Social Media Policies for Syndicators and Fund Managers
In January 2024, the SEC’s Division of Examinations identified marketing and advertising practices, including social media communications, as a priority examination area for investment advisers managing private funds. The focus was on whether social media content was accurate, consistent with formal offering documents, and subject to adequate internal review before publication. The examination approach was […]
Testimonials and Endorsements in Real Estate Capital Raising: Where the Risk Starts
A real estate sponsor closes a successful multifamily acquisition. Distributions are running ahead of projections. Three investors send unsolicited emails praising the sponsor’s communication, execution, and transparency. The sponsor, reasonably proud of the outcome, posts the most favorable of those emails on the company website under a “What Our Investors Say” header, adds two of […]
Website Compliance for Real Estate Sponsors Raising Private Capital
A real estate sponsor builds a polished website to support an upcoming Rule 506(b) capital raise. The site includes a deals page describing the current offering by name, the target property type, the projected return range, and a contact form inviting visitors to request access to the offering materials. The site is publicly accessible. Anyone […]
Reopening a Closed Offering: Legal Issues Sponsors Should Consider
A real estate sponsor closes a multifamily fund at $12 million after accepting subscriptions from eighteen investors over a five-month period. Three months after the final closing, a qualified investor who missed the offering contacts the sponsor. The investor is committed, the amount is meaningful, and the sponsor has a ready use for the capital: […]
CRM and Investor Communications: Compliance Issues Real Estate Sponsors Overlook
Most real estate sponsors think of their CRM as a sales tool and their investor communications as a relationship management function. Neither characterization is wrong. But both miss the legal dimension that determines whether the platform’s investor communications program is a compliance asset or a compliance liability. Every communication a sponsor sends to an investor, […]
Handling Investor Follow-Up Questions Without Creating Liability
A sponsor is on a call with a prospective investor who has reviewed the PPM and is close to committing. The investor asks how confident the sponsor is in the projected 7% preferred return. The sponsor, sensing momentum and wanting to reassure, says: “Honestly, I’m very confident we’ll hit it. Our contractor is locked in, […]
Soft Circling Investors Before Launch: What Sponsors Can and Cannot Do
In late 2024, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement concluded an investigation into a real estate sponsor who had raised capital under Rule 506(b) of Regulation D for three consecutive fund offerings. The factual record included a LinkedIn post published before the third offering launched that described the sponsor’s upcoming acquisition strategy and invited followers to […]
Rolling Closings in Private Offerings: Legal and Operational Considerations
A rolling closing structure is often described as an investor-friendly feature of a private offering, and in one sense that is accurate. Giving investors additional time to complete diligence, obtain internal approvals, and move capital is genuinely useful for sponsors who want to build a broad investor base without waiting for the slowest commitment to […]
Subscription Closing Mechanics in Real Estate Syndications
The wire hits the escrow account on a Tuesday afternoon. The purchase and sale agreement has a hard closing deadline on Thursday. The sponsor countersigns the last subscription agreement Wednesday morning, checks the escrow balance, and wires the equity to the title company. The deal closes. Everyone moves on. Three weeks later, the sponsor’s attorney […]
Investor Accreditation Workflows: Practical Documentation and Process Design
Here is a question most real estate sponsors cannot answer precisely: if the SEC sent an examination request tomorrow asking how you verified each investor in your last offering was accredited, what would you show them? Not what you collected. What you can prove. The difference between those two things is the difference between a […]