Dear Friends
of TwinRock,
Welcome to TwinRock’s Quarterly Newsletter. As 2016 reaches the midway point, we have spent most of the year focused on improving our operations, stabilizing our recent investments and harvesting those investments made four to six years ago.
During the 3rd Quarter of 2015, we announced our plan of liquidation for TRP Fund I, II and III, as we forecasted an inflection point for workforce home values during 2016‐17. With affordability once again creeping near all‐time highs in our markets, interest rates almost certain to rise and a presidential election year where past administrations typically exercise fiscal policy designed to pump up the economy to garner support of the incumbent party, we believe the timing is right. Additionally, our liquidation plan is in‐line with the hold period from our original offering circulars and our expected investor returns are tracking above our original projected returns. Our funds balanced investment structure ensures an alignment of interest to optimize the highest return and equity multiple to our investors.
As our Oklahoma apartment partners know, we have taken control over property management of our Oklahoma apartments, under Webb Ellis, Inc., an affiliate of TwinRock Partners. This was a very tough decision to make. We sought counsel from current investors who run multi‐billion‐dollar real estate firms and the advice was fairly split on whether to bring management in‐house or not. They all agreed that you don’t bring management in‐house for the fees, as the profit margins are slim if any. Those in favor, say you bring it on for control, as no one cares more about your properties than the owner (this is why we chose to manage our single‐family assets). Therefore, last month, we opened an Oklahoma Office and hired Brenda Bell, our new regional portfolio manager, to oversee the day to day operations. She brings over 25 years of multifamily experience. TwinRock’s ground level and technical expertise along with other implementations, covered later in the newsletter, have led to noticeable improvements to our properties; we have brought our portfolio average occupancy up from 87% to 89% and currently preleased at 93%.
As previously stated, the majority of our time this year was spent on operations, but we landed one student housing project near the University of Missouri that we were outbid on in October of last year, Log Hill Run, which demonstrates that it pays to be patient and to stick to your investment criteria. Funding is fully committed and we are set to close on Log Hill in the beginning of June with preleasing above 96% and rising for the 2016/17 school year, already ahead of our Year‐1 projection of 92% occupancy.
As a continuation of our existing HOA foreclosure strategy, we formed TRP Fund VI and have properties in escrow ready to close, which details can be viewed on the following pages. Being futuristic, last year we contemplated a distressed Canadian fund and our hedge fund primarily focused on high‐yield bonds, TwinRock Value Opportunity Fund, which we have now launched and has yielded a 12% return since February to April under a TwinRock Capital affiliate.
As we’ve said before, after seven years of a U.S. expansion the inevitable correction will occur. Our investment philosophy is simple but balanced, with a portfolio of long‐term high yielding assets, a vehicle to capitalize on directional shifts in the markets and a strategy for opportunistic acquisitions that keeps us ahead of the herd.
Very truly yours,