Street Smart Success

Despite some of the challenges that have faced multifamily in the past few years, some markets have been affected less than others. The Midwest in particular has fared better than most other parts of the country. There are many markets like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Louisville, and many others that have experienced minimal new construction combined with consistent renter demand. As a result, these markets have maintained high occupancy rates and fewer issues finding quality tenants. John Casmon, Managing Partner at Casmon Capital Group, focuses on buying and operating workforce multifamily within a two-hour radius of his home in Cincinnati.

Over the past several years, most of the returns in real estate have been generated because of declining interest rates and cap rates. If you just held on to properties long enough, even without successfully executing on a business plan, you fared well. However, an oversupply of capital resulted in overly unrealistic underwriting for both lenders and operators, and distress has ensued. In more recent years, the tide has changed, and a much higher degree of expertise is required to be successful. Jack Cohen, Managing Director of ArrowMark Partners, and prior owner of Cohen Financial, has a 40+ career in commercial real estate lending and investing, and was one of the largest commercial real estate lenders in the nation. 

Not only has commercial real estate been faced with escalating borrowing costs and lower rents, but it has also been challenged by rising expenses, especially taxes and insurance. In this environment, it's become essential for survival to aggressively manage these expenses. Matt Buchalski, Head of Sales for Ownwell, helps property owners lower these costly line items in order to protect and increase their NOI and valuations. Ownwell serves both commercial property owners across all asset classes plus hundreds of thousands of individual homeowners.

The world of alternative investing can generate diversification, cash flow and tax efficiency. It can also be opaque and risky and has created massive losses for uninitiated investors. Unlike public companies, there's a far lower regulatory threshold for private companies to provide transparency to investors. The key to being successful in this world is being able to assess risk quantitatively and qualitatively. Leyla Kunimoto, Co-founder of Accredited Investor Insights, is a successful investor in both the public and private markets and creates valuable content for passive retail investors.

One asset class that still has great deals on sub-institutional properties is Mobile Home Parks. Although larger parks near major metros are being acquired by REITs, Private Equity, and other institutions, parks with fewer than 100 sites are being acquired by smaller investors with far less competition. Smaller parks in secondary and tertiary markets offer great buying opportunities with value-add components that result in tremendous value and cash flow. Ferd Niemann IV, Mobile Home Park lawyer and investor, has acquired 25 parks in mostly small markets across five Midwestern states. 

Although the margins are thin in Multifamily, there are niches that provide outsized returns without undue risk. One example is government-sponsored affordable housing. By creating public-private partnerships, it takes a lot of risk off the table, Jesse Sells, Co-Founder and COO of Impact Growth Capital, recently began a partnership with the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority for a $300 million development to develop 600 new Multifamily units in Las Vagas. Jesse, with his brother Sam, are raising a $300 million fund to create similar opportunities in other similarly growing MSA's.

Real Estate is a block-to-block business, especially multifamily. There are too many nuances involved to manage multifamily without boots on the ground. This is where a lot of operators went wrong over the past several years. In addition to buying in markets they didn't know, many inexperienced operators followed the herd by overbidding on properties and used risky debt to make deals pencil. Most of these operators and their investors are now in a world of hurt. Bruce Fraser, Managing Partner of Elkhorn Capital Partners, avoided these overpriced assets and created a smart niche of buying highly distressed properties at deep discounts. As a result, his properties are doing extremely well. Elkhorn Capital oversees over 2000 units across Tulsa and Oklahoma City and plans on further expansion into these markets.

Like many other markets, the Dallas-Ft Worth market got oversaturated with new apartments over the last couple years. As the torrent job and population growth continues to flourish, however, new supply is getting absorbed, even C Class properties. Occupancy in these buildings is increasing because there's a shortage of workforce housing. The key is being able to manage these properties effectively. Jimmy Edwards, Founder and Director of Acquisitions at High Five Group, has excelled at repositioning Class C assets. 

Even though the Real Estate market has contracted significantly as a result of interest rate hikes and rising operating expenses, it's still difficult to find great deals, especially in large metros where there's still a lot of money on the sidelines looking for deals. By comparison, it's easier to find cash flowing opportunities in tertiary markets. Brian Ferguson, Founding and Managing Partner at Fergmar Capital Group, lives and invests mostly in his hometown of Victoria, Texas, approximately two hours from Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Brian can buy workforce multifamily buildings for $70,000-$80,000/door and equally enticing prices on small strip centers. 

