Securities Fraud Attorney Blog
Yes, many investors have filed claims to recover losses sustained as a result of their investments in NYC REIT, a real estate investment trust that purports to own “a portfolio of high-quality” commercial real estate located within the five boroughs of New York City. This REIT began as a non-traded REIT, meaning it was not traded on an open exchange, making it is highly illiquid. Not only was it difficult for investors to get out of their positions, share prices have dropped substantially since its initial private stock offering. Investors were led to believe returns on the investment would exceed 10% on an annualized basis, but in reality, NYC REIT turned out atrocious for investors. The securities lawyers at Rich, Intelisano & Katz (RIK) have been highly successful in recovering losses for investors who had positions in non-traded REIT investments.
NYC REIT is not a high-quality investment with annual returns exceeding 10%. On the contrary, this REIT, like all REITs, is high risk and only suitable for a limited pool of investors – savvy investors who are wealthy and sophisticated with a long-term investment horizon. First, NYC REIT is a non-traded REIT, which means it is significantly less liquid than REITs that trade on an open exchange. As such, when investors want to sell their position, they are forced to sell their shares at a heavily discounted price. Thus, non-traded REITs are rarely a suitable investment for most investors. Second, NYC REIT owns only 8 mixed-use office and retail condominium buildings (which is miniscule compared to other REITS). The limited portfolio creates an inherent high risk, such as limited diversification, less exposure to potential tenants, and the lack of ability to spread costs over a larger portfolio. Unfortunately, NYC REIT severely underperformed and the risk associated with it became realized for many investors.
The NYC REIT was disastrous from the beginning. The initial private stock offering price of the REIT was $25 per share. By 2018, the price per share plummeted over 50%. The board then decided to suspend future distributions – hurting investor cash flow. Then, the board authorized a reverse stock split, an action that consolidates the number of existing shares of stock into fewer, proportionally more valuable shares (generally, a move to boost the company’s image if the stock price has dropped dramatically). Then, when the REIT went public in August 2020, it was a complete failure. NYC REIT, now trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “NYC,” dropped in value approximately 40% on the first day. This abrupt decrease in share price left investors with significant losses.
Despite the inherent risks associated with NYC REIT, brokers and financial advisors recommended the complex product to retail investors. Often, brokers and advisors will ignore client profiles and solicit them to invest in REITS or other publicly held securities due to the high commissions associated with the transactions. Since brokers and advisors have a responsibility to recommend only what is in the customer’s best interest, investors in NYC REIT, particularly pre-initial public offering investors, may be able to recover their losses.
RIK’s securities lawyers have extensive experience recovering losses for investors with positions in REITs. If you have any questions regarding losses from NYC REIT, or any other REIT, feel free to contact us.