Fundrise vs Streitwise

Investing in real estate is one of the wishes of many investors. However, the typical real estate investments where you have to own a physical property tend to push many people out of the investment bandwagon. However, with eREITs and REITs, investors are able to invest in real estate properties by buying shares through a trust. Here, we look at two platforms that offer investment opportunities to investors – that’s Fundrise vs Streitwise.

The investors of Fundrise are able to own real estate without them having to find, manage, and direct the investment. Typically real estate investing is considered a difficult undertaking since investors have to put in a lot of money as capital to get started.

However, Fundrise tries to bridge that gap by offering a chance to inspiring investors to collectively pool their money together. They then use that money to invest in different portfolios of an estate. So the investment minimums are low.

Streitwise offers an opportunity for investors to invest in real estate without necessarily owning a property. It offers real estate investment trust that attracts low fees with low investment minimums.

The company invests in cash-flow or rental real estate meaning investors may have cash flow in the entire life of their investment. So, if you would want to invest in estate properties without having to own a rental property, you may want to try our Streitwise.

Summary

·         Fundrise open to accredited and non-accredited investors

·         Fundrise utilizes eREITs and eFunds

·         A minimum investment amount of $1000 with Fundrise

·         Quarterly dividend distributions with Fundrise

·         Low fees of 1 percent annually with Fundrise

·         Different Portfolio plans with Fundrise

·         Lower than average fees for private REITs with Streitwise

·         Open to an accredited and non-accredited type of investors with Streitwise

·         Streitwise private REIT focusing on cash-flows in real estate like rental offices or office buildings

·         Dividends redeemable on a quarterly basis for Streitwise investors

·         One year locking of principal investment with Streitwise

·         Streitwise available to US citizens as well as legal US residents in addition to non-US customers

Who is Streitwise

Streitwise is among the real-estate investment trusts we have around that people can use to invest. A REIT or real-estate investment trust is a company, owning and managing cash-flowing estates. A REIT passes along the profits it earns to its shareholders via dividends.

Typically, a REIT is an illiquid kind of investment meaning that it’s difficult to have your principal investment out, not until a set period of time. Streitwise manages real estate mainly office properties and is open to most investors.

The company has historically returned dividends of about 10 percent each year. The dividends are distributed to the investors on a quarterly basis.

When you invest with the company, your principal investment gets locked for a period of up to one year. It is after the lockout period when you are able to redeem shares every three months.

When investing with Streitwise, you purchase shares offered through the common stock of the trust. The price of the stock is $10.11 at the time of writing this piece and it is deemed to change after every three months.

If you have a minimum amount of $1000 to invest in the trust, you will have about 98.9 shares. REIT presently holds two commercial properties. The dividends, usually paid on a quarterly basis are net of fees.

Streitwise Features

·         Minimum Initial Investment

Streitwise has a minimum amount for your first investment which is $1000. After that, there are additional investments which are made in $500. So if you are not able to raise $1000, you may not be able to invest in the trust. This is not like other investment platforms that have fractional investments.

·         Account Types

If you are investing in Streitwise REIT, you find that there are different account types. The REIT can be held within corporations or individuals. It can also be held in trusts, LLCs, and 401(k)s, or even IRAs.

·         Streitwise Fees

There are two fee structures for Streitwise. One is the 3 percent upfront fees that are levied when you buy shares. There is also a 2 percent annual management fee. The dividends you receive are therefore net of the 2 percent annual fees.

·         Streitwise Investor Requirements

Accredited investor requirements need to have earned an income exceeding $200,000 or a combined husband-wife income of more than $300,000 within the last two years. They should also expect to earn the same or more the current year.

Alternatively, they should have a net worth of more than $1 million – excluding the value allocated to their primary residence.

·         Dividend Reinvestment

Investors can take advantage of the dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) that Streitwise offers.

Here, you are able to elect to get the dividends you could redeem to be used to purchase additional shares within the REIT. This is one of the ways in which investors are able to multiply their share value within a given period.

·         Platform Security

The processing of investment documents is done through electronic methods via stock transfer agent services. Typically, the services are offered by Computershare and FundAmerica – these two are considered secure SEC complaint platforms.

