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The flashiest real estate deal isn't always the one worth owning. In this episode of the Asset Intelligence Podcast, Derrick sits down with CPA, investor, and Harvard Grace Capital founder Stewart O. Heath to make the case for "boring" real estate....and why stabilized, cash-flowing assets in overlooked markets can quietly become powerful wealth-building machines. Stewart breaks down where he's finding opportunity today, why office and medical office properties deserve a second look, how he thinks about leverage, cap rates, tenant quality, and long-term exits, and why disciplined underwriting matters more than chasing the next hot asset class.

He also shares hard-earned lessons from more than two decades in real estate—including why you make your money on the buy, why location can come down to the side of the street, and why operators should resist growth at all costs. For investors looking beyond hype and toward durable cash flow, thoughtful risk management, and an investment thesis they can actually stick with, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom.

The best real estate opportunities aren't always hiding in the biggest asset classes—they're often sitting in the niches everyone else has overlooked. In this episode of Real Asset Intelligence, Derrick Barker sits down with entrepreneur and investor Ben Lapidus to unpack how he went from Wall Street and big data to building a half-billion-dollar self-storage platform...and why he ultimately walked away to pursue an emerging niche: garage condos.

Ben shares the framework he uses to evaluate a new asset class, why he believes successful transitions should build on the skills, relationships, and credibility you already have, and how his team is using proprietary data to compete in a market largely untouched by institutional capital. They also dig into development economics, raising capital for an unfamiliar strategy, the risks Ben sees in today's commercial real estate market, and why choosing the right people may matter even more than choosing the right deal.

The conversation closes with a compelling career philosophy: don't choose between passion and economic opportunity—keep moving toward the intersection of what you love, what you can become great at, what the world needs, and what can actually sustain you.

Sponsored by UseNectar.com Devon Kennard knew the NFL paycheck wouldn't last forever....so while he was still making tackles on Sundays, he was quietly building the income that would outlast his football career. In this episode of Real Asset Intelligence, the nine-year NFL veteran joins Derrick Barker to unpack how he went from buying cash-flowing rental properties between seasons to owning 20+ properties, investing in more than 40 syndications, and building 42 Solutions into a private lending business that funded more than $10 million in loans last year without a single default. Devon shares why he eventually moved away from a "buy and hold forever" mentality, how he thinks about liquidity and control, and why risk-adjusted return—not the biggest projected return—is the metric investors should really be watching. The conversation also gets deeply practical about capital stacks, debt structure, compounding, and how Devon uses AI and automation to run an increasingly large lending operation with an intentionally lean team. His philosophy on AI is especially refreshing: leverage it, don't depend on it—use it to dramatically reduce the work while keeping human judgment where it matters. Whether you're an LP, an operator, or simply trying to make smarter decisions with your capital, this episode is a masterclass in building wealth around cash flow, control, and the amount of risk you're actually taking.

Private markets are no longer reserved for institutions and family offices...and that creates both an enormous opportunity and an entirely new set of risks. In this episode of the Real Asset Intelligence Podcast, Derrick Barker sits down with Tony Davidow, Senior Alternatives Investment Strategist at Franklin Templeton Institute and author of *Private Markets*, to break down what investors need to know as private equity, private credit, and private real estate become increasingly accessible. Tony explains why private-market investing requires a fundamentally different mindset from public markets—including why investors should think in terms of seven-to-ten-year "patient capital," how the illiquidity premium works, and why quarterly liquidity doesn't mean these investments should be treated like mutual funds. They also dig into how to evaluate private-market managers, the "Four Ps" of due diligence, when leverage becomes a warning sign, why the cheapest fund isn't necessarily the best fund, and how investors can think about allocations across private equity, private credit, and real estate. Plus, Tony shares where Franklin Templeton Institute currently sees compelling opportunities—including private real estate, real estate debt, and what he calls one of their highest-conviction ideas for the coming decade: the private equity secondary market. If private investments are becoming part of your portfolio...or you simply want to understand where this rapidly changing market is headed...this conversation offers a practical framework for separating access from intelligent investing.

Episode Sponsored by: UseNectar.com Guest Link: Investwithroots.com What happens when renters are treated not simply as tenants, but as partners in the success of a real estate investment? In this episode of the Real Asset Intelligence Podcast, Derrick Barker sits down with Scott Jacobsen of Invest with Roots to explore a different approach to residential real estate—one designed to generate strong investor returns while helping renters build wealth of their own. Scott explains how Roots created an accessible real estate investment trust open to investors at nearly every stage of their financial journey, while rewarding residents for taking care of their homes, completing financial education, and paying rent on time. The result is a model that has helped renters strengthen their credit, accumulate meaningful savings, and move closer to homeownership—while also improving renewals and reducing turnover costs for the portfolio. They also discuss Roots' approach to diversification, conservative underwriting, new-construction acquisition opportunities, third-party property management, changing housing policy, and where Scott believes the next major real estate opportunities may emerge. It is a practical conversation about creating alignment between residents, operators, and investors—and proving that financial performance and meaningful social impact do not have to be competing goals.

"AI does not make judgments. That's our role. Its job is to organize information so I can make investment decisions faster and with greater conviction." Spencer Burton is one of the country's most credible voices on actually applying AI to commercial real estate. A 22-year CRE principal who underwrote over $30 billion in deals the old-fashioned way, he co-founded Adventures in CRE (the most widely used real estate financial modeling training resource for institutional analysts) and now leads CRE Agents, where he builds the capability layer that makes AI smart in real estate... 500+ tasks and counting. In this episode, host Derrick Barker and Spencer get practical about what it takes for a small sponsor team to become AI-native: - Why small operator teams (not 5,000-person institutions) are getting the greatest lift from AI right now - The first two tasks Spencer trusted AI with: parsing rent rolls and mapping charts of accounts... both formerly five-figure software categories - The Optimal Output Framework: the three ingredients (tools, instructions, knowledge) that determine whether you can trust an AI output - What a "skill" actually is, and why operators with deep methodology get the most out of AI - The analyst's job in an AI-first world: why fundamental skills matter as much as ever (the long division lesson) - A week-by-week playbook for automating your first 52 tasks without adding headcount - Build vs. buy: how a sponsor with a dozen properties should set up Claude projects by business function - Why local market knowledge is still the small operator's greatest edge over big capital Find Spencer at Adventures in CRE (adventuresincre.com) and CRE Agents. Real Asset Intelligence is hosted by Derrick Barker and sponsored by Nectar, helping experienced operators unlock liquidity from stabilized commercial real estate. Learn more at usenectar.com.

In this episode of the Real Asset Intelligence Podcast, Nectar's Derrick Barker sits down with Aleksey Chernobelskiy, founder of GP-LP Match and LP Lessons, to talk about what private real estate investors need to understand before deploying capital in today's market.

Aleksey shares lessons from his time underwriting a $10 billion real estate portfolio at STORE Capital, then explains why the private market often leaves LPs making major investment decisions with too little deal flow, too little context, and too much blind trust. The conversation covers how investors can sharpen their judgment, what separates a simple mistake from a true red flag, and why education and repetition matter before committing capital.

They also dig into the current commercial real estate reset, including distressed opportunities, recapitalizations, lender-driven sales, and the broken capital stacks that may define the next few years. For GPs, Aleksey offers a candid look at what LPs actually want to see: not just numbers, maps, and comps, but the story behind the deal, the sponsor, and the strategy.

Whether you are an LP trying to evaluate your next opportunity or a GP looking to build a deeper investor base, this episode is a practical conversation about better deal flow, better questions, and better decision-making in a changing real estate market.