Research guide

Largest DST Sponsors (2026): Why Equity Raised Is Different From Investor Returns

By Sequoia ResearchPublished Read as Markdown

What Is This Article About?

This article explains why money raised by a DST sponsor does not measure the return earned by its investors. It examines selected company reports available in 2026 and keeps their dates, products, and dollar measures separate. Worked examples show how to move from a fundraising claim to a review of cash received, fees, holding periods, and remaining value. The aim is to make a sponsor comparison useful without turning sales volume into a performance rating.

Table of Contents

Equity Raised and Investor Returns Answer Different Questions

Equity raised measures capital supplied to a defined set of investments. Investor return measures what happened to the capital after it was invested. A sponsor can raise a large amount in a year while most of those investments remain too young to have a final result.

Consider a fictional program that accepts $50 million from investors. That is a fundraising fact. It does not establish the rents collected, the costs paid, or the eventual sale value. The program could later produce a gain, a loss, or a mixed result across different investors. None of those outcomes can be calculated from the $50 million alone.

A search for the largest DST sponsors often starts with sales volume because it is easy to compare in a table. Yet the table may show one year's new money, a lifetime total, or the value of properties bought with both debt and equity. The first question is what the number counts. The next is whether it answers the question you care about.

If you want to know which firms raised the most capital, use a matched fundraising dataset. If you want to assess results, request a performance record. Keep those tasks separate even when both records come from the same company. A strong sales year does not fill a missing column of investor outcomes.

The SEC advises investors to examine how performance is calculated, including fees, methods, and market conditions. It also cautions that past results do not necessarily predict future results. Those are useful tests for a reported return; a fundraising amount is not a return in the first place. SEC investor bulletin on performance claims

What the Current Sponsor Reports Actually Show

We reviewed public materials from Capital Square, ExchangeRight, and Inland on October 16, 2026. These firms provide useful examples of different measures. The sample is not a claim that they are the three largest sponsors, and it does not rank investment quality. We did not audit their books or obtain a matched industry sales database.

The table uses company-reported figures. Each date stays attached to the measure. A page reviewed in 2026 can still describe activity from 2025 or a total built over many years.

Public report Fundraising or activity figure Separate outcome evidence or limit
Capital Square, March 11, 2026 announcement Three DSTs with $396 million in investment cost; listed equity raises total $234.4 million Full subscription describes fundraising completion, not a completed investment return
ExchangeRight, March 3, 2026 announcement More than $620 million raised for net-leased DST offerings during 2025 Its September 30, 2026 track-record page separately reports an 8.60% average full-cycle annual return across 34 exits
Inland company page, figures as of December 31, 2025 $31 billion capital raised, cumulative across Inland entities The same page lists 155 completed Section 1031 exchange programs; a count does not state their returns

Sources: Capital Square's three-offering announcement, ExchangeRight's 2025 activity release, ExchangeRight's track-record page, and Inland's company metrics.

The dollar figures do not share a common period or product scope. The two outcome columns also differ: one has a reported rate, while another has a completed-program count. A comparison that sorts these rows into a performance league table would add a conclusion the sources do not support.

These are starting points for research. For each firm, the next task is to connect a claimed result to identified programs, their dates, and their cash records. That connection is more useful than choosing the largest number on a page.

A Real Example: Investment Cost Is Not Equity Raised

Capital Square's March announcement lists equity of $105.7 million for Parkland Apartments, $60.7 million for Tapestry West Apartments, and $68 million for Lyric at Norton Commons Apartments. Those amounts add to $234.4 million. The headline's $396 million is labeled investment cost. The difference is $161.6 million, but this release alone does not provide a full funding schedule that would let us label every dollar of the difference as debt. Capital Square's March 11, 2026 release

There are three separate observations here. The stated equity amounts can be added. The cost total can be read under its own label. A complete sources-and-uses schedule is still needed to explain how all costs were funded. Correct arithmetic cannot replace a missing document.

The word “completes” also needs context. A program can complete its capital raise and still face years of property operations. A sale or other exit is a different event. Read the body of the announcement before treating a completed offering as a completed investment.