Anyone who's been following the trajectory of commercial real estate over the past few years knows there's a lot of distress in the market. If you're in the enviable position to deploy capital, however, this can be good news. With distress comes opportunity, and the market is currently presenting great investment opportunities on both the debt and equity side. Beyond Real Estate, there are also opportunities that can generate high returns while diversifying out of the public market and private real estate. One example is Litigation Finance. There are dozens of others. Patrick Grimes, CEO of Passive Investing Mastery, helps investors achieve strong returns without unnecessary risk in several alternative investment classes.

Passive investing in private offerings can yield above market returns, it can also be a complete disaster. Apart from evaluating proforma numbers, it's critical to evaluate the General Partner and the team. The numbers are generic, the intangibles, including the character of who you're investing with, are less quantifiable and therefore harder to vet. There are too many newer, and generally inexperienced operators, cutting their teeth on passive investor's life savings. Unfortunately, this often results in investors losing their money. Mike Arndorfer, Founder of A2 Passive Coaching, helps passive investors avoid losses and secure gains by vetting deals they're considering investing in. 

The multifamily business has been brutal for most operators over the past few years, especially for ones who took on bridge debt. There's been too much new supply, and skyrocketing interest rates caught most operators off guard. For low-income workforce housing, the tenant base has gotten crushed by inflation which has resulted in higher delinquencies and higher vacancies. At the same time, however, there has been almost no new construction over the past couple years and excess inventory will be absorbed. There will be great opportunities to buy properties over the next 12-24 months. Charlie Young, Partner at Madera Residential with 12,000 units, has experienced major challenges since 2023, but is gearing up to make major acquisitions over the next couple years. 

The multifamily space has many niches and myriad ways to maximize invested dollars.  One of the more specialized multifamily niches is government voucher programs, otherwise known as Section 8. These can be great properties to invest in because the need for this kind of housing is immense, tenants stay for many years, and rents are guaranteed by the government. There are complexities to implementing these programs, so the competition to acquire these properties is lower than market rate apartments. Beck Vissat, Principal at Boundary Stone Capital, operates section 8 properties in Washington, D.C. and is looking to expand into surrounding states.

One asset class within commercial real estate that many people don't think about is luxury Short-Term Rentals. Houses that cost between $2 and $5 million typically rent for $500-$1,500 per night and generate $200,000 or even more per year in revenue, comparable to small apartment buildings. Investors can use these properties themselves, they enjoy the cash flow, plus they benefit from capital preservation and appreciation. Stephen Petasky, Founder and CEO of the Luxus Group, manages high-end Short-Term Rentals, develops luxury condo communities in partnership with The Four Seasons, and refurbishes centuries old farmhouses in Tuscany and converts them into luxury rentals. 

Investing in private real estate deals can be fraught with pitfalls, so you need to get to know who you're investing with before investing. In the past five years, many multifamily operators in particular, paid too much for properties and got the wrong kind of debt with too much leverage. Unfortunately, many investors have lost their principal as a result. At the same time, there are better multifamily opportunities to invest in now since the global financial crises, as many operators are being forced to sell. Hans Box, co-founder of Box Wilson Equity, has been successful investing in multifamily properties, industrial, and Mobile Home Parks. 

Investing passively is a great way to generate cash flow and appreciation, without having to deal with day-to-day operations. You just need to develop the skills at vetting operators and specific deals. David Shirkey, a fellow passive investor, has done a great job finding quality operators and profitable deals over the past eight years. David has made successful multifamily investments plus several profitable investments in Mobile Home Parks, in addition to making some mistakes early on. Additionally, David founded the Michigan Investor Group to help other investors like himself learn about Real Estate and other alternative investments that produce cash flow.

Over 90% of U.S. businesses generate less than $5 million profit per year, yet these businesses are the backbone of our economy. Although the majority of Private Equity investments are in larger companies, many smaller companies are investable and need access to capital and expertise to grow. Ariez Dustoor, Partner at NB Group Investors, invests in founder or family-owned Wellness related or multi-location service businesses with $10 - $100,000,000 million in revenue, and attempts to achieve a 3 to 4 x multiple on invested capital within five years. 