So you are sure that your documents and the information or data contained therein are safely handled to prevent incidents of data loss or a breach in the protection of sensitive personal data. 

How Streitwise Works

When you want to invest in REIT through Streitwise, you will need to open an account. You will be asked to provide personal information including:

·         Email address

·         Full names

·         Stress address

·         The dollar amount to invest

·         Whether individual or business or group

·         Telephone number

·         Date of birth

·         Social security number

·         Indicate whether accredited or non-accredited investors. So you have to confirm your income as well as your net worth information.

After you feed in this information, you fill out ACH Authorization Form so that you link your bank account. Also, you will have to supply the account name and the routing number as well as the account number.

Also, you have to indicate the account type, for example, checking, personal, business, or savings.

You will have to signs the Subscription Agreement via electronic methods. When you complete the process, you submit the form.

A confirmation of your investment dollar amount is transferred from the bank account you linked. When purchasing actual Streitwise REIT shares, you can do it via the Computershare Investor Center.

Pros

·         REIT available for the accredited and non-accredited type of investors, but accredited status is made only for larger investments

·         REIT held in self-directed IRAs, but can also be held in self-directed 401(k)s. Because real estate offers a long term investment, it can be suited for those seeking retirement investments.

·         The present dividend yield reflects that of the long term yield of the S&P 500. So, Streitwise is considered as a good choice for investment diversification that you can add to your portfolio of bonds and stocks

·         The company uses sound investment strategies when selecting investment properties. For example, it purchases investment when the market costs are low to ensure high dividend yields.

·         Being an equity REIT, the company offers a great opportunity for investors to earn themselves high dividends in their investment while being able to participate in capital appreciation when they sell the investment holdings.

·         Also, the managing partners are involved in the investment – they put their dollar in the REIT and this is a great incentive in managing the trust profitably and responsibly

·         It has high liquidity in that the Streitwise Stockholder Redemption Plan provides you with a chance to redeem stock for 90 percent or so of its value when you have ended the lockout period of one year. Contrary to real estate crowdfunding companies that require investors to remain invested until the investment is disposed of, this does happen to Streitwise REIT.

Cons

·         Streitwise imposes an upfront fee of about 3 percent – the fee is allocated to operations. That being said, this fee is lower when compared to other real estate crowdfunding platforms

·         Presently, investors have an offering of a single estate investment trust – where they hold two investment real estate properties. So, there is limited diversification

·         The company was launched in 2017, so it’s a new platform that may not have a long-standing track record.

·         An investor has limited liquidity, which is typical of real estate investments. Nonetheless, with Streitwise, an investor is able to redeem a majority of their investment value say, after a period of one year. 

Who is Fundrise?

When it comes to investing in real estate through Fundrise, it’s quite unique compared to other platforms like Streitwise. Fundrise offers direct ownership to its investors in the sense that the company owns and runs the properties it invests in.

Fundrise says that they directly own and run each of their investments by using a hands-on approach to help maximize the investment’s value and levering their over 5.4 billion worth of transition experience. The company also sends 100 percent of the profit to the investors.

How Fundrise Works

When you want to invest with Fundrise, you sign up and open the account. You provide your personal information including date of birth, name, address, phone number, social security number, and other details.

Once you have signed up, you can proceed to invest in the low minimum. There are different portfolios you can choose from.

The Starter Portfolio is among the three Core Portfolio plans. Regardless of the portfolio, you select, your money goes to a collection of eREITs as well as eFunds that comprise private real estate property.

Fundrise Features

·         Fundrise Fees

An annual asset management fee of 0.85 percent is levied by Fundrise besides a 0.15 percent advisory fee.

So the total adds up to 1.0 percent annually. That being said, there may be other miscellaneous fees the company may charge which could add up to 2 percent. So you would expect to pay fees of as much as 3 percent annually.

·         Goal-based Investing

This new investment strategy is aimed at offering optimal performance for the investors’ money.

Fundrise offers goal-based investments that come in the form of supplemental income, balanced investing and long term growth. The allocation of your investment depends on whether you want income or growth or a combination of the two.

