Todd Rich is the Co-Founder, Partner, and Head of Real Estate at Declaration Partners, which is an investment firm launched in 2017 with capital from David M. Rubenstein, the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group. Todd previously served as Partner and Member of the Investment Committee and Management Committee for JBG.  He is a graduate of Princeton University and a Fulbright Scholar.  Mr. Rich also sits on the board of the SED Center, a local educational non-profit organization.

Todd was part of the committee that took JBG public, eventually becoming JBG Smith, but he knew that he didn’t want to work for a REIT.  In order for Todd to leave JBG Smith when he did, he had to take a discount on his shares.

He met David Rubenstein through The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., where Todd serves on the board of directors and David is the President.  David was interested in establishing a family office, which is a private wealth management advisory firm that serves ultra-high-net-worth investors offering an outsourced solution to managing the financial and investment side of an affluent individual or family.  David wanted a family office for the sole purpose to create more wealth to further his commitment to The Giving Pledge, which was created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.  Since David still is fully invested in The Carlyle Group, Todd can only consider investment opportunities that Carlyle is not interested in.

Declaration Partners’ primary goal is to be good investors.  They are not interested in the 3Fs – Find It, Fix It, Flip It.  They are looking for crystal investments where they can create value even when the property is held, and for trophy buildings that would require an extended hold.  They are creating pledge funds, as opposed to blind, where investors can opt out of a specific investment.  They are not interested in providing property management for their investments.

Todd discussed opportunity zones, and the challenge of the 31-month requirement to make substantial improvements to a property.  This typically means that the property has to already be entitled and close to shovel ready.  To get the full tax benefit, you must hold the property for 10 years.  This works for Declaration Partners because they have no set criteria for disposing of a property.  Todd’s advice for preparing the future changes in the market is to have capital ready.