In the last several years, industrial Real Estate has become a highly favored asset class, largely because of ecommerce. A thriving subset of this category is Industrial Outdoor Storage, a 2 billion asset class. Industrial Outdoor is a great asset class because it's still mostly ma and pa owned, there's very low capital expenditure, and little day-to-day management. These properties are comprised mostly of land with small, sparsely furnished industrial buildings, and sometimes no building at all. As a result, it can be lucrative to operate. Brandon Schubert, Founding Partner at Bird Dog Ventures, is acquiring Industrial Outdoor Storage facilities in the Dallas-Ft Worth metro and beyond. 

In certain markets, you can buy suburban office property for as low as $10/ft where it costs $200/ft to build. What's more, you don't have to go through the toil of finding off market deals, they're listed publicly on LoopNet, Crexi, and other prominent sites. As workers have left downtown offices, they've chosen to work closer to home. Buildings with smaller one to three person offices in particular are seeing strong tenant demand. As a result, many suburban office buildings are at 90% occupancy.  Ash Patel, a successful Value-Add investor, invests in office buildings, flex Industrial, strip retail, and ground up construction. Ash doubles his money on most deals in three to five years. 

If you're entrepreneurial and looking for a way to generate a lot of income with little initial capital requirements, flipping homes is an age old, timeless formula. It just requires courage and tenacity that many don't have. There are always distressed sellers and hidden opportunities in any market cycle and any market. Tony Youngs, Owner of Real World Enterprises, has been flipping houses in Atlanta for decades that he buys directly from sellers, and teaches others how to bypass the high-stakes competition of the MLS and auctions.

In Real Estate, and multifamily in particular, you need to have boots on the ground to ensure things are running as expected. It also helps to live in the market in order to have intimate knowledge of the investment. This is one way to mitigate risk. Multifamily is a 24/7 business, and too many things go wrong when you're managing from afar. Dustin Miles, Managing Partner at Momentum Multifamily, has 1600 units in Houston where his partner lives, he is also looking to acquire in Dallas where he lives. He believes prices have finally come down enough in Dallas to start looking for properties there.

The forecast for industrial real estate is bullish in growth markets for the foreseeable future. As long as you can buy the right properties, and don't overpay or overleverage, it's a recipe for success. Single tenant properties, in particular, have management efficiencies that make them particularly attractive. Brent Leiberman, Founding Principal at Levelan Partners, acquires and develops well-located properties with interstate proximity in select markets in the Midwest and Southeast. He acquires properties less than 150,000 s/ft to avoid competing with larger Private Equity and Institutional buyers.

Buying properties in tertiary markets with five to ten thousand residents within a 30–40-minute drive from a larger city can generate outsized returns. Often times long-time owners in these markets aren't aware when their rents are significantly under market, and they aren't current on what their properties are worth. Farris Gosea, Founder and CEO of Farris Gosea Capital, has amassed a large portfolio of multifamily apartment buildings in Northwest Indiana and Southern Michigan. Farris has built a vertically integrated company that controls all aspects of maintenance, construction, and leasing. 

Despite the escalation of asset prices over the past decade, there's still great value In Midwestern tertiary markets. In multifamily, you can still buy properties for $65,000-$75,000 per unit that generate strong cash flow. Although these are small markets, many of them have strong and stable employment fundamentals, and therefore consistently high occupancy levels. Stan Remling, Partner at Follow the Deal Investments, has accumulated a portfolio of 700 units over the past few years within a two-hour drive of Indianapolis. 

There's a big difference between investing and speculating. Speculating is exciting. Investing is less exciting, but more predictable over time. Great investors like Warren Buffet, Charles Munger, Howard Marks and others, are boring investors. With the right asset classes and the right operators, Real Estate is a slow and steady, boring investment vehicle, but can also entail risk. Over the past couple years, many investors have lost money. One way to mitigate this risk is to invest with experienced fund operators who vet the operators and the opportunities for you. Paul Moore, The Boring Investor and Founder of Wellings Capital, is operating his sixth successful fund that invests across recession resistant asset classes.

Apart from Real Estate, there are many private placement vehicles to invest in, including Oil and Gas, pre-IPO companies, and many others. Some of these opportunities are less well known, but present higher returns than commercial real estate. Marshall Sykes, Founder and Owner of Capitano Investing Group, has been involved in over 20 syndications across multiple asset classes. After some initial wins, and some crucial lessons in Multifamily, and as an ex-Exxon executive, much of Marshall's current focus is on the lucrative oil and gas sector with existing wells and proven production. 

