The AAA Storage Podcast

Welcome to the AAA storage podcast,
your integrated real estate and

development partner, exploring all
things, self storage investing to

bring you diversified success.

Let's dive in.

Brandon Giella: Hello, and welcome back to
another episode of the AAA Storage podcast

I have with me as always, Paul Bennett.

Thank you for joining.

Today we are gonna be talking
about, uh, what is it like

after you invest in a fund.

So obviously there's part of the decision
process that goes into investing in a

real estate fund, and then there's the
actual subscription process once you

decide to invest in the fund, and then
there are some next steps that come.

What are those?

Now we touched briefly on
this, uh, a few episodes ago.

This would've been episode
17, how investing in a real

estate fund really works.

We touched on this just briefly, but
I wanted to, uh, talk with Paul here

today to talk a little bit more about
this process of what can we expect

from the relationship, you know,
because as you can imagine, investing

in a fund is very transactional.

There's a lot of money and
quantitative data involved.

There's still the relational
communication import, uh, uh, effects

that are very, very important.

And we wanna make sure that we do those
well and we communicate those well.

So Paul is gonna help us, uh,
walk through this, and I know you

and Andrew fro work very closely
on the investor relations side.

Um, so Paul, tell us a little bit about
this process of going from decision

to, uh, subscription and beyond.

Where, where do we begin
in this, in this journey?

Paul Bennett: Yeah, thanks Brandon and
I, I had really hope to have Andrew

join us today, um, because this is,
a lot of, this is really his core

responsibility and focus, but he's not
available, so you're stuck with me.

so let's talk about it.

I, I, as you know, I'm a hopelessly
linear guy, and so let's walk down the

process from when we first interact
with an investor and they're trying

to make a decision about whether this
is the right fit for them or not.

All the way through what it looks like
once they have invested with us and, um,

and, and we're, we're living life together
as partners, um, in one of our funds.

The decision process, I think first
and foremost, and I I say this, I don't

mean to sound like I'm, I'm bragging,
but one of the things I'm, I'm very

pleased about and proud of is that in
Growth Fund one, uh, I think we had

a total of 86 give or take investors,
and I was able to have a one-on-one

conversation with each one of them.

During their decision making process, and
that, I think defines the, the decision

we've made is we wanna serve people well.

And, and we want to be relational.

Uh, it is a very transactional
business and transactional world.

Um, but we wanna build investors for life.

Um, and we've done that.

If you look at our track record over 33
years, we started with friends and family.

And then they begin to refer people
because of the success they were

seeing with their investments with us.

And it grew into a group of about
300 investors, uh, that, that

invested repeatedly with us in
different single property deals

over years, um, until the point.

Where we've decided to launch the
fund, and now we've sort of branched

out beyond that initial group.

A lot of them have invested with us.

Um, but, but in the fund structures,
in fund one and now in fund two, but it

really started with, with relationships.

And so we've tried to, to make
that the, the center point of how

we think about, uh, the, the whole
process from beginning to end.

So when, when somebody contacts us or
receives some material from us, or maybe

we meet them through passive pockets.

The first thing they need to understand
is that when they're trying to make their

decision, they have open access to Andrew
and I, um, all through the process.

Um, you know, I'm, I'm happy to
do multiple, one-on-one calls,

exchange emails with a lot of,
uh, potential investors who have

questions that either don't have
time or just prefer to do it that way

versus a teams call or a Zoom call.

But I think that's the critical
thing is we pride ourselves on

being available, um, and, and
bringing in other team members with.

Particular areas of expertise or
focus, if that's what's needed, um,

to get the investor what they need.

Obviously when you're in the decision
process, you've got to have a copy

of the private placement memorandum
and the, the limited partnership or

limited liability company agreement.

Those are the critical documents
that tell you all the details and

how governance is gonna work and
you know how everything works.

So that's certainly a part
of that decision process.

Uh, we have a, a data room.

Uh, that's a secure data room.

Um, it's with data site, one of the
leading data room providers on the planet.

Um, and in that data room there are all
the property underwriting models, all the

market information and data, everything
that an investor needs, um, to, to assess.

One of our funds from a technical
level, if you will, from a

real estate professional level.

Not everybody chooses to do
that, but for those who want to

access all that information, it's
available and we readily supply a

link and a login to the data room.

Uh, I think the other thing that's
important to us, um, in the, the decision

process is that there's no sales pressure.

Um, we we're not.

Trying to persuade or convince people,
uh, to, in, to invest with us because,

uh, people have to make a decision
that's right for them and for their

families and for their financial future.