If an investor is in eREIT, they pay $0 for asset management fees, not unless they have earned at least 15 percent annual returns within the first two years of their investment.

With growth eREIT, Fundrise pays a penalty that could go up to $500,000 to the investors when it earns no more than 20 percent of non-compounded annual returns.

·         Fundrise iPO

This is a new feature that the company has introduced. With iPO, the company will sell shares within the company itself through internet Public Offering (iPO). An investor will need to have in their account an investment amount of $1000 or more. They also need to have selected at least one of the advanced plans. With this offering, an investor is able to invest up to 25 percent of their entire account balance.

Pros

·         Low minimum investment staring with $500

·         Only 0.85 percent charged as asset management fee yearly

·         There is no accreditation  - any investor can invest in the platform regardless of their net worth or income

·         Contrary to REITs, Fundrise’s eREITs tend to offer a pool of different properties that help smooth out returns

·         90-day money-back guarantees – unheard of in the real estate investment world.

·         Quarterly redemptions

Cons

·         eREITs not publicly traded

·         The distributions taxed just like ordinary income- this is opposed to a 15-percent tax rate imposed on qualified dividends

The Wrap Up

While both Streitwise and Fundrise are involved in online real estate investments, they have some unique set of features. Fundrise utilizes eREITs that tend to perform better than typical REITs utilized by Streitwise. Streitwise, being a relatively new kid on the block, it may not have a track record to show its long term investment performance.

Fundrise has been here since 2010 and has shown remarkable performance. Fundrise also offers different portfolio plans allowing the investors to choose their model of investment. This gives investors a broader strategy to invest. However, the investors should be aware of the risks of the investments and the costs involved.  Fundrise owns and operates its properties, unlike Streitwise. Streitwise also has a higher investment fee compared to Fundrise. With these features, you can be able to make an informed decision of the investment platform to go with.

How To File For Divorce In Illinois?

How To File For Divorce In Illinois?

Getting a divorce can be emotionally draining and stressful. If the divorce is amicable, you may find it easy to handle things even without needing legal representation. However, when you have issues of communication with your spouse or you seem to agree on matters like child custody and support, and how you should divide your property, you may need the help. In Illinois, divorce is referred to as dissolution of marriage. There are two kinds of divorce, namely: fault-based and the no-fault divorce. In a fault divorce, it requires that one spouse proves the other has engaged in marital misconduct that had led to divorce. With the no-fault divorce, you don’t need to prove that the breakup has been caused by your spouse – you simply state your marriage is “irretrievably broken.” 

That being said, how do you go about filing for divorce in Illinois?

Prepare Divorce Forms

From the Illinois Legal Aid Online resource page, you can find information about the divorce process and forms. You need to determine the divorce type you want to file. There are different things the court will consider when looking at the divorce.

You will have to gather and complete the necessary forms. You can find the standard divorce forms that the Illinois Supreme Court publishes.

Depending on the county where you reside, you may need additional or even different forms. Take, for example, the Cook County Circuit Court provides you a link where you can find divorce forms, so you want to consider checking with the circuit court clerk in your areas so see if there are specific forms that you may need to fill in your county.

That being said, you will also need to file what is known as the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. This is a written request that says you seek divorce. In the forms, you will see terms like the “defendant” or “respondent” and “plaintiff” or “petitioner.”

The spouse filing for divorce petitions is referred to as the plaintiff while the other takes the defendant role. In the event that you have a minor, you will be required to file additional forms including the Joint Parenting Agreement, Uniform Order of Support, and Visitation Form.

For Illinois couples who do not have minors and have minimal assets, they file a different form known as Joint Simplified Divorce. This kind of divorce utilizes different forms from the typical divorce fling. You can check with your court clerk's office in your local area.

Filing the Forms

When you fill out the forms you should file them with the court’s clerk. You may find the clerk’s office within the courthouse. If the office is not located in the courthouse, just inquire and you will be directed its location. You will have to pay a fee for filing the forms when you deliver them to the clerk. You may want to call the clerk’s office before you go to file the forms. This will help you know what amount of fee you need to pay.

