Investment and Management Philosophy
Walton Street invests and manages with the philosophy that real estate is a commodity subject to cycles, both in terms of its underlying supply and demand fundamentals and its pricing relative to other financial assets. Through the Principals’ relationships, experience and discipline, Walton Street has consistently demonstrated its ability to identify opportunities to create and maximize value, while minimizing risk, through: opportunistic investing, which correctly identifies capital voids, market and operating inefficiencies and anticipated cyclical recoveries; value-added asset management, which aggressively seeks to redevelop or reposition under-managed and under-capitalized assets to appeal to a broader, institutional marketplace; and a disciplined disposition strategy, which identifies an exit strategy before an investment is made and is continuously evaluated to seek an optimal and efficient result.
Walton Street believes it is critical that those making the investment and management decisions invest significant personal capital alongside investors. Underscoring this philosophy, of the $3.5 billion of total equity commitments, the Principals of Walton Street have personally invested $202 million.
The importance of a disciplined disposition strategy dictates Walton Street's investment focus on well-located institutional quality assets within desirable markets, which are likely to have greater liquidity by appealing to a wider range of potential buyers. On a portfolio basis, Walton Street utilizes only moderate levels of leverage through the use of predominantly first mortgage, non-recourse debt, which is structured to give Walton Street the greatest flexibility so as not to impede an asset's timely exit. Typically, Walton Street makes investments that seek to meet our return objectives over an expected average holding period of three to five years.