And I don't think persuasion really
plays a role in that understanding.

Does good information, does, um, you know,
a relationship or at least the beginning

of a relationship that gives people
the sense that, uh, they're, the people

they're dealing with can be trusted and
they're people they wanna partner with.

That all matters, but the ability to.

Twist somebody's arm or say
something cute or smart that, you

know, kind of pulls 'em over the
line, just isn't how we do things.

So, um, there's, you know, everybody's
decision process looks differently,

but those are just the things that
were on my mind that I wanted to make

sure we share with folks today as
we're talking about this whole process.

Brandon Giella: Yeah, I
think that's really helpful.

I, I, I love, as I've gotten to know
you guys over, you know, this year, I,

I've really appreciated your emphasis
on relationships and that kind of

trust building even, you know, over the
decades of doing things the right way.

And I know that comes at a cost.

You know, to, to personally reach out
to, and help people make this decision

process in a world that is so digital
and transactional and, you know,

geographically remote and all this
kind of stuff, it's hard to do that.

And you really pride yourself on
having that kind of relationship with

everyone, which is, which is tough.

I know that it's, it's hard
to do that well and you guys

seem to do it really well.

Paul Bennett: As we scale,
it may get more difficult.

We'll have to figure that out.

I'll have to clone Andrew

Brandon Giella: I was about to say.

Paul Bennett: and, uh, and, and,
um, but, but you know, it's, so

far we've been able to do it and
that that's our plan to continue.

But once somebody makes the
decision, um, this is really just

practical stuff and probably what
we talked about on episode 17.

But a, a couple things.

Number one, we have an online.

Um, portal for subscriptions
with Alt Connect, so there's

no us sending you documents.

You fill them out, having to scan
'em, send them back, which is how we

all did it in the old days, right?

Um, now it's you, you log into
a portal, we give you access.

All the documents are there.

It takes about 30 minutes to fill 'em out.

And Andrew, or I, usually it's
Andrew, but Andrew or I, or, or.

Both available to answer questions
or help you if there's something in

there that you don't quite understand.

Um, after you fill out the
subscription documents, they're

reviewed by Andrew and approved.

Uh, we make sure we've got
everything that's needed and you've

answered all the questions and
filled out all the information.

And then at that point, we
hold that subscription until

we have the next closing.

The initial closing for growth
fund two is gonna be probably

at the end of no October.

Um, and so.

All those that have subscribed to
this point in Growth Fund two and will

subscribe between now and and October
are just sitting in a holding pattern.

We have their documents, they've signed
everything, and we try to keep 'em updated

every three, four weeks, uh, until we
get to the point where we have that

final, that initial closing, and they're
actually admitted, uh, as an investor.

The, the capital raise period for
growth fund two will go beyond October.

We're scheduled to go
to about May of 2026.

And so what we do is usually have
one, um, additional closing or, or

subsequent closing, a quarter to admit
the new investors that have subscribed.

You know, during the quarter.

Um, and, and when we do that, those
investors, um, have to catch up in terms

of the capital they've committed to
where all of the existing investors are.

So when you're admitted to the fund, if,
if we've called 50% of the total capital

that was committed, up to that point, when
you subscribe, your initial capital call

will be for 50% so that you're caught up.

To all the, the other investors.

Um, but basically the subscription
process is, is really simple and, um,

and, and we walk with you through it,
you know, the whole process if needed.

Uh, it gets a little more
complicated if you invest via an

IRA or 401k, not terribly, but then
we have to deal with a trustee.

Um, for your our, for your qualified
plan, they usually require copies

of the prospectus and they want the
investment title a certain way, and

Andrew handles all those details
to make sure everything's set up

right, uh, from the beginning.

Brandon Giella: That's great.

That's great.

Tons of detail, but,
uh, it's, it's worth it.

You know, you gotta make sure
everything's all your ducks in a row.

Invest.

Well,

Paul Bennett: Yeah.

And it is important to
get it, to get it right.

Um, but that brings us to the point
where you're actually now an investor.

You're a partnered with us.

Um, we're, we're, you know,
we're working together, um, and.

The same relational.

There's some real practical parts
of this that I'll touch on, but it's

still, we want to be relational.

The first rule with our investors is you
can email me or call me at any point.

And, um, people have been very, um,
good not to abuse that, but I get.

More than a few emails every week
and occasionally a few phone calls

during the week from an investor
that just has a question, wanted an

update, uh, just wants to touch base.

And, and we encourage that.

And we're, you know, we're, we're
thankful for our investors and love

that chance to interact with 'em.