Given pricing corrections over the past couple years, some of the best mid-market multifamily deals in the last decade are now being acquired at well below replacement cost. There are more buyers that need to sell and there's less competition for these assets than higher priced deals that attract larger institutions.  Cameron Croy, Director at Walker & Dunlop Investment Partners, helps deploy both debt and equity capital across Multifamily and smaller bay Industrial, two juggernauts in the commercial real estate category. * This presentation is for informational purposes only. Nothing herein is an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security and may not be relied upon in connection therewith. Private real estate investments involve risk of loss; past performance is not indicative of future results. WDIP investment strategies are available only to sophisticated accredited investors. Any opinions and forward-looking statements are that of the presenters are subject to change. Neither Walker & Dunlop nor WDIP are market-makers in securities.

Submarket-specific focus, complete vertical integration, and 20 years of experience mitigates a lot of risk. Chicago has been the number one market for multifamily rent appreciation in the country over the past couple quarters. Rents to average income are considerably lower than most other large markets and there are several Fortune 500 and large tech company employers. There's also been limited new construction compared to other growth markets. Michael Root, Partner at Root Property Group, has built a successful, fully integrated portfolio of 700 multifamily units in the city of Chicago.

Prices on most value-add workforce class B and C multifamily properties are too high to execute successful business plans. Construction costs have escalated and obtaining higher rents is not a certainty as renters are being squeezed by inflation. Rob Beardsley, Founder and Principal of Lone Star Capital, started with workforce value-add multifamily, but has pivoted to affordable housing with mostly later vintage properties. Rob partners with non-profit entities, including municipalities, to receive tax abatements in exchange for protected rents for tenants. As a result, he's able to generate aggressive investor returns while providing much-needed affordable housing. 

Current events and policy will determine inflation levels and interest rates that effect our broader economy and Real Estate values and investments. Volatility around tariffs and other decisions will make a significant impact that effects all sectors of our society. Greg Makoff, Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, and author of Default: The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina's $100 Billion Debt Restructuring, has multiple decades of experience in the world of debt and how it impacts societies and individuals. Greg sees our current political environment and lack of a clear strategy as a major threat to our economic well-being. 

Although prices have come down as much as 30% or even higher on Class B and C Value-Add multifamily, they haven't come down enough for most seasoned investors to want to jump back in. There still needs to be further concessions to make the deals pencil, and to be worth the risk entailed with value-add. Buying and selling land in growing markets, however, can generate very attractive rates of return at far lower capital entry points. John Cohen, Founder of Toro Real Estate Partners, sold off most of his portfolio of 4500 multifamily units from 2020-2024, and has been acquiring land and selling to single family builders. 

Investing in real estate syndications from 2015 – 2018 resulted in highly positive outcomes, including major appreciation and double-digit returns, often times as high as 30%-40%, or even higher. Investing in 2020 to 2022, however, may have yielded vastly different results, especially if you invested in Multifamily. Too many sponsors took on highly leveraged bridge debt and got buried when rates escalated. Sam Giordano, MD and Real Estate Investor, started passively investing in syndications in 2017 and enjoyed great wins, but also some valuable lessons along the way. Sam has recently developed the LP Deal Analyzer, a platform that analyzes deals with the power of AI to help other Limited Partners make better educated decisions about what deals to invest in.

There are many alternative investments you can invest in, but one centuries-old asset class almost no one knows about is claims investing. When companies such as Sears, American Airlines, Big Lots, or even Madoff Investment Securities owe billions of dollars, investors can invest in the claims against these entities and generate outsized returns without excessive risk. Joe Sarachek, a successful attorney and investor, is one of the foremost authorities in the trading of privately held distressed debt. Joe is also an adjunct professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, and has recently written The Distressed Investor Playbook where you can learn how to profitably invest in distressed assets.

One of the highest in-demand asset classes is Small Bay Industrial. In the last several years, most of the new industrial construction has been large warehouses to address the growth of e-commerce. Small Bay, on the other hand, has seen very little new construction since 2008/09. Municipalities generally favor new housing. As a result, there's limited inventory available for tenants, and therefor high occupancy rates across these properties. David Hansel, Founder and Managing Partner at Lucern Capital Partners, started out in multifamily, but now specializes in Small Bay Industrial because of the great attributes of this asset class.

