REIT Rankings Best Real Estate Investment Trust Rankings – REIT Rankings
Chris Volk, president and CEO of STORE Capital Corp. (NYSE: STOR), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
STORE is an acronym for single-tenant operational real estate, which is the company’s target market. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company held an initial public offering (IPO) in November 2014.
Shirley Goza, general counsel at QTS Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: QTS), joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
Goza discussed the role of REIT general counsel as in-house gatekeeper and how the position has evolved.
“There’s always been the expectation that both in-house and outside counsel be business savvy. The lawyer needs to understand the business and look for the solution,” she said.
Jim Hanks, a senior partner at Venable LLP, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
Hanks discussed the growing importance of succession planning.
“I see it as a major item on a continuing basis, as it should be,” he said.
Hanks highlighted a number of aspects to succession planning, including a focus on short-term and long-term planning. “Boards should be doing both,” he said.
Chris Dubrowski, partner at Deloitte LLP, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
Dubrowski outlined how companies are preparing for the new revenue recognition standard issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). He acknowledged the difficulty in understanding new rules until they are applied to actual transactions. “I’m telling people to think about the different ways you recognize revenue within a REIT and think about whether those might be impacted,” he said.
Kate Courtis, senior vice president for taxation at General Growth Properties, Inc. (NYSE: GGP), joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
Courtis moderated a panel at REITWise looking at the partnership tax issues encountered by REITs. Some of the issues the panel discussed included disguised sales and beneficial elections.
“When [REITs] want to recycle capital, retention of that capital is critical,” Courtis said.
With new shopping center supply at a standstill and acquisitions aggressively priced, Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE: BRX) sees its best growth prospects within its existing property portfolio.
To tap those prospects, Brixmor introduced its Raising the Bar initiative more than three years ago. The program was formally unveiled to the public in late October 2014..
Peter Fass, partner at Proskauer Rose, LLP, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
Fass observed that new customer account rules from the Financial Industry Regulatory Association (FINRA) aiming to increase transparency of public non-listed REITs (PNLR) have led to speculation about their impact on a number of fronts.
“There’s a lot of talk about how it’s going to affect sales. Who’s going to make the changes? Will it reduce fees to broker-dealers? We shall see,” he said.
Kimber Bascom, partner in the KPMG Department of Professional Practice, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
Bascom downplayed concerns that the new leases standard will end leasing activity.
“There are many good reasons why leasing activity will continue to go on even after the accounting standards change,” he said.
Mark Decker Jr., group head of U.S. real estate at BMO Capital Markets, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
Decker discussed the state of the real estate capital markets.
“They’re in great shape,” he said. “There’s a lot of access to all the markets. Pick your flavor. If you’ve got a good use for the money, there’s a lot of investor support,” he said.
Adam Cohen, executive director of tax at W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
Cohen noted that one of the main challenges facing REIT tax directors concerns resource constraints.
“There are a lot of demands placed on the tax department, and we’re becoming increasingly integrated with the accounting and finance functions, but we don’t have enough people,” he said.