I think the other rule, and this is
always a balancing act a little bit,

but we want to be, we wanna live by
the, the, uh, the mantra that good news

travels fast and bad news travels faster.

Um, the, the, where it's a
balancing act is, the development

process is unpredictable.

It, it, we get delays.

It is not.

It is not only uncommon, it's expected,
we just don't know what they're gonna

be and when they're gonna happen.

But it's a very complicated
process the earlier you are in

the development of a project.

So, um, you know, is
something truly bad news?

Is it bad news that we got a
six week delay on a particular

site because an issue came up?

It is not good news, but it's not,
it doesn't really impact the outcome.

So sometimes we have to make.

Decisions about how substantial
or important something is.

Uh, and fortunately, you know, we haven't
had a lot of bad news to, to communicate

at this point, but we want to be that
partner that if there's something you

need to know, um, we make sure you know
it at the earliest possible moment.

Um, from a practical standpoint,
the fund issues quarterly

financial statements every quarter.

Uh, when you subscribe, uh, and
you're admitted to the fund, you

actually get an investor portal.

Um, it's a secure login where all
the documents that you receive,

whether it's the quarterly updates
I'll talk about in a minute, the

quarterly financial statements, your
K one at the, you know, at the end of

every year for tax filing purposes.

All of that is communicated.

Through the, your portal.

And what happens is when something's
posted to the portal, you get an

email notice telling you that you
need to go look something's and it

tells you what it is, but has been,
has been put in the portal for you.

So the quarterly financials are posted,
uh, to the quarter, uh, quarter, usually

60 days after the end of each quarter.

Brandon Giella: Hmm.

Paul Bennett: Um, we do a
quarterly written update.

I think they're typically somewhere
in the neighborhood of 8, 9, 10 pages.

Uh, and it includes, I do a, a,
a little bit of a fund overview.

I talk about the self-storage industry as
well as the small bay industrial industry.

And then we go property by property,
um, and update our investors on where

it is in the construction process.

Uh, usually include pictures.

Um, you know, if it's an operating
facility, what's happened?

Where are we in the lease up?

What's the pace of lease up?

Is it meeting expectations?

Um, you know, any, so the quarterly
update is really the most critical piece.

Of information we provide investors.

Um, and I think Van Isley when he
was with us on the podcast mentioned

that they're very appreciative
of the communication and, um, I

think most of our investors are.

It's something I, I, I do that personally.

Uh, I, it's not drafted by a
staff member or somebody else.

I sit down.

Um, every 90 days and have a
conversation with all our property

management people and our construction
folks get very detailed updates.

If it's something I'm not up to speed
on, you know, most current information

and make sure all the information's
correct and then put it together in a.

In a document that goes out to investors.

In fact, if you're listening to
this podcast and you'd like to see

what our quarterly updates look
like, give me a, shoot me an email.

Um, reach out and I'd be happy
to send you the most recent

fund, one quarterly updates.

Brandon Giella: I love that.

I love that.

Yeah.

It just as a reminder, you can always
go to aaa storage investments.com

and you will see a, a contact
form there and get in touch

with the team if, if needed.

Paul Bennett: Yeah, just reach
out, happy to, we share 'em with

people during the decision process.

One of the questions people sometimes
have is, how do you communicate?

How am I gonna know what's going on?

And um, and so we, we
share those, you know.

We don't share 'em before they go to the
actual investors, but once they've been

published and sent to the investors, we're
happy to to share 'em with other folks.

Um, I think the other, the other
thing that's important are K ones,

um, K ones are the method by which you
report, you know, your, your gains and

losses from an investment like ours.

And we strive every year to have them out.

Um, by early April, uh, so that
they're available to people to file

with their tax return by April 15th.

I, I will tell you if it's always a
struggle for sponsors to get that done.

Um, every sponsor struggles with it
because in our case, we have to close

the books at the property level.

Then IQEQ, our fund administrator has
to do the year end fund financials,

and then it has to be audited by
Sherry Becker and Holland before

we can actually release the K ones.

We, we don't generally have changes
from the audit, but it's just not good

practice to, to issue a K one that could
potentially change if the auditors found

something that needed to be corrected.

So it's a three step process.

Uh, again.

Fund level, uh, property level accounting,
which we do internally, fund level

accounting, done by IQEQ and then
audit by Cherry Becker and Holland.

And so if any one of those steps
gets delayed, it gets to be a real

challenge to get 'em out by April 15th.

But that's always our goal.

Um.

And, and then the other thing that you,
you have, um, that's coming up in 2026.

