investors to access their platform:
- Cadre Direct Access Fund. The Cadre Direct Access Fund allows you to invest in a diversified portfolio of properties rather than in a single property. It’s the easiest way to get started and requires no time to vet properties and select the right option (Cadre does all of that for you). The portfolio is roughly 50% multifamily and 50% office, hotel and industrial.
- Deal-by-deal investing. Deal-by-deal investing is available for those who want more control to select their own investments. You may have the chance to earn higher returns on your investment, but you won’t get downside protection from a more diversified portfolio.
- Secondary Market. The Secondary Market allows investors to sell their interests in offerings before they naturally conclude. This provides an avenue for potential liquidity or purchasing shares at a discount on the buyer side.
The minimum investment is $25,000, regardless of which option you choose. All of the deals that are available through Cadre have passed through their vetting process.
By investing in the Cadre Direct Access Fund, you’ll invest in the same properties available for deal-to-deal investing and vice versa. A certain percentage of each project is available for deal-to-deal investments, with the rest allocated to the Fund.
Who Can Invest With Cadre
Cadre is not necessarily a good fit for everyone, as it is open only to accredited investors. To qualify as an accredited investor, you need to meet at least one of the criteria below:
- Have a net worth of at least $1 million (individually or jointly with your spouse), excluding your primary residence.
- Have an annual income of at least $200,000 (or $300,000 for joint filers) for the past two years, with the expectation of reaching the same income level in the current year.
- You can learn more about these requirements in our list of accredited investor opportunities worth considering.
The platform is ideal for high-net-worth individuals looking for alternative investment ideas with a chance to produce excellent returns that may outpace the stock market potentially. It’s also suitable for those who don’t want to spend time vetting specific investment properties.
Cadre investors should also be comfortable with less liquidity, since it typically takes at least five years to get your investment back. However, Cadre has created a secondary market that allows investors the opportunity for liquidity each quarter.
Note: While many real estate platforms are only open to accredited investors, there are some noteworthy exceptions. Fundrise, Groundfloor and Realty Mogul are among a handful of options for those who do not meet the requirements to be classified as accredited investors.
Liquidity
An investment through Cadre, like most other real estate platforms, is not considered liquid.
Each deal is typically held for five to 10 years, but there is no specific limit on the duration of your investments. In general, you should only invest money with Cadre that you will not need for at least five years.
One of the ways Cadre differentiates itself from other similar platforms is by offering a secondary market for investors. Investors can sell on the Cadre Secondary Market during quarterly windows after waiting at least six months from the fundraising period.
While selling on the secondary market does help provide an option for investors who want or need to sell, Cadre does not guarantee liquidity during these windows, and limitations do apply. As a result, investors should view Cadre as mostly illiquid and should not rely upon the ability to sell through the secondary market.
Equally important, your return may fall short of the target return if you sell on the secondary market, so it’s not the ideal way to use the platform. People who are buying on the secondary market will be looking for an investment at a discounted price.
During our research, we could not find publicly available data regarding investments sold on the secondary market and the outcome for those investors.
Potential Benefits and Risks
Let’s summarize the key factors to consider if you’re thinking about investing with Cadre.
Here are a few possible benefits:
- Access to commercial real estate. Investing in large apartment buildings, offices, hotels and other commercial real estate is out of reach for most investors. Cadre not only makes it possible, but they also make it easy. Cadre carries out the due diligence (although investors should always perform their own due diligence) and allows individuals to invest in a hands-free way.
- Intense vetting is carried out by Cadre. The company doesn’t offer as many deals as some other crowdfunding platforms because they’re incredibly selective in the deals that make it through their vetting process. This is especially valuable for those who do not have experience or expertise with real estate investing.
- Potential for excellent returns. There’s no denying that Cadre has an impressive track record with outstanding returns.
But you also need to be aware of some of the risks and drawbacks, including:
- Limited History. Cadre has produced outstanding results so far, but the company has only been operating for a few years. Although Cadre has done very well so far, the track record is limited (the same thing is true of many other real estate platforms and crowdfunding sites in general).
- Lack of liquidity. Although Cadre does offer the possibility to sell your investment through their secondary market once per quarter, you should consider the investment to be illiquid since they make no guarantees regarding liquidity. You might not be able to sell your investment, or you might get less than you think is fair.
- Limited options. Cadre focuses on quality instead of quantity. That’s a significant factor in their success so far, but it does limit the number of available deals to investors.
Aside from the risks and drawbacks mentioned above, Cadre is only an option for accredited investors. In addition, the current minimum investment of $25,000 is also a barrier for some.
Historical Performance
To date, Cadre has invested in 50 properties. Fourteen have been fully realized, and investments in the other properties are still outstanding. The final results of those investments won’t be determined until the properties are sold.
The company reports an overall 27.6% IRR on realized investments through 2022.
