Bailard Real Estate Fund Accepted into NCREIF’s NFI-ODCE Index
SAN FRANCISCO – May 25, 2021 – Bailard, Inc. announced today that the Bailard Real Estate Fund (the “Fund”) has been added to the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries’ (NCREIF) Open-end Diversified Core Equity Index (NFI-ODCE) as of March 31, 2021. Bailard’s Fund joins as the NFI-ODCE’s 27th active fund.
The Fund’s Chief Accounting Officer, Dipika Shull, CPA, remarked that Bailard began benchmarking its Fund against NFI-ODCE in 2015 and, “it is only fair to become part of the body to which we compare ourselves. By joining the Index, we have cemented our Fund’s position as a core real estate investment option for a range of institutional and sophisticated investors.”
The Bailard Real Estate Fund was launched in 1990 and served as an innovative and early offering for institutional private equity real estate. As of March 31, 2021, the Fund had a gross market value exceeding $1.1 billion. The Bailard Real Estate Fund’s investment strategy focuses on value-enhancement acquisition opportunities while adhering to a diversified core portfolio construction approach, with the goal to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns through varying market environments. The Fund seeks to outperform the NFI-ODCE (EW) Index – an objective that has been achieved for 25 of 26 quarters since Bailard began benchmarking against the Index.*
Preston Sargent, the Fund’s President and CEO, noted that broadening, deepening, and diversifying the Fund’s investor base has been an important initiative for the real estate team. Sargent said, “Joining the NFI-ODCE is an important recognition of Bailard’s intent to compete on a bigger stage.” Further, he added, “Going toe-to-toe with marquee private equity real estate fund sponsors is a privilege and will be an additional motivator to sharpen our skills, focus, and stay on our game.”
About the Bailard Real Estate Fund
The Fund is an actively-managed open-end diversified core equity real estate vehicle with a strategy to maintain and grow a portfolio of high-quality assets diversified across property types, major metro areas, and investment life cycles. As of March 31, 2021, the Fund’s Gross Asset Value was $1.1 billion, invested in 31 properties across 18 U.S. markets. An investor in the Bailard Real Estate Fund must be an “accredited investor” as defined in Regulation D and provide documentation verifying such status as requested by the Fund.
About the NFI-ODCE
The NFI-ODCE is a capitalization-weighted, gross of fee, time-weighted return index with an inception date of December 31, 1977. As of March 31, 2021, the NFI-ODCE consisted of 27 funds, totaling $212 billion of net real estate assets. Open-end funds are generally defined as infinite-life vehicles consisting of multiple investors who have the ability to enter or exit the fund on a periodic basis, subject to contribution and/or redemption requests, thereby providing a degree of potential investment liquidity. The term Diversified Core Equity style typically reflects lower risk investment strategies utilizing low leverage and generally represented by equity ownership positions in stable U.S. operating properties diversified across regions and property types. For more information on the Index, please visit https://www.ncreif.org/data-products/funds/.
* Important Disclosures
Bailard, Inc. (“Bailard”) is the investment and operating manager of the Bailard Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. (the “Bailard Real Estate Fund” or the “Fund”). While the Bailard Real Estate Fund began benchmarking itself to the NFI-ODCE as of 3/31/2015, please note that the Fund was accepted into the Index as of 3/31/2021 after meeting the eligibility requirements for four consecutive quarters. For the period ending 3/31/2021, the Fund outperformed the Index 25 of 26 quarters on both a gross and net basis. The Fund’s full performance history is available upon request.