We did not do it in 2025, but beginning
in 2026, I'm gonna do either an annual or

a semi-annual investor call, uh, by fund.

So it'll be fund one
investors, fund two investors.

Where we'll provide an update that's
sort of a more dynamic update than the

written reports we send out quarterly.

And just give investors chances to ask
questions about what's happening in the

market, what do we think is gonna happen,
how's it gonna impact their investment?

Um, you know, how are things
going, what do you see?

And all that type of thing.

So that's something we didn't
do and really had planned to do.

And quite frankly, it just kind of,
we got so busy it got biased, but we

will do that, uh, starting in, in 2026.

So, um.

Brandon Giella: I am, I'm picturing you
on a stage in Cupertino, California with

a big TV screen behind you at a big event.

You know, investor day presentation,
AAA storage, Paul Bennett.

I'm just seeing the lights, you know,

Paul Bennett: It would be a lot of fun.

Maybe one day that will
be, um, make sense.

I, I would do it tomorrow, but I, I'm
guessing most people at this point aren't

gonna travel across the country somewhere
to, to be there, to be there in person.

So we'll probably do it via Zoom
or, or teams or something like that.

But, but give people a, a, an
opportunity to ask questions.

And that kind of thing.

So, um, and then in addition to all
that, from an informational standpoint,

all the newsletters and blog posts,
Brandon, that you guys help us with, uh,

we certainly send that to our investor
base, uh, and it, it, and the podcast

that we do just have our general insights
about the industry, where things are

headed, you know, that type of thing.

That's a, a little less specific, but
certainly another way people stay informed

with what's happening at AAA storage.

Brandon Giella: Yeah, that's right.

That's right.

Yeah.

And again, you know, aaa
storage investments.com

will have all that information.

There's an insights tab that's
got articles and podcasts.

Uh, and there's also an events
tab as well that you can find

upcoming webinars, things like that.

And please follow Paul
Bennett on LinkedIn.

Paul, you always share such
amazing information, uh, for folks.

And, um, and that's a good way to
get updates if you're, if you're on

the social media channels like that.

But yeah, you, you, you
provide a lot of good insight.

Paul Bennett: Yeah.

And if you're catching this podcast and
you really haven't gotten, you know,

detailed information on our current
offering, uh, the events tab that

Brandon talked about has links to all
of the webinars that we have scheduled.

And I think we've got six or so more
in the month of September, usually

on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we
move the time around 'cause we know

people's availability is, is different.

But, um, but check it out.

And join us for a webinar where
we'll kind of go through, do a really

thorough overview of Growth Fund Two
and the opportunity that it represents.

Brandon Giella: That's right.

That's right.

Well, Paul, what's the, what's the one
big takeaway you would love listeners

to know if they're thinking about
the decision, working through the

subscription process, wondering what's
happening next, like what should they

keep in mind when, uh, communicating or
having a relationship with AAA storage?

What does that, what, what's, what's
like the big takeaway for you guys?

Paul Bennett: I think the big
takeaway from us and our focus is just

being able to connect with people.

Don't, if you've got a question,
if you're confused about something,

if you are uncertain about
something, reach out, call me.

Um, you know, shoot me an email
and let's schedule a teams call.

Um, I've gotten so used to it.

This whole video thing, you know, didn't
exist really in any scale till COVID.

Um, I've gotten so used to it now I feel
more comfortable doing a teams call with

somebody than I do talking on the phone.

Um, but yeah, I think that's the biggest
thing is that we want to be accessible.

We want to be transparent.

We want to have relationships with our
investors and even people that cross

our paths that decide not to invest.

I mean, that's, this is not for everybody.

We don't think it is.

Uh, we think it's a heck of an
opportunity, but it, it certainly

doesn't fit in everybody's portfolio.

So I think the, the most thing is, is,
is just don't be afraid to reach out,

whether it's by email, phone, whatever.

Um, and, and let's connect.

Brandon Giella: That's
right, that's right.

You guys, uh, have a big emphasis on
trust and transparency and, and as

far as everything I, I've ever seen
working with you guys, you just are

just accessible, open, available,
and it's, uh, it's really cool.

Paul Bennett: We don't always
get it right, but we'll

always own it when we don't.

Brandon Giella: That's right.

That's right.

Amen.

Amen.

Alright, Paul, well thank you
very much and this is kind

of a shorter episode today.

A little more, uh, straightforward.

But uh, appreciate your
insights as always.

And if you, uh, listeners ever
have any questions, please go

to aaa storage investments.com

and get in touch with the team
there and we'll see you next time.

Paul Bennett: Thanks Brandon.