Leadership Spotlight: A Conversation with Senior Vice President of Investor Relations, Donna Quick
Donna Quick, senior vice president of investor relations, focuses on building relationships and improving the investor experience for the Capital Square family of investors. She manages the investor relations team that serves accredited investors with interests in private placement real estate offerings, as well as their financial advisors and broker-dealers.
The following conversation took place in July 2024.
What stands out about the service that Capital Square gives our investors?
Donna Quick: We come to know our investors and build long-lasting relationships with them.
Our investor relations team goes above and beyond. We over-communicate whenever possible and do our best to get information out in a timely manner. We endeavor to respond to inquiries within 24 to 48 hours, following up by email but also picking up the phone and making calls when necessary. It’s that personal touch that defines Capital Square.
Investors will call and request to speak with a specific team member because that’s who they have dealt with in the past, and that’s great. That’s why we’re here and how we deliver the best.
Because the numbers and the specifics are one of your team’s specialties, what are some of the investor relations team’s stats you’re proudest of?
Donna Quick: “Investors first” isn’t just a tagline. It’s what we do, day in and day out. Our team:
- Services over 9,100 fund accounts, representing $2.9 billion in equity (as of 07/22/2024)
- Processes over $9.3 million in investor distributions each month
- Manages 114 active funds (101 DST and 13 LLC Funds, as of 7/22/2024)
- Prepares and sends 107 quarterly reports, plus various updates and communications
- Responds to thousands of emails each month
- Has averaged 200 calls per month over the past six months
- Completed seven dispositions in 2023
- Completed over 120 retitles in 2023
- Created over 8,500 DST tax packages and processed 1,200 K1s for the 2024 tax season
I’m so proud of our team. There are simply no slackers here.
The investor relations team’s mantra is to “provide exceptional and impactful services to our investor family and strive to continuously improve the investor experience,” and you’ve spoken of your dedication to the investors themselves. Who else are you in constant contact with?
Donna Quick: It’s not just the investors that we communicate with. We also correspond with due diligence officers (DDOs), registered reps and registered investment advisors (RIAs) as well.
We do so in exactly that manner, the DDOs first and then the reps, informing them that we will be reaching out to investors with specific information later that afternoon, or in a couple of days, depending on the materials. If it’s a complex PPM supplement, for example, we will allow for several days of advanced notice to give the reps time to review and ask questions before it’s sent to the investors.
Our work isn’t just servicing our investors. Our focus is investors-first, always, but to do this exceptionally, we also service their advisors.
We also work hand in hand with our sales team when it comes time for a property disposition.
And not only the sales team, but the investor relations team is in constant communication with almost every department within Capital Square on a daily basis too, correct?
Donna Quick: Yes, that is correct. We are a part of the system rather than a secondary customer service team on the side.
Throughout our days, we interact with almost every department here. We’re talking with legal. We’re talking with asset management. We’re talking with accounting and treasury, closing, development, sales, communications, technology and marketing. I don’t think there’s a department that we don’t interact with on some level. Investor relations works with everyone. We’re very intertwined, and it’s an advantage to us all.
The Capital Square investor relations team is such a tight-knit group of specialists. What are some of your team members’ focuses?
Donna Quick: Everybody has their place and their lane, with their own responsibilities, and it works well. This makes us incredibly efficient, while we’re always ready to support each other and crossover to assist with different efforts as needed.
We have team members always ready to call our investors, trying to avoid the back-and-forth nature of emails, especially regarding complicated matters. Picking up the phone allows for that relationship, that human element that is so important to what we do.
We have team members with deep knowledge of research and data analysis, of legal documents and procedures, of accounting, and of system maintenance and integration, and no matter what the interaction, it’s always driven by that personal touch. Plus, we have fun together.
What makes you most excited about your role in the company?
Donna Quick: I love what I do. I love my team. I am so very, very fortunate to have such an awesome, talented team. None of this would be possible without them.
I’ve led our team through the implementation of Capital Square’s online investor portal, now with 81% adoption by our investors, as well as the ongoing elevations of our reporting and distribution processes. We have processed two DST to UPREIT transactions over the past year, with more on the horizon. We’ve been busy with the recent launch of Capital Square Housing Trusts’ $20 million preferred stock offering and the launch of CSRA Opportunity Zone Fund IX to develop a mixed-use apartment community and hotel in Richmond, Virginia. As our newest single-family, build-for-rent communities are developed, our development funds are right there alongside the construction. The new 5% distribution rate for a number of our open Delaware statutory trust (DST) offerings has also been keeping my team on the go. There’s never a dull day, and we’re ready for it.
We are constantly improving our procedures, including working on internal and external knowledge bases and so much more. As always, exceptional and impactful service shapes our work and our team.
Learn more about Real Estate Investments at Capital Square.
Disclaimer: Securities offered through WealthForge Securities, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Capital Square and WealthForge Securities, LLC are separate entities. There are material risks associated with investing in DST properties and real estate securities including illiquidity, tenant vacancies, general market conditions and competition, lack of operating history, interest rate risks, the risk of new supply coming to market and softening rental rates, general risks of owning/operating commercial and multifamily properties, short term leases associated with multi-family properties, financing risks, potential adverse tax consequences, general economic risks, development risks, long hold periods, and potential loss of the entire investment principal. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Potential cash flow, returns and appreciation are not guaranteed. IRC Section 1031 is a complex tax concept; consult your legal or tax professional regarding the specifics of your particular situation. This is not a solicitation or an offer to see any securities. Please read the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) in its entirety, paying careful attention to the risk section prior to investing. Diversification does not guarantee profits or protect against losses. Private placements are speculative.