Most of the problems in multifamily right now are related to debt. Many operators are in their second extension phase and not making payments. Several of these are giving their properties back to the lender. These lenders in turn are looking for experienced operators to take over the properties.  James Eng, “The Professor” of multifamily financing, is the National Director at Old Capital in Dallas. James has helped hundreds of multifamily investors strategize the right debt to obtain and acquire over $1 Billion dollars of properties. James has also been a Limited Partner in 45 multifamily deals in Texas. 

After a forty-year honeymoon of plummeting interest rates, it's going to require a lot more operational skill moving forward to generate positive returns in commercial real estate. Although we're going to see increased distress over the next several quarters, operational expertise will still be required to achieve desired returns. This is especially true in multifamily because of the daily demands of the asset class. Mark Hamilton, founder of Hamilton Zanze, manages over 25,000 residential units, making him one of the top fifty multifamily operators in the country. Mark has achieved both income and growth over the past several decades for his investors while utilizing fixed rate debt and conservate underwriting.

How deals are capitalized can make the difference between success and failure. This is why there's a need for loan consultants. The process of determining and sourcing the right financing can be complex, so the services of loan consultants can be critical. Tripp Greene, Founding Member of Trinity Capital, helps investors navigate the lending landscape to identify the right source of financing that makes the most sense for a particular deal. Tripp also founded the Coast-to-Coast Real Estate Academy to teach investors and other Real Estate stakeholders how to start their careers in Real Estate. 

The growth of private market investing has taken off over the past few decades as returns have proven to be better over the long term. Fewer companies are going public these days and they're staying private longer. Part of this growth of private market investing has been driven by large family offices. The number of family offices has increased ten-fold since 2008 and now stands at around 10,000. These offices invest for the long-term and therefore prefer alternative private investments because they've outperformed the public market. Ron Diamond, an expert in family offices, is Founder and CEO of Diamond Wealth and Family Office World Media. Ron invests alongside over 100 Family Offices in private equity, real estate, venture capital, credit, and special situations.

Many people are taught that the best way to achieve financial security is to build a nest egg through stocks and mutual funds. Most Americans, however, even after following this advice, do not have enough money to retire and achieve financial independence. This is because the returns on these vehicles is lower than 10% on average per annum, and they generally don't produce income apart from low single digit dividends. Chris Miles, a cash flow expert and founder of Money Ripples, teaches people strategies on how to invest their earnings into passive income.

So many people are chasing value-add multifamily deals, that the deals rarely pencil. On the construction side, it's also become difficult to achieve profitability because of prohibitive costs including higher interest rates. At the same time, the need for housing continues to outpace supply in many markets. One way to be successful in this environment is to partner with municipalities in Tax Increment Financing deals. With Tax Increment Financing, municipalities subsidize construction costs for the developer, thereby lowering the barrier to entry. Justin Goodin, CEO of Goodin Development, is partnering with municipalities in Indiana to build luxury, Class A apartments. 

A few years back, retail was completely out of favor. Everyone thought Amazon and e-commerce spelled the end of in-store shopping. The reality on the ground told a different story. Many prominent national retailers were actually growing and opening stores, and in-store sales held steady at 85% of total retail sales. That's why LBX started investing in open air centers and has done very well in this asset class. Over the last year, LBX has additionally invested in a couple of opportunistic multifamily deals as cracks have started to appear in that asset class. Prices on multifamily have come down significantly as operators are having to sell. Heath Binder is a Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations for LBX.

The multifamily business is a people business that is operationally intensive and requires experienced business acumen. To be successful entails great systems, winning teams, excellent customer service, and a disciplined marketing strategy. Ral West, serial entrepreneur and business mentor, has invested as an LP and co-GP with other sponsors in over 6000 units across 23 deals. Some of these properties are performing better than others. Ral has background in the chartered cruise ship and chartered plane business prior to investing in multifamily syndications. She also is a mentor to other business owners to help them systematize their businesses so they can escape the day-to-day toil of running a business.

Success is a poor teacher, we learn more from our failures than our successes, The key is to be resilient and adaptable. After starting over 70 companies, most of which didn't make money, Damion Lupo is experienced with the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. His latest endeavor, Frametech, is streamlining and revolutionizing the home construction industry in order to solve the housing shortage. Damion is also the founder of eQPR, a platform and community that helps people self-direct investments in their IRAs into alternative investments not available on Wall Street. 

