We currently focus our investment activities primarily across the major U.S. property sectors (industrial, residential (which includes and/or may include multi-family and other types of rental housing such as manufactured, student and single-family rental housing), office (which includes and/or may include medical office and life science laboratories) and retail). To a lesser extent, we strategically invest in and/or intend to invest in geographies outside of the U.S., which may include Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and other foreign jurisdictions, and in other sectors such as triple net lease, real estate debt (which may include mortgages and subordinated interests), real estate-related securities, properties in sectors adjacent to our primary investment sectors and/or infrastructure, to create a diversified blend of current income and long-term value appreciation. Our near-term investment strategy is likely to prioritize new investments in the industrial and residential sectors due to relatively attractive fundamental conditions. We also intend to continue to hold an allocation of properties in the office and retail sectors, the latter of which is largely grocery-anchored.
Net Asset Value
Our board of directors, including a majority of our independent directors, has adopted valuation procedures, as amended from time to time, that contain a comprehensive set of methodologies to be used in connection with the calculation of our NAV. With the approval of our board of directors, including a majority of our independent directors, we have engaged Altus Group U.S. Inc., a third-party valuation firm, to serve as our independent valuation advisor (“Altus Group” or the “Independent Valuation Advisor”) with respect to helping us administer the valuation and review process for the real properties in our portfolio, providing monthly real property appraisals, reviewing annual third-party real property appraisals, providing monthly valuations of our debt-related assets (excluding DST Program Loans), reviewing the internal valuations of DST Program Loans and debt-related liabilities performed by our Advisor, providing quarterly valuations of our properties subject to master lease obligations associated with the DST Program, and assisting in the development and review of our valuation procedures. As part of this process, our Advisor reviews the estimates of the values of our real property portfolio, real estate-related assets, and other assets and liabilities within our portfolio for consistency with our valuation guidelines and the overall reasonableness of the valuation conclusions, and informs our board of directors of its conclusions. Although third-party appraisal firms, the Independent Valuation Advisor, or other pricing sources may consider any comments received from us or our Advisor or other valuation sources for their individual valuations, the final estimated fair values of our real properties are determined by the Independent Valuation Advisor and the final estimates of fair values of our real estate-related assets, our other assets, and our liabilities are determined by the applicable pricing source (which may, in certain instances be our Advisor or an affiliate of Ares), subject to the oversight of our board of directors. With respect to the valuation of our real properties, the Independent Valuation Advisor provides our board of directors with periodic valuation reports and is available to meet with our board of directors to review valuation information, as well as our valuation guidelines and the operation and results of the valuation and review process generally. Excluding real properties that are bought or sold during a given calendar year, unconsolidated real properties held through joint ventures or partnerships are valued by a third-party appraiser at least once per calendar year. For valuations during interim periods, either our Advisor will determine the estimated fair value of the real properties owned by unconsolidated affiliates or we will utilize interim valuations determined pursuant to valuation policies and procedures for such joint ventures or partnerships. All parties engaged by us in connection with our valuation procedures, including the Independent Valuation Advisor, ALPS Fund Services Inc. (“ALPS”), and our Advisor, are subject to the oversight of our board of directors. Our board of directors has the right to engage additional valuation firms and pricing sources to review the valuation process or valuations, if deemed appropriate. At least once each calendar year our board of directors, including a majority of our independent directors, reviews the appropriateness of our valuation procedures with input from the Independent Valuation Advisor. From time to time our board of directors, including a majority of our independent directors, may adopt changes to the valuation procedures if it: (1) determines that such changes are likely to result in a more accurate reflection of NAV or a more efficient or less costly procedure for the determination of NAV without having a material adverse effect on the accuracy of such determination; or (2) otherwise reasonably believes a change is appropriate for the determination of NAV. We will publicly announce material changes to our valuation procedures. See Exhibit 4.4 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a more detailed description of our valuation procedures, including important disclosure regarding real property valuations provided by the Independent Valuation Advisor.
Our valuation procedures, which address specifically each category of our assets and liabilities and are applied separately from the preparation of our financial statements in accordance with GAAP, involve adjustments from historical cost. There are certain factors which cause NAV to be different from total equity or stockholders’ equity on a GAAP basis. Most significantly, the valuation of our real assets, which is the largest component of our NAV calculation, is provided to us by the Independent Valuation Advisor. For GAAP purposes, these assets are generally recorded at depreciated or amortized cost. Another example that will cause our NAV to differ from our GAAP total equity or stockholders’ equity is the straight-lining of rent, which results in a receivable for GAAP purposes that is not included in the determination of our NAV. The fair values of our assets and certain liabilities are determined using widely accepted methodologies and, as appropriate, the GAAP principles within the FASB Accounting Standards Codification under Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures and are used by ALPS in calculating our NAV per share. However, our valuation procedures and our NAV are not subject to GAAP and will not be subject to independent audit. We did not develop our valuation procedures with the intention of complying with fair value concepts under GAAP and, therefore, there could be differences between our fair values and the fair values derived from the principal market or most advantageous market concepts of establishing fair value under GAAP. The aggregate real property valuation of $4.57 billion compares to a GAAP basis of real properties (net of