The fee may vary, expect to pay somewhere between $200 and $350 depending on your area. It is also possible that you can get a fee waiver based on your financial situation. You can find information regarding fee waivers from Illinois’ Legal Aid website resource. 

Serving your Spouse

You need to “serve” your spouse via the sheriff’s office or private process server. The court may also give you permission to use a non-party who is over 18 to deliver the forms. When it comes to “serving” the other spouse, it simply means providing them with copies of your divorce documents that have been filed in the case. If the sheriff office delivers the papers, you get a proof-of-service document that you should file with the court.

If you are filing a fault-based complaint, there are different things that you can cite as the grounds for divorce. For example, you can state that impotence, bigamy, adultery, or felony conviction as the reason for divorce. You may also state that abandonment for a specific period of time or extreme mental and physical cruelty or drug addiction is the reason for wanting to divorce.

Since Illinois courts seldom consider the fault of each spouse as the foundation for dividing property, many couples will not bother having a list of the reasons for divorce in a fault-based divorce.

Sometimes, you find that your spouse isn’t within reach, for example, he or she is in jail, is deployed with state missions like military, or he or she is not in the state, you should seek alternative serving method. You can check with the court clerk in your area to find out more about the service rules in situations that seem extraordinary for divorce forms’ serving. 

Financial Disclosures

Many counties require that both spouses file a Financial Disclosure Statement. This document is filed with the court at the time of a divorce process. The disclosures demand each party to provide a list of their assets, income sources, debts, mortgage expenses, and even credit card bills among other financial details. With Financial Disclosures, they help make the process involving the division of marital property a straightforward one. Also, the disclosures help the judges to decide on alimony as well as the child support awards.

Conclusion

In essence, these are the steps you need to take when you want to file for divorce in Illinois. The process of filing for divorce is just straightforward when you know how to go about it. Make sure you are precise with the information and fill the details correctly in the forms.

In order to file dissolution of marriage based on a no-fault divorce, you and your spouse should have resided in Illinois for not less than three months. You should also have lived separately in which case; you stay like just roommates and not like spouse. You need to realize that living separately doesn’t mean staying apart or being physically separated, it means that you’re just not living as a spouse anymore. You could be in the same house, but you don’t live like spouse.

Compare Informatica PIM and Stibo PIM

Consumers want to have a personalized experience when seeking products and services. Businesses need to ensure that they provide tailored solutions about the products customers want. Business owners and marketers can use product information management (PIM) tools to help manage the information that is needed to market and sell products via different distribution channels. PIM tools create a centralized set of product data that is utilized to feed information to various media including websites, ERP systems, print catalogs, and electronic data feeds. In business environments, data may be kept scattered throughout departments where it is held by employees or systems rather than availing it centrally where it can be accessed by those who need it including sales representatives, storekeepers, purchasing staff, and other workers.

PIM offers a solution by presenting data with centralized, media-independent data maintenance. It allows efficient collection of data, management of the garnered data and refinement as well as output.

Here, we compare two PIM tools - Informatica PIM and Stibo PIM - to see how they perform in helping with product information management and where there are any improvements that need to be made. 

Informatica PIM

Informatica PIM allows you to take control of the entire user’s internal data as well as the processes relating to the products. This tool is intended for product distributors and retailers. It enables retailers to garner volumes of supplier data which is channeled to appropriate employees or departments. In addition, Informatica PIM helps businesses to set up rules regarding the handling of data and processes.

Businesses that want to maintain their branding features are able to take advantage of Informatica PIM to deliver precise information to the customers when they need it – whether on mobile devices, online, in-store, or through a catalog and social media.

Benefits of Informatica PIM

Informatica PIM offers many benefits to the retailers and distributors including:

·         Providing rich comprehensive information management platforms for products to help attain, manage and distribute the right information in real-time

·         It helps retailers to close their sales, increase revenue, and meet the expectations of customers

·         It allows retailers to take charge of their product information supply chain including the processes involved

·         Retailers can collect and integrate various product information garnered from different sources like CRMs, ERPs, videos, texts, images, and data pools

·         It can help reduce time-to-market while allowing you to launch your product faster within all channels - email, social media, SMS, online, mobile, website, and others.

·         Because the information garnered and distributed is of high quality, it allows retailers to satisfy their quest for product data which allows building customer loyalty

·         It helps businesses to increase their profit margins and conversion rates

·         Your business can increase sales through the smart cross and up-selling techniques

·         Helps generate real-time insights into patterns of consumers

Informatica PIM Features

·         Pricing

Retailers can get a free trial to help test the product to see if it works to their advantage. The pricing of the Informatica PIM is quote-based, so you need to contact the vendor to discuss the price options. The pricing may vary depending on whether you need a basic plan or you need an enterprise level plan.

·         User Satisfaction

You can check information from reviewers, the companies who have bought the tool and real people who use the PIM tool. The information which includes reviews and comments can help you make a wise decision regarding the product. You can find useful information on social media sites too.

·         Devices Supported

Informatica PIM supports different operating systems including Linux, Windows, Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and web-based applications. So you can access and use it from every other kind of device.

·         Deployment

Businesses can deploy Informatica PIM in the cloud or they could use on-premise installation. Often, the cloud-based deployment offers many benefits because it allows for easy updates of the software product and reduced maintenance costs.

On-premise deployment allows the retailers to be able to improve or make changes to the software product, however, it may be costly to maintain since they have to cater to the updates.

·         Customers and Customer Support

The tool is designed to work for small businesses, large enterprises, as well as medium-sized entities. When it comes to customer support, it utilizes different media to reach out to its customers including email, phone, training, and tickets. 

Stibo PIM

Stibo PIM is a product information management tool that is designed to help maintain consistent, precise, accurate, and up to date information about products across multiple channels as well as systems. For example, it maintains information across sales, operations, customers, and marketing. It allows retailers to connect their digital assets to products they offer in order to meet the expectations of customers. This way, they are able to streamline the collaboration occurring between the businesses, creative teams, and marketing teams.

Benefits of Stibo PIM

The benefits of Stibo PIM are:

·         The high level of product information automation helps merge and centralize information across the businesses.

·         Different businesses and industries use the tool including distribution, manufacturing, consumer goods, finance, travel, automotive, fashion, and hospitality. Essentially, any kind of business or retailer can use this tool.

·         Stibo PIM provides a robust platform that helps eliminate errors in the product information environment.

·         It is an effective tool for selling products and it can help drive sales and expand businesses

·         It allows enterprises to introduce new products into the market by quickly reviewing them – it helps reduce time-to-market.

Stibo PIM Features

·         Pricing

The company offers a free trial to the user so that they can test the product to see if it’s a perfect fit for them. The pricing is based on a quote plan, so the users contact the vendor to request for the pricing information. The vendor will then offer a quote for the product.

·         User Satisfaction

You may want to see how customers feel about Stibo PIM by looking at the reviews, comments, and other information found in websites and social media sites. Companies that have purchased this master data management tool can provide their experience regarding the use of the product. Stibo PIM tends to offer more satisfaction to users compared to Informatica PIM.

·         Devices Supported

The tool supports different devices including Windows, Mac, and web-based applications. However, it doesn’t support handheld devices

·         Deployment

A retailer or business can deploy the tool through the cloud. So, for those seeking freedom to use on-premise software tools, they may not do well with this product.

·         Customers and Customer Support

The tool is intended for small businesses, medium-sized businesses, and large organizations. To help customers have a good experience when using the product, the company offers support via live chat and phone. 

The Takeaway

Both Informatica PIM and Stibo PIM are useful tools for product information management. They are designed to allow different kinds of businesses – large and small – to manage their product information and present it accurately, seamlessly and in real-time to the respective employees and departments in order to help make the right decision in time.  Businesses can improve their product launch and marketing processes, increase sales and revenue, earn more profits and increase the profit margin. The tools help enhance conversion rates and offer the right products and services to customers. 

When you look at the two PIM tools, you find that Informatica offers more media for customer support, but it doesn’t offer live support that Stibo PIM offers. Also, Informatica offers both on-premise and cloud deployments while Stibo only offers cloud deployment. So, based on these features and attributes, you can consider going with Informatica or Stibo.