Most new businesses fail within their first five years. That's why if you're considering going into business, investing in a franchise can be the best option. Investing in a successful franchise mitigates a lot of risk by aligning yourself with a proven concept and a leadership team that teaches you the operational components of the business and how to become successful. There are over 3000 franchise concepts in the U.S., both brick-and-mortar and service business you can work full or part time. Greg Mohr, the Franchise Maven, is one of America's leading franchise consultants. Greg matches people with vetted franchises that fit their strengths, experience, and personalities.

The multifamily sector is facing major headwinds. Not only have interest rates escalated at an unprecedented pace, and are not going down, but operating costs have also soared. In certain states, insurance costs have increased 100%, or even more in the last few years. Chris Grenzig, Owner of Jag Capital Partners, has built a vertically integrated portfolio of smaller properties in Jacksonville, and has recently expanded into third party property management. Chris brings his wealth of experience in managing his own properties to his third-party clients.

Investing in single family dwellings and three to four-unit apartments can generate cash flow and appreciation, but it's become more difficult over time to find good deals, and they tend to be time consuming to manage.  If you want to better leverage your time and capital, it can be more profitable to invest in larger syndications. Dan Rowley, General Partner of Spark Multifamily Investment Group, has migrated from smaller deals to syndications up to 50 units over the last couple years. Dan has also been a passive investor in 30 deals. Most of these deals have performed according to pro forma, some, have performed even better. 

A great sector of Real Estate investing with a low barrier to entry is land flipping. Land flipping requires little start-up money, and the profits can be incredibly lucrative, with very little downside. There are millions of vacant land parcels in the United States. Mike Deaton, a successful land investor, generates as much income from land investing as he and his wife made combined in high-paying corporate salaries. Buying and selling land is easier than investing in houses, apartments, or other commercial buildings because it's just land with no physical structure. After becoming very successful flipping land, Mike is now coaching others on how to replicate his success.

A new apartment building is at its highest value upon completion of construction. Like a new car, it's a depreciating asset. That's why you need to invest with operators who have a lot of experience with all aspects of the business to make money.  Most syndicators are finance professionals, not operators.  Most of the appreciation of multifamily over the past couple decades has been the result of declining interest rates, which will most likely not be repeated in the near future. Isaac Bennett, Founder of You Are, has invested in multifamily both as a Limited Partner and Principal, and has learned the hard way the critical importance of working with top-notch operators. Isaac is a multifamily investor and also develops land and invests in other alternative investments. 

Aside from the merits of the real estate itself, financing is the other critical component that makes or breaks deals. Securing capital, and how it's structured, is the underpinning of the deal, and can determine whether the property will be able to withstand fluctuations in the operations, market, and unforeseen economic occurrences. Eric Brody, Founder & Principal at ANAX Realty Partners, utilizes data analytics to guide clients through the intricate process of debt and equity, asset revitalization, restructuring and recapitalization. Eric works with owners, investors, and developers to navigate the financing of deals.

Although there are challenges in the multifamily space in certain markets, some markets are still flourishing, and the longer-term fundamentals are strong. Demand is still growing, and supply Is not keeping up with demand. Currently, there are great deals being sold by developers on newly constructed properties at below construction cost. This is a once in a decade to fifteen-year opportunity. Michael Zaransky, Founding and Managing Principal of MZ Capital Partners, has been acquiring newer properties in Texas, Tennessee, and his home city of Chicago, and capitalizing on this rare opportunity.

Although the stock market is trading at all-time highs, it can go higher as investors reallocate money from underperforming bonds and Commercial Real Estate in particular. Many investors specifically prefer allocating much of their portfolio to the S & P 500. Warren Buffett, one of the greatest investors of all time, instructed a trustee to invest 90% of his cash in an S&P 500 index fund and 10% in short-term government bonds. According to Buffett, the market has gotten too efficient and claimed, “there are no bargains out there.” The S & P has shown remarkable predictability, resilience and appreciation. Bob Wiedemer is a Senior Investment Advisor at Bull Bear Investment Management, who helps his clients invest in S & P 500 index funds. Bob is also the Author of New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Aftershock and Fake Money, Real Danger.