STRATEGY
A hybrid Private Equity & Real Estate investment firm, sponsoring direct investments into real estate corporates & platforms
WHY ASIA WORKS DIFFERENTLY
Asia is the fastest growing market in the world...
Asia has grown and will continue to grow more quickly than the West
As the most dynamic region globally today, Asia offers a wide range of investment opportunities, driven by growing urbanization & the rise of the middle class
In particular, the real estate industry in Asia has grown substantially and is one of the largest sectors for both domestic & foreign investment across the region
...but with high growth, comes high volatility
The rapid growth over the past 30 years has not been a straight line - Asian markets are unpredictable and shift much more rapidly than in the West
Unlike in the developed West, simply being a skilled investor does not determine success
In these volatile Asian markets, timing is everything
Even Hong Kong, one of Asia's most stable and mature markets, is significantly more volatile than the West
Traditional closed-end funds which arbitrarily end at the wrong time simply cannot survive in this environment
.png)
Closed-end funds have major disadvantages in rapidly moving markets
In our experience, we have seen that traditional funds suffer from three major drawbacks, particularly in Asia:
-
Closed end funds can usually only raise money in up markets
-
Huge incentives to invest money quickly, usually at the top
-
Funds are incentivized to sell their 'winners' early in order to help raise the next fund
Asia's most successful Real Estate investors are not Private Equity funds, but local corporates
Asian Real Estate corporates & platforms have local relationships, do not have arbitrary fund deadlines, and have long-term capital to take advantage of volatility
The most successful real estate players have realized value by listing their corporate platforms on the public markets, while maintaining a significant stake
Today, in every Asian market, real estate is one of the largest listed market segments
.png)
EXS believes traditional Real Estate Private Equity is not well suited for these markets - a different, long-term approach is better suited for Asia
WHAT MAKES EXS UNIQUE
EXS focuses on Real Estate platforms rather than individual assets
Our strategy is to invest into the Real Estate companies or Management Teams, and grow the platform as a whole
We form partnerships with local Management Teams who have figured out how to succeed in these special markets
Rather than invest into individual assets on our own, we want to empower Management Teams to run the platform and do what they do best
Illustrative structure only
We look at traditional developers as well as sector specialists
Traditional Real Estate Developers
-
Traditional developers of residential, commercial and/or hospitality real estate
-
Proven execution ability with good product design & quality as well as ability to originate
-
Strong local expertise, networks, and knowledge in a particular geography
Sector Specialists
-
Specialized management teams focused on thematic real estate sectors
-
Alternative asset classes within real estate such as data centers, logistics, healthcare, etc.
-
Regional or global focus across multiple jurisdictions
EXS sponsors multiple rounds of investments into each platform over time
Instead of closed-end funds, we use a platform-by-platform approach, with each project as its own platform with its own structure
This approach allows us to flexibly grow with management teams over the long-term, with no artificial fund deadlines
We sponsor and investment into each platform over multiple rounds, from our own managed funds as well as from co-investors
As we grow the platform, we gradually increase the company/platform's valuation and lower its cost of capital over time
The ultimate goal is to realize value for all through IPO, REIT listing, or platform sale
We strongly believe that, for Asian real estate platforms, the whole is worth much more than the sum of its parts
We want to build billion dollar market leaders and preserve their value as a platform, rather than dispose assets one-by-one
Through this longer-term, more aligned approach, EXS is expected to achieve greater returns and outperform traditional closed-end Private Equity