Cadre vs. Yieldstreet
Yieldstreet provides numerous alternative investments across various sectors, but it primarily specializes in both debt and equity real estate investments.
Investment minimums vary, starting at $10,000 for the Prism Fund, which is accessible to both accredited and non-accredited investors. However, most of the investments on the platform are open only to accredited investors and some have higher minimums.
While Yieldstreet offers more diversity across different sectors, including the opportunity to invest in funds or directly into specific projects, both platforms require diligent research and a tolerance for risk. This is due to the inherent nature of these investments being illiquid and not guaranteed.
In contrast to Cadre, Yieldstreet appeals to investors seeking lower investment minimums and more diverse alternative asset classes inside and outside the real estate sector.
For further information, refer to our detailed YieldStreet review.
Cadre vs. Fundrise
Fundrise is one of the most popular real estate investing platforms, so it may be helpful to compare and contrast these two options.
Here are some of the ways that they are different.
- Fundrise is open to all investors, while Cadre is open only to accredited investors.
- Fundrise offers a minimum investment of just $1,000, while Cadre’s current minimum is $25,000.
- Fundrise’s fees are lower at just 1% per year, compared to Cadre’s 1% up front and 1.5% per year.
- Fundrise offers different core plans (long-term growth, supplemental income, balanced investing), while Cadre’s Direct Access Fund is one-size-fits-all.
- Fundrise invests in a higher quantity of properties, while Cadre is more selective.
- Cadre offers the potential for higher returns. Fundrise’s historical returns have been around 10%, while Cadre boasts more than 18%.
Fundrise is a viable option for any investor, and Cadre is inaccessible to the average investor. However, those who qualify as accredited investors looking to maximize returns may value Cadre’s strong performance to date.
Learn more in our Fundrise review.
See also: Learn about more alternatives in our list of the best crowdfunded real estate platforms.
Cadre vs. Trion
Trion offers a vertically integrated approach to real estate investing, where they purchase, underwrite, and manage all their investments. They seek value-add projects in rising markets and convert underutilized multifamily properties into modern and affordable rentals.
Overall, Trion is best for experienced real estate investors who are willing to invest a minimum of $50,000 in a single property or fund, and who understand the company’s complex fee structure.
Trion has a strong track record of returns, and offers investors the opportunity to invest in a concentrated portfolio of properties.
Learn more in our Trion Properties review.
Another option: EquityMultiple gives accredited investors access to professionally-managed commercial real estate deals. The company has had a short but strong track record, netting a 15% IRR since 2015. See our EquityMultiple review for an in-depth analysis.
Costs and Fees
Understanding the associated costs and fees is an essential step before making any investment.
Cadre charges different fees to investors depending on the vehicle in which they invest:
- 1%-3.5% up front depending on investment size into the Cadre Direct Access Fund. If you invest $100,000, Cadre will take $3,000 as an up-front fee, and the remaining $97,000 will be invested. This is a one-time fee that’s applied each time you invest.
- 1.75%-2% annual management and administrative fee. Cadre charges up to 2.0% of the net asset value each year, allowing them to manage their portfolio of properties.
These fees may seem high compared to traditional investments like stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, or bonds. However, the costs are reasonable and in line with many other alternative investments. Keep in mind that Cadre is not simply facilitating the investments, but they are actually managing the properties for several years before eventually selling.
It’s also important to note that the historical returns reported, according to Cadre, are net of fees (i.e., after fees have been deducted).
Cadre Review Summary
Real estate is an alternative investment that has been the cornerstone of the portfolio of many millionaires and billionaires. Commercial properties like multifamily apartment buildings, office buildings and hotels offer massive potential for investors, but they’ve traditionally been off-limits for most individuals.
Cadre is a platform that makes institutional-quality investments available to individual investors. They’ve produced solid results so far, even though their track record is limited due to the relatively small number of investments they’ve made to date.
There’s a lot to like about Cadre’s approach to using technology and data to make the most selective investments, and the most significant downsides to the platform are the requirement to qualify as an accredited investor and the high minimum investment of $25,000.
For those who do meet the requirements, Cadre presents an intriguing investment opportunity due to the strong results generated to date.
Of course, past results do not indicate or guarantee success for future investments, so be sure to perform your own due diligence before investing.
Disclosure: I am a paid partner of Yieldstreet, a company that operates an online investment platform, and have been compensated for referring investors to Yieldstreet investments. This financial relationship may influence the content, topics or posts made on this platform. The views and opinions expressed on this platform are purely my own. This content is not intended to provide investment advice. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Please carefully review Yieldstreet’s Offering Circular before making any investment.
Are Cadre investments available for a 1031 exchange?
According to their FAQ, “No, the commercial real estate opportunities available on our platform are not meant to be used in 1031 exchange transactions.”