FSU Real Estate Investment Fund

Current Top 10 Holdings

1. PROLOGIS, INC. (XNYS: PLD)
2. MID-AMERICA APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC. (XNYS: MAA)
3. EQUITY LIFESTYLE PROPERTIES, INC. (XNYS: ELS)
4. KIMCO REALTY CORPORATION (XNYS: KIM)
5. SCHWAB US REIT ETF (ARCX: SCHH)
6. AMERICAN TOWER CORPORATION (XNYS: AMT)
7. DIGITAL REALTY TRUST, INC. (XNYS: DLR)
8. EXTRA SPACE STORAGE, INC. (XNYS: EXR)
9. REGENCY CENTERS CORPORATION (XNYS: REG)
10. IRON MOUNTAIN, INC. (XYNS: IRM)

 

Below are three spring 2024 REE 5209 presentations to the investment committee:

• NNN
• Rexford Industrial
• W. P. Carey
   

Faculty Advisor

Mariya Letdin
Dr. Mariya Letdin is the Kyle Riva Associate Professor of Real Estate in the Department of Risk Management/Insurance, Real Estate and Legal Studies at Florida State University’s College of Business, where she teaches undergraduate courses and in the MSF and MBA programs. Letdin is also the Ron Rayevich/NAIOP Distinguished Research Fellow. Her areas of research are commercial real estate valuation and debt utilization. Letdin’s research has appeared in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Regional Science, Journal of Real Estate Research, Journal of Real Estate Literature and International Real Estate Review. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics and on the boards of the Real Estate Research Institute and American Real Estate Society, as well as the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association executive committee.

Prior to her academic career, Letdin worked in the commercial real estate industry, where her industry experience includes CMBS lending for JP Morgan; loan origination, underwriting and asset management for Tremont Capital; and debt placement for HFF.

Letdin received her bachelor’s degree in finance and her MBA from DePaul University. Her Ph.D. in finance is from Baruch College/CUNY.
 

Fund Managers

Grant Michaud - Lead Fund Manager
An Atlanta native, Grant Michaud is in the Master of Science in Finance (MSF) program with a real estate specialization after earning a bachelor’s degree in real estate, both in FSU’s College of Business. His on-campus involvement, in addition to serving as the lead fund manager for the FSU Real Estate Investment Fund, includes serving as the vice president of operations for the Real Estate Society at FSU and serving as the graduate assistant for the college’s FSU Real Estate Center. During the spring 2024 semester, Michaud served as an analyst for the FSU REIF and assisted in underwriting NNN REIT (NNN), Rexford Industrial (REXR) and W.P. Carey (WPC). His professional experience includes a summer analyst internship with Townhouse Partners in New York City. Michaud is focused on opportunities in debt lending or mortgage banking after graduating with his MSF.  

Nate Homick - Fund Manager
A Gainesville, Florida, native, Nate Homick is a senior majoring in finance and real estate. His on-campus involvement, in addition to serving as a fund manager for the FSU Real Estate Investment Fund, includes being an active member in the Real Estate Society at FSU and the Financial Management Association at FSU. During the spring 2024 semester, Homick served as an analyst for the FSU REIF and assisted in underwriting NNN REIT (NNN), Rexford Industrial (REXR) and W.P. Carey (WPC). His professional experience includes a summer analyst internship with Macquarie Group in Jacksonville, Florida. After graduation, Homick is attending Vanderbilt University to complete his Master of Science in Finance.  

JT Schwartz - Fund Manager
JT Schwartz is a senior at FSU studying real estate and finance. He is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has spent all four years of college at FSU. This year, he is serving as president of the Real Estate Society at FSU and a fund manager for the FSU Real Estate Investment Fund. Schwartz found a love for real estate during his junior year of college, and has since completed two internships. His first internship was with a small developer in Tallahassee, and his second internship was with a real estate private equity company in Atlanta. After graduation, Schwartz is returning to Atlanta to work at Brookfield Properties as an analyst on their industrial real estate team. 