The underlying performance results of the Fund are calculated using National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries’ (NCREIF) methodology and reflect the impact of leverage, interest, and dividend income from short-term cash investments and publicly-traded real estate investments, as applicable. Capital expenditures, tenant improvements, and lease commissions are capitalized and included in the cost of the property; are not amortized; and are reconciled through the valuation process and reflected in the appreciation return component. The performance results do not reflect Fund-level expenses, such as audit, tax, legal, operating management fee, and accounting expenses. The Fund’s income return is not the distributed income to the investor, and the Income Return is presented gross-of-fee and before Fund expenses. The NCREIF gross return methodology is as follows: the total gross return is equal to net investment income plus appreciation divided by weighted average equity. With respect to income and appreciation, the NCREIF methodology for net income return is equal to net investment income divided by weighted average equity, and net appreciation return is equal to appreciation divided by weighted average equity. Performance results are calculated on an asset-weighted average basis using beginning of period values adjusted for time-weighted external cash flows. All properties have been appraised quarterly since the third quarter of 2009. The Fund’s Board of Directors determines the value of properties based on input from independent appraisers and all levels of the Fund management. Securities, derivatives, and cash and cash-equivalent investments held by the properties and Fund are marked to market on each valuation date. The Fund’s Inception Date is April 20, 1990. The NCREIF Fund Index – Open End Diversified Core Equity (NFI-ODCE) is a fund-level, time weighted return index reporting the returns of various open-end commingled funds pursuing a core private real estate investment strategy and qualifying for inclusion in the NFI-ODCE based upon certain pre-defined index policy inclusion characteristics. Historical data is available from 1978. Like the Fund, the NFI-ODCE returns reflect leverage and the impact of cash holdings and joint ventures (i.e., returns reflect each contributing fund’s actual asset ownership positions and financing strategy). The use of leverage varies among the funds included in the NFI-ODCE. The NFI-ODCE is unmanaged and uninvestable. Past performance is no indication of future results. All investments have the risk of loss.
Bailard receives annual fees from the Fund, which are based on the Net Asset Value. The Fund invests primarily in real estate and, as a result, an investment in the Fund entails significant risks that are customarily associated with the development and ownership of income-producing real estate, including illiquidity, changes in supply and demand, and inexact valuation. The Fund’s shares fluctuate in value and may be illiquid due to a lack of redemption, the lack of a secondary market and restrictions on transfer. Fees and expenses may offset the return on the investment. The Fund may be leveraged. Projections are based on assumptions that Bailard believes are reasonable under the circumstances, they are subject to uncertainties, changes (e.g., changes in public health, economic, operational, political, legal, tax, and other circumstances), and other risks including, but not limited to, future operating results including rents, occupancy, and other property cash flows, and other expenses. Investors may lose all or a substantial portion of their investment. For a more thorough discussion of the fees and the risks involved in making an investment in the Fund, please refer to its Offering Memorandum.
About Bailard, Inc.
With 50 years of experience, Bailard proudly serves as a trusted partner focused on achieving long-term results aligned with client goals. An independent firm since its founding in 1969, Bailard stands committed to its values and, most importantly, its clients. With $5 billion AUM as of March 31, 2021, Bailard’s high-touch client service and proven track record are grounded in the firm’s core values of accountability, compassion, courage, excellence, fairness, and independence.
Bailard Named ‘Best Place to Work’ for Second Consecutive Year
Bailard is thrilled to announce our inclusion in San Francisco Business Times’ “Best Places to Work in the Bay Area” list for the second year in a row. The award is Bailard’s second workplace award this year and the fifth workplace award for the firm since 2020. The program is run jointly with the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Looking at Bailard from the outside, some may think we are lucky. The truth is, we have figured out our secret sauce, which is made of much more than just luck. Bailard’s success is based on our shared values: accountability, excellence, independence, fairness, courage, and compassion. The commitment to living out those values throughout our 52-year history has attracted and retained world-class talent. Our values create an environment where individuals and teams can thrive.
This award, based on employee feedback, exemplifies Bailard’s commitment to fostering its culture. The survey program provides a sampling of anonymous employee responses to an open-ended opportunity for feedback, including:
- “We are an organization that cares deeply about our employees and doing the right thing by our clients. I have been with the firm for over 20 years and could not have stayed this long if I did not believe in what we do and how we treat each other.”
- “Colleagues genuinely care about your well-being, personal life, and your interests outside of work. The culture has always been strong at Bailard and we’ve really seen that shine during the pandemic and switch to work-from-home. Opportunities to foster personal growth are available if you show a desire to pursue them.”
- “It’s an organization that not only allows, but encourages everyone to push themselves beyond their daily roles. Senior management knows and has relayed to the company that if you want to do something or accomplish something within our field of work, to do it here and we will support it.”
- “I have worked for many companies in our industry and have never been more proud to work for a firm like ours that acts with integrity, genuinely cares about clients and colleagues alike, and aims to do good for our community.”
