Diversified real estate, professionally managed.
For accredited investors with cash to deploy — private real estate funds, non-traded REITs, debt funds, and Qualified Opportunity Zone funds give you institutional-quality real estate exposure without owning, managing, or even visiting a single building.
One investment, many properties, professional operators.
A real estate fund pools capital from many investors and uses it to buy a portfolio of commercial property — apartment communities, industrial warehouses, medical office buildings, net-lease retail, or a deliberate mix. A professional sponsor sources, buys, manages, and eventually sells the properties on behalf of the fund.
You receive your pro-rata share of the rental income (typically as monthly or quarterly distributions) and your pro-rata share of any appreciation when properties are sold or the fund matures. You never touch a tenant, a contractor, or a closing table.
A Delaware Statutory Trust (DST)
- One specific property
- Designed for 1031 exchange proceeds
- 5–10 year hold, illiquid until sale
- Single-asset concentration
A real estate fund
- Many properties — diversified
- Designed for cash investment (not 1031)
- 7–10 year fund life or evergreen structure
- Professional asset-level diversification
For investors who already exited their landlord days — who have cash from a sale, a retirement account, an inheritance, or just decades of accumulated savings — a real estate fund is the cleanest way to stay invested in real estate without becoming an operator.
Six reasons funds belong in a retirement-stage portfolio.
Diversification by default
A single fund commitment can buy you exposure to 20, 50, or 100+ properties across markets and asset classes. Concentration risk drops dramatically compared to owning one or two buildings.
Institutional-quality access
Private funds let individuals participate in deals that historically required pension-fund or endowment-scale capital — Class-A multifamily, modern industrial, medical office portfolios.
Predictable distributions
Income-oriented funds target 5%–7% annualized distributions paid monthly or quarterly. Useful supplement to Social Security, pension, or required minimum distributions.
True passive ownership
No tenant calls. No closings. No bookkeeping. You receive a K-1 (or 1099 depending on structure) and a quarterly statement. That’s it.
Tax efficiency
Depreciation flowing through a partnership structure typically shelters a large portion of the cash distributions — you receive yield with little or no current-year tax impact in most years.
Built for the long horizon
Funds are designed to be held through cycles. Closed-end structures have 7–10 year fund lives; evergreen NAV REITs can be held indefinitely. Either way, the time horizon matches retirement-stage planning.
Curious which fund structure fits you?
Tell us your investment size, income vs growth target, and time horizon. We’ll match you with an advisor who specializes in placing real estate funds for accredited investors.
Four common ways accredited investors get diversified real estate exposure.
Each structure has different liquidity, fee, tax, and risk profiles. The right one for you depends on your income needs, time horizon, and how much complexity you’re willing to take on.
Private real estate funds
Structure: Closed-end, Regulation D partnership
Minimum: $25K – $250K depending on sponsor
Liquidity: None until properties sell (7–10 year fund life)
Best for: Long-horizon investors who want pure diversification + appreciation upside
Non-traded REITs (NAV REITs)
Structure: Evergreen, periodic-NAV REIT
Minimum: $2.5K – $25K, often available through advisors
Liquidity: Quarterly redemption windows (typically capped at 2%–5% of NAV per quarter)
Best for: Investors who want institutional real estate but with some quarterly access to capital
Real estate debt / income funds
Structure: Closed-end or evergreen, holds first-lien mortgages or preferred equity
Minimum: $25K – $100K
Liquidity: Quarterly windows in evergreen structures
Best for: Income-first investors who want higher current yield (8%–10%) and less equity volatility
Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) funds
Structure: Closed-end, holds property in IRS-designated Opportunity Zones
Minimum: $50K – $250K
Liquidity: 10-year hold required to capture full tax benefit
Best for: Investors who recently realized a capital gain (any asset, not just real estate) and want a long-horizon deferral plus a future tax-free gain
Distribution rates, total returns, and what a typical commitment looks like.