Brianna Munoz - Fund Manager
Brianna Munoz, originally from Miami, Florida, is a senior at Florida State University majoring in finance and real estate. Her on-campus involvement includes serving on the executive board of the Real Estate Society at FSU, where she leads its Real Estate Private Equity Program, and previously holding an executive board position with Women in Business at FSU. During her junior year, Munoz served as an analyst for the FSU REIF, and, today, she is currently a fund manager, covering the self-storage and healthcare sectors. Her professional experience includes an internship with an industrial developer and an acquisitions internship with Heitman. Upon graduation, Munoz is returning to work full time as an acquisitions associate at Heitman in Chicago. 

Abhik Saha - Fund Manager Elect
A West Palm Beach native, Abhik Saha is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in finance and real estate at FSU. His on-campus involvements include being a part of the Securities Society at FSU and the Real Estate Society at FSU. During the spring 2024 semester, Saha served as a portfolio analyst for the FSU Real Estate Investment Fund (REIF) and assisted in providing hold positions on Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) and Cousins Properties (CUZ). Currently, Saha is a fund manager elect and oversees the Towers sector. His professional experiences include a property appraisal internship with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office, a private equity internship with Desert Horizon Capital and an investment banking internship with ReInvest Capital. 

Camson Alevy - Fund Manager Elect
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Camson Alevy is majoring in real estate and finance at FSU's College of Business, as well as minoring in urban and regional planning. Prior to his role as junior fund manager, his on-campus involvement includes serving as the vice president of external affairs for the Real Estate Society at FSU and working as an analyst for the FSU REIF. His professional experience includes a development and acquisitions internship with Hines in their main Florida office in summer 2023. 

 

Investment Committee Members

Scott Darling 
Scott Darling is the president of American Realty Advisors (ARA), where he leads the firm’s portfolio management team. He also serves as the co-portfolio manager of ARA’s largest commingled fund, for which he has overseen the creation and implementation of the investment strategy since its inception in 2003. Darling also serves as a member of the firm’s investment and leadership committees. Prior to joining ARA, he served as director of asset management and sales for Resolution Trust Corporation’s California office, where he was the senior asset officer responsible for the management and sale of more than $60 billion in assets from savings and loan institutions. Darling more than 42 years of experience and earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University and a J.D. from the University of Southern California School of Law.

Bill Lloyd 
Bill Lloyd is the owner and president of R.K.M. Development Corp, a full-service retail development company, specializing in build-to-suit single tenant projects, neighborhood and regional retail shopping centers, with locations in St. Petersburg, Florida; Birmingham, Alabama; and Raleigh, North Carolina.  Lloyd has been with R.K.M since 1989 and became the president and partner in 1999. R.K.M. has developed more than two million square feet of retail valued at more than $1 billion. Prior to joining R.K.M., Lloyd worked with Equitec, a California-based REIT and managed the Florida portfolio, which consisted of both retail and office investments. Lloyd graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in real estate.

Kyle Riva 
Kyle Riva is the CEO and president of Alexander Investments International. Throughout his extensive career, Riva has been responsible for the financing, construction and development of high-profile commercial real estate, which includes apartments, office buildings, retail centers, industrial properties, hotels, resorts, single-family projects and land. Prior to forming Alexander Investments, Riva was with Epoch Properties, Inc. for more than 25 years, where he led the company as president for a decade. He also served as manager of the Central Florida office of Carey, Kramer, Silvester & Associates, a commercial real estate mortgage and sales company. His experience also includes vice president/branch manager of Alliance Mortgage Company and territory manager for the Burroughs Corporation. Representing more than 20,000 multi-family living units at a value of more than $2 billion, Riva’s projects have been recognized in national publications such as Housing, Professional Builder and Florida Trend. Riva graduated Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in management and a Master of Science in management from Rollins College.

Thekla Salzman 
Thekla Salzman, a principal with Salzman Real Estate Advisors, has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate, primarily focused on financial management and operations. She also was part of a senior management team that raised, invested and managed more than $3 billion in private equity funds. She has served as the chief administrative officer for Rialto Capital Management and chief financial officer for Rialto Real Estate Fund Group Part. Prior to that Salzman served as the CFO for the Miami and Europe divisions of LNR Property and the CFO for Centrum Corporation. She has extensive experience in all aspects of the investment management cycle, including fundraising, investor relations, accounting, financing, treasury, tax, legal and business systems, as well as of debt and credit products such as commercial mortgage-backed securities and mezzanine debt, distressed debt, securitized financings and special servicing operations. Salzman has a Bachelor of Science in finance and accounting from Florida State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.