We will continue to focus our investment activities on expanding a high-quality, diversified real property portfolio throughout the U.S. Although we generally target investments in four primary property categories (office, retail, residential and industrial), our charter and bylaws do not preclude us from investing in other types of commercial property, real estate debt, or real estate-related equity securities. Our near-term investment strategy is likely to prioritize new investments in the industrial and residential sectors due to relatively attractive fundamental conditions. Recently, we were focused on selling certain office and retail assets. The disposition of these properties has helped us to increase our current allocation to residential and industrial real estate assets and liquidity to pursue new investment opportunities. However, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in our investment strategy, including with respect to any particular asset class. 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. To a lesser extent we may invest in other types of real estate including, but not limited to, hospitality, medical offices, manufactured housing, student housing and unimproved land, however we have no investments in these sectors currently. Additionally, to provide diversification to our portfolio, we may continue to invest in real estate-related debt, which will generally include mortgage loans secured by real estate, mezzanine debt, loans associated with our DST Program and other related investments. While we are not currently investing in real estate-related securities, should we decide to invest in real estate-related securities, any such investments generally will focus on debt or equity issued by public and private real estate companies and certain other securities, with the primary goal of such investments being preservation of liquidity in support of our share redemption program, while also seeking income, potential for capital appreciation and further portfolio diversification.
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 providing monthly real property appraisals, reviewing annual third-party real property appraisals, reviewing the internal valuations of debt-related assets and liabilities performed by our Advisor, helping us administer the valuation and review process for the real properties in our portfolio, 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, 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. 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 $2.88 billion compares to a GAAP basis of real properties (net of intangible lease liabilities and before accumulated amortization and depreciation) of $2.61 billion, representing a difference of approximately $262.6 million, or 10.0%.