affiliates in performing the services under the Advisory Agreement, including, but not limited to, total compensation, benefits and other overhead of all employees involved in the performance of such services; provided, that we will not reimburse the Advisor or its affiliates for services for which the Advisor or its affiliates are entitled to compensation in the form of a separate fee.
Considerations relating to compensation to the Advisor and its affiliates from us and other entities sponsored or advised by affiliates of the Sponsor could result in decisions that are not in our stockholders best interests, which could hurt our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders or result in a decline in the value of our stockholders’ investments. Conflicts of interest such as those described above have contributed to stockholder litigation against certain other externally managed REITs that are not affiliated with us or the Sponsor.
We may invest in, acquire, sell assets to or provide financing to investment vehicles managed by our Advisor or its affiliates.
We may invest in, acquire, sell assets to or provide financing to investment vehicles managed by our Advisor or its affiliates and their portfolio companies or purchase assets from, sell assets to, or arrange financing from any such investment vehicles and their portfolio companies. Any such transactions will require approval by a majority of our independent directors. There can be no assurance that any procedural protections will be sufficient to ensure that these transactions will be made on terms that will be at least as favorable to us as those that would have been obtained in an arm’s-length transaction.
We depend on the Advisor and its key personnel; if any of such key personnel were to cease employment with the Advisor or its affiliates, our business could suffer.
Our ability to make distributions and achieve our investment objectives is dependent upon the performance of the Advisor in the acquisition, disposition and management of our investments, the selection of customers for our properties, the determination of any financing arrangements and other factors. In addition, our success depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of certain of the Advisor’s key personnel, including, in alphabetical order, William Benjamin, Rajat Dhanda, David M. Fazekas, Andrea L. Karp, Brian R. Lange, Thomas G. McGonagle, Dwight L. Merriman III, Lainie P. Minnick, James R. Mulvihill, Taylor M. Paul, Scott W. Recknor, David Roth, Scott A. Seager, Jeffrey W. Taylor, J. R. Wetzel, Joshua J. Widoff and Evan H. Zucker, each of whom would be difficult to replace. We currently do not have, nor do we expect to obtain, key man life insurance on any of the Advisor’s key personnel. If the Advisor were to lose the benefit of the experience, efforts and abilities of one or more of these individuals through their resignation, retirement, or due to an internalization transaction effected by another investment program sponsored by the Sponsor or its affiliates, or due to such individual or individuals becoming otherwise unavailable because of other activities on behalf of the Sponsor or its affiliates, our operating results could suffer.
Our Advisor is subject to extensive regulation as an investment adviser, which could adversely affect its ability to manage our business.
Our Advisor is subject to regulation as an investment adviser by various regulatory authorities that are charged with protecting the interests of its clients, including us. Instances of criminal activity and fraud by participants in the investment management industry and disclosures of trading and other abuses by participants in the financial services industry have led the United States Government and regulators to increase the rules and regulations governing, and oversight of, the United States financial system. This activity resulted in changes to the laws and regulations governing the investment management industry and more aggressive enforcement of the existing laws and regulations. Our Advisor could be subject to civil liability, criminal liability, or sanction, including revocation of its registration as an investment adviser, revocation of the licenses of its employees, censures, fines, or temporary suspension or permanent bar from conducting business, if it is found to have violated any of these laws or regulations. Any such liability or sanction could adversely affect our Advisor’s ability to manage our business. Our Advisor must continually address conflicts between its interests and those of its clients, including us. In addition, the SEC and other regulators have increased their scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest. Our Advisor has procedures and controls that are reasonably designed to address these issues. However, appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult and if our Advisor fails, or appears to fail, to deal appropriately with conflicts of interest, it could face litigation or regulatory proceedings or penalties, any of which could adversely affect its ability to manage our business.
We compete with entities sponsored or advised by affiliates of the Sponsor, for whom affiliates of the Sponsor provide certain advisory or management services, for opportunities to acquire, lease, finance, or sell investments, and for customers, which may have an adverse impact on our operations.
We compete with entities sponsored or advised by affiliates of the Sponsor and may compete with any such entity created in the future, as well as entities for whom affiliates of the Sponsor provide certain advisory or management services, for opportunities to acquire, lease, finance or sell certain types of properties. We may also buy, lease, finance or sell properties at the same time as these entities are buying, leasing, financing or selling properties. In this regard, there is a risk that we will purchase a property that provides lower returns to us than a property purchased by entities sponsored or advised by affiliates of the Sponsor and entities for whom affiliates of the Sponsor provide certain advisory or management services. Certain entities sponsored or advised by affiliates of the Sponsor own and/or manage properties in geographical areas in which we expect to own properties. Therefore, our properties may compete for customers with other properties owned and/or managed by these entities. The Advisor may face conflicts of interest when evaluating customer leasing