The Problem With Single Syndications Nobody Talks About
After losing $10 million on a single syndication, most operators would just go back to doing what they know. Brian Sutton didn't.
In Episode 3 of Lessons the Hard Way, Brian sits down with co-host Sam Chillingworth to break down the single biggest structural change Two Waters Capital is making as a result of that loss and why he believes single syndications put investor capital at unnecessary risk, no matter how well you underwrite.
The answer is the fund model. And he explains exactly why.
Brian walks through why syndicators across the country are currently trapped in deals they cannot exit, why the "hero syndrome" keeps operators pouring good money after bad and why the fund structure eliminates the two options that destroy investors when a deal goes sideways: the capital call and the forced loss sale.
He also addresses the pushback head-on. What happens to the investor who loves doing their own deal-by-deal analysis? Do they lose that transparency in a fund? And what is the real difference between investing with a fund like Two Waters versus just letting a financial advisor park your money in BlackRock?
In this episode:
• Why Two Waters Capital is done with single syndications for good
• The two options syndicators have when a deal goes bad, and why both are brutal
• How the fund structure eliminates the "hero syndrome" that destroys operator capital
• How BlackRock and the world's largest fund managers protect investor capital
• The middleman fee chain and how investing directly in a fund cuts it
• Why even great underwriting cannot protect you from Covid or 11 Fed rate hikes
• What accredited investors should actually be looking for before they invest
• Trust and track record, the two things that matter most
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🔗 Two Waters Capital: 2waterscapital.com
0:00 Show intro
0:42 Building on the $10M loss conversation
1:41 The biggest change: no more single syndications, ever
2:28 What single syndications do well and where they fail
3:36 The only two options when a syndication goes bad
4:22 How the largest fund managers in the world protect capital
5:15 Why Two Waters is moving to a fund-only model
6:12 Downside protection: how a fund lets you cut losses without destroying investors
7:13 Hero syndrome: why syndicators keep pouring money into bad deals
7:31 Investor objection: do I lose deal-by-deal analysis in a fund?
7:56 The BlackRock comparison and how you're already invested in funds
8:45 The middleman fee chain and how Two Waters cuts it
9:24 Why syndications outperformed funds. The original pitch
10:10 Best of both worlds: fund structure with operator transparency
11:15 How the fund works operationally. Nothing changes except the vehicle
12:07 Transparency in the fund. Investors still see what's being bought
13:22 You cannot stress test for Covid or Fed rate hikes
14:21 Good underwriting helps but it can't predict the unpredictable
15:18 It comes down to trust and track record
16:20 Why Brian chose the harder path instead of just going back to syndications
17:24 What to walk away with. Do your due diligence and align with your values
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