Whether you’re an active real estate investor out there finding and managing deals in your own account …

… or you’re a passive investor looking to invest in someone else’s deals …

… or you’re a syndicator putting together deals on behalf of your passive investors …

… it can be smart to think like a big dog.

After all, major players have big research and due diligence budgets.  They hire big brains to study the market and make smart strategic decisions.

YOU can learn a LOT … just by watching what they’re doing.

Sometimes you can get in front of a big wave they’re about to create and ride it.

And sometimes you can front run them … buying what they want BEFORE they get there … selling to them at a premium when they arrive.

(We think there could be a particularly good opportunity to get in position to do this in the residential assisted living space right now.)

So even though you can’t play at their level, you can still get in the game by paying attention and being more nimble.

For example, this headline caught our attention …

Apollo is Targeting $1 Billion for U.S. Real Estate Fund –Bloomberg 11/20/18

“Apollo Global Management LLC has started talking to investors about its third U.S. real estate fund …”

Hmmmm … $ 1 billion is a chunk of change.  And apparently it’s not their first rodeo.

In fact, Apollo has been around since 1990 and has over $270 billion under management.

Not that we’re promoting or vouching for them.  We’re just saying it seems like they’re qualified to have an opinion about investing.

So back to the article …

“Investment will be in senior housing, hotels, retail”

A little deeper down we discover … in addition to these three … Apollo is also into industrial real estate and manufactured housing.

Of course, this doesn’t come as a big surprise to us or our long-time followers.

We’ve been paying attention to sub-niches in senior housing, hotels, retail,industrial and manufactured housing for quite some time.

But even though it’s affirming to have a big dog like Apollo see what we see … it’s not like we’re geniuses.

The clues in the news, trends, data, and our discussions with our boots-on-the-ground contributors make it easy to see the opportunities.

Of course, seeing the opportunity and knowing someone in the space … is just the beginning.

It’s also important to think about your personal investment philosophy … build great relationships with a solid team … and structure things to endure in both good times and bad.

Recently, the wild ride in the stock market is reminding 401k owners how fickle paper equity can be.

It’s no surprise smart fund managers are looking to real estate as a way to find high risk-adjusted returns … and stability in a volatile world.

Right now, we’re watching Wall Street investors race each other to the exits … leaving a flood of red in their wake.

And while history doesn’t necessarily repeat itself, it often rhymes.

Remember, after the dotcom bust at the turn of the century … frightened capital found a safe haven in real estate.  It just might be happening again.

For those already there, it could make for a fun ride.

Until next time … good investing!