This award represents stability and focus during a pivotal transition period. We welcome Sonya Mughal, CFA to the helm as CEO, 27 years into her career with Bailard. Sonya’s leadership in various roles throughout the firm, most recently as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Risk Officer, have helped to make Bailard the outstanding place that it is to work. Her leadership will only further the work of her predecessor, Peter Hill, who stays on as Bailard’s Executive Chairman. Mughal shared, “Notably, Bailard was the only investment management firm to rank in its category of companies with 50-99 employees this year. It is an honor to shine among the best and brightest in the Bay Area.”
We thank the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal for this incredible recognition and congratulate all other winners and nominees.
About The Business Journals
The San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal are both publications of The Business Journals. The Business Journals’ 44 business publications represent the largest publisher of metropolitan business newsweeklies in the United States, reaching 3.6 million readers each week from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco, and from Austin, Texas, to Albany, N.Y. Bizjournals features local people and decision makers who are leaders in their business communities. They report on local and national issues that impact subscribers’ businesses and assist them in growing their companies.
About Best Places to Work in the Bay Area 2021
This award does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients and is not indicative of Bailard’s future performance. There was no cost for Bailard to enter. The San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal partnered with Quantum Workplaces, an independent survey program administrator. All Best Places to Work winners are determined exclusively on the basis of their employees’ responses to the Best Places to Work Survey. Employee responses from the 30 standard survey questions, along with the number of employees that respond to the survey, are calculated to determine the company’s overall score and ranking. Eligibility requirements to enter the award included companies must have 25 or more employees (full-time and part-time) working in the following Greater Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma. Employees outside of the Greater Bay Area, with 5% or greater company stock ownership, and seasonal, per diem, temporary employees were prohibited from participating in the survey. Employees completed one survey for the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area 2021 program and, as a result of Bailard’s two Bay Area offices (Foster City and San Francisco), garnered rankings in both the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal lists. This year, 125 firms appeared in the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal list. 25 firms were recognized in Bailard’s category of Small Employer (50-99 employees) and Bailard was 21.
Providing Clean Water to Samburu, Kenya
Clean water is a basic need for human life, yet access to it is far from equitable. According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO), 785 million people lacked access to clean drinking water, with more than half of those individuals living in sub-Saharan Africa as of 2017. The Samburu Project is helping change that.
The Samburu Project not only provides access to clean water to communities in the Samburu region of Kenya by building wells, but the organization also provides ongoing support to these communities through initiatives promoting education, health, women’s empowerment, and overall well-being. The Samburu Project preaches that water is “health, education, community, empowerment, dignity, hope and life”. The Samburu Project works in accordance with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #6 to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”
Clean water allows advancement for women and girls
Providing easier access to clean water for communities like Samburu has the greatest impact on the region’s women and girls. Since the responsibility of gathering water for the community typically falls on women and girls – who must walk up to 12 miles a day to collect it – women often cannot work nor can girls attend school. With the help of The Samburu Project’s well-drilling in these communities, women and girls can pursue both education and income-generating activities. The organization also partners with schools in the community that teach the importance of hygiene, sanitation, and education. The newly-empowered women uncover that they have the autonomy to choose education and the ability to provide for themselves and their families in new ways such as through brick making businesses, beading, and successful agriculture businesses.
Providing the Pasinae Self Help Group of Lechur Village clean water
One of many groups in need was the Pasinae Self Help Group of Lechur Village, located 14 km east of Wamba in central Kenya. According to the Samburu Project, 670 people, 2,000 cows, 10,000 goats, 50 donkeys, and 200 camels call this place home and were in desperate need of clean water.
The Bailard Foundation has had the honor of being able to participate in bringing water to the Samburu community. Despite all the hardships that the year 2020 brought to the world, the Bailard Foundation, through the hard work of The Samburu Project, was able to co-fund the cost of drilling a well for the Pasinae Self Help Group. You may also learn more in a video from The Circle World Water Day Virtual Event hosted by The Samburu Project on their efforts in Kenya.
Bailard’s values-driven culture is present not only in the office but embedded in our dedication to community involvement. To formalize this passion, the Bailard Foundation was founded in 2019 in tandem with Bailard’s 50th Anniversary. The Foundation supports initiatives important to the Bailard family, employees, and clients alike, and strives to improve the communities that we engage with. The four main focus areas the Foundation targets are affordable housing, homelessness & poverty, financial literacy, and international impact projects. The Bailard Foundation has a board of directors that is led by chairwoman Terri Bailard, widow of firm co-founder Tom Bailard, and features both friends of Bailard, Inc. and employees.