Returns vary by fund type, vintage, leverage, and asset mix. Roughly where the market sits in 2026:
Targets only. Actual performance varies materially by sponsor, vintage, and market conditions. Distributions are not guaranteed and may be paid from offering proceeds in early years. Real estate investments involve significant risk including potential loss of principal.
A typical commitment
A 68-year-old retired landlord sold their final rental in 2024 and has $750K of cash sitting in a money-market account. They commit $400K across two funds — $250K into a core multifamily NAV REIT (5.5% target yield, quarterly redemption windows) and $150K into a real estate debt fund (8% target yield, paid monthly). They keep the rest in cash and short-term Treasuries. That’s roughly $2,000/month of real-estate-backed income with no tenants, no property managers, no closings.
The property types most accredited-investor funds hold.
Most institutional-quality funds focus on the asset classes with the deepest tenant demand and most predictable economics — multifamily, industrial, medical office, and net-lease retail.
Three related options worth knowing about.
Real estate funds aren’t the only way to put cash to work in commercial real estate. Three strategies worth knowing about — and worth a conversation if one fits your situation:
Non-traded REITs (NAV-based)
If liquidity matters, a non-traded NAV REIT offers quarterly redemption windows — meaningfully more flexible than a closed-end fund, in exchange for slightly lower long-term returns.
721 UPREIT exchange
If you still own a property, you can sometimes contribute it directly to a REIT in exchange for operating-partnership units — deferring the tax and converting into a diversified REIT position. The tax savings are real but the mechanics are nuanced.
Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) funds
If you have a recent capital gain from any asset (stocks, business sale, real estate), a QOZ fund lets you defer that tax for up to 10 years — and any appreciation on the QOZ investment itself can be tax-free if held 10+ years. Requires patience and a long horizon.
What can go wrong, in plain English.
We’re a referral platform, not a fund sponsor. So here’s the candid list of things that can go wrong with private real estate funds — worth reading before you sign a subscription document.
Illiquidity
Closed-end funds tie up capital for 7–10 years with no early exit. NAV REITs offer quarterly windows but those windows can be capped or suspended during stress periods. Don’t commit money you might need.
Fee layers
Real estate funds carry upfront loads, annual management fees, and back-end performance fees. Stacked, these can consume 2%–4% of returns annually. The structure varies dramatically between sponsors — read the fee table carefully.
Distribution risk
Early-year distributions are sometimes paid from offering proceeds rather than from property cash flow. That isn’t inherently bad, but it means the headline yield can be supported by your own capital coming back to you.
Sponsor / manager risk
Past performance does not predict future results. Sponsors with strong track records can stumble; new sponsors can hit it out of the park. Diversifying across sponsors matters as much as diversifying across properties.
Valuation lag
Real estate doesn’t mark-to-market like public stocks. NAV REITs and private funds report quarterly. In a sharp market move, the reported NAV may not yet reflect what’s actually happening to the underlying values.
Tax complexity
Most private funds issue K-1s rather than 1099s, which can complicate tax filing — especially if the fund invests across multiple states. Plan for an additional CPA fee and a potential extension request each spring.
If three or more of these are true, a fund conversation is worth your time.
- You qualify as an accredited investor ($200K+ income or $1M+ net worth excluding home).
- You have $50K+ in cash you’re ready to deploy (taxable, IRA, or trust).
- You don’t need immediate access to the capital — 5+ year horizon, ideally longer.
- You want exposure to commercial real estate without being a landlord.
- You want diversification across markets and asset classes, not concentration in one property.
- You’re comfortable with quarterly statements and a K-1 at tax time.
- You’d like to talk to a real human advisor before signing anything.
Sound like you?
Our specialists place real estate funds for accredited investors every week. The survey takes two minutes, the conversation is free, and you’re never under obligation to commit. We’ll walk you through the options and let you decide.
Match me with a fund advisorDiversified real estate exposure, professionally managed.
Private real estate funds, non-traded NAV REITs, real estate debt funds, and Qualified Opportunity Zone funds — we'll match you to the vehicle that fits your tax situation and liquidity needs.