Capital Square's February 4, 2026 review of 2025 activity reports $302.8 million in full-cycle DST transaction volume and ten offerings taken full-cycle. Those figures describe a different set of events from the March capital raise. Transaction volume is still not net profit paid to investors. A return review needs the related cash-flow and cost records. Capital Square's 2025 activity review

When reading any sponsor release, write a short label next to the headline: equity sold, investment cost, property sale volume, or investor cash. If the label is unclear, leave it unresolved. A large number becomes more useful once its purpose is narrow and clear.

Match the Fundraising Period to the Right Programs

Recent fundraising and past returns usually describe different points in the life of an investment. That alone can make a chart misleading. A sponsor's 2025 sales may relate to new programs, while its completed results may come from investments launched years earlier.

ExchangeRight's 2025 net-leased DST fundraising figure and its later aggregate full-cycle return illustrate the need to match populations. The current web table's 34 completed offerings span several product types. They include financed DSTs, multifamily DSTs, preferred equity and income funds, and acquisition notes. The aggregate is not automatically the return of the capital raised in 2025. ExchangeRight's current track-record table

A useful comparison follows a group from entry to outcome. For example, define the group as all DST programs first funded in a stated year. Then record which remain active, which have exited, and which changed structure. This starting-year group is sometimes called a vintage. Define it in plain terms in the report.

Suppose a fictional sponsor raises $500 million in 2025. Its published completed-program results cover deals launched from 2013 through 2020. Those historical results may be relevant to experience. They do not show what the 2025 investors have earned, because those investors bought a different set of assets at different prices.

The correct follow-up is a list of the programs behind each total. Compare launch dates, property types, debt terms, and completion events. Ask whether the same team and business plan apply. Keep historical results as evidence about that history rather than transferring them to a new program by name alone.

Build a Fundraising Record Without Double Counting

A good fundraising record has an issuer, a product, a period, an amount, and a stated basis. The issuer is the legal entity selling the interest. The sponsor name helps group related programs, but it does not replace the issuer name. Similar names can refer to different offerings.

The SEC's Form D separates total offering amount, amount sold, and amount remaining. Item 13's instructions say reported consideration can include more than cash already received. The form also allows amendments. Thus, a filing is a dated notice with defined fields, not an automatically current list of cash in the bank. SEC Form D and Item 13 instructions

In a fictional example, an original notice shows $20 million sold, and a later amendment shows $35 million sold for the same offering. Adding them would produce $55 million and count part of the raise twice. If the second figure is the updated cumulative amount, the increase between the notices is $15 million. Confirm that basis before calculating the change.

There is another timing limit. Form D instructions list exceptions to when an amendment is required, including changes solely in amounts sold or remaining. An older filing should not be treated as a live inventory count. Ask for a current, dated confirmation where the decision depends on current sales. SEC Form D amendment instructions

Reinvestment also changes what a total means. Imagine $10 million raised for one program, later returned, then invested in a second program from the same sponsor. Gross fundraising across both programs could be $20 million. That does not mean $20 million of unique outside capital entered the platform. Neither figure is wrong if its definition is clear.

Record whether the total measures gross subscriptions, net new capital, commitments, or another measure. Avoid silently switching among them. Do not estimate a missing sponsor total from a few announcements unless the result is plainly labeled as an incomplete observed sample.

Follow Investor Capital Through the Offering

A return review begins with what investors contributed and where it went. Fundraising totals do not show that path. A simplified sources-and-uses schedule can help you understand it before you read a performance claim.

In this fictional example, investors supply $12 million and a lender supplies $18 million. Total funding is $30 million. The uses are a $27 million property purchase, $2 million of stated fees and other transaction costs, and $1 million of initial reserves. Sources and uses both total $30 million.

Fictional source or use Amount
Investor equity $12 million
Loan proceeds $18 million
Total sources $30 million
Property purchase $27 million
Fees and other transaction costs $2 million
Initial reserves $1 million
Total uses $30 million

The example does not establish a market fee rate or a standard debt level. Its purpose is to keep the entire budget visible. Counting $30 million as investor equity would be wrong. Treating all $12 million of equity as property purchase dollars would also ignore the other uses.

The reserve is cash set aside for defined needs. It is not an immediate profit. A fee is a cost under the example's terms. Loan proceeds bring a repayment obligation. These items affect the future cash available to investors in different ways.

Trace the same categories at exit. A gross property sale price comes before debt repayment, sale costs, and other amounts due. The final amount available to investors must follow the actual payment rules. A headline about property appreciation cannot skip those steps.

For a proposed investment, request its own schedule and footnotes. Check whether amounts are estimates or final figures, and whether any related-party payments appear in more than one place. Reconcile the full budget before applying a percentage to it.

Measure Cash Distributions and Final Proceeds Together

Cash distributions are part of the result. They do not establish the whole result while capital remains invested. A consistent payment can coexist with a lower final value, just as a low current payment can coexist with a later gain.

Consider an invented investment with a $100,000 initial contribution. The investor receives $6,000 at each year-end for five years. At the end of year five, the investor also receives $90,000 from the final exit. Assume these are all the investment cash flows. Personal taxes and separate account costs are outside this example.

Time Investor cash flow
Start −$100,000
End of year 1 $6,000
End of year 2 $6,000
End of year 3 $6,000
End of year 4 $6,000
End of year 5, including final exit $96,000

Total cash received is $120,000: $30,000 of periodic payments plus $90,000 at exit. The net gain over the whole five years is $20,000, or 20% of the original contribution. The final exit paid $10,000 less than the initial contribution, but the prior payments still count in the overall result.

The $6,000 annual payment equals 6% of the initial $100,000. That is a cash payment rate under this example. It is not the five-year total return, and it does not prove that the original capital will come back intact. The complete record answers that separate question.

Also ask where distributions came from. A cash ledger shows what was paid, but it may need supporting statements to explain the source. Do not assume that every dollar paid represents profit from property operations. A tax label alone may not answer the economic question either; review the statements with the appropriate professional.

For an active program, show cash already received and any remaining estimated value in separate fields. Do not present an estimate as if it were a completed sale. Keeping the two columns apart lets a reader see how much of the stated result is still subject to future events.

Compare Total Return, Average Annual Return, and IRR

A percentage needs a method. Total return, a simple annual average, and internal rate of return can produce different numbers from the same cash flows. A report should name the method before you compare it with another report.

For the five-year example above, total cash gain is 20%. Dividing that gain by five gives a simple annual average of 4%. This calculation spreads the total gain evenly across the holding period. It does not account for the timing of the annual payments.

Internal rate of return, usually called IRR, uses the timing and amount of each cash flow. For the stated year-end payments, the annual IRR is about 4.16%. It is the rate that makes the value of the future cash flows, discounted back to the start, equal the initial contribution. This example uses evenly spaced years; actual dated cash flows require a dated method.

IRR does not tell you the total dollars earned by itself. A short investment can have a high annual rate and a small dollar gain. A longer investment can have a lower rate and a larger total gain. Read the holding period and cash multiple with the rate.

A cash multiple divides all cash received by all cash contributed under a stated method. Here, $120,000 divided by $100,000 is 1.20 times. That shows the scale of the cash returned but not how long it took. The 1.20 multiple is not an annual rate.

Now consider a separate fictional investment with no interim payments. It pays $140,000 after five years on $100,000 invested. Total gain is 40%; a simple annual average is 8%. The compound annual rate is about 6.96%, calculated as 1.4 to the power of one-fifth, minus one. Calling all three figures “the return” would hide the method.

Do not rename a sponsor's reported average annual return as IRR unless its stated method supports that label. Request the formula, included cash flows, timing assumptions, and treatment of remaining value. If that information is absent, keep the rate attributed and mark the method unresolved.

Ask Which Fees the Reported Returns Include

A reported return can be correct under its method and still differ from the result one investor earned. Entry costs, fees, share classes, or account charges may explain the gap. Ask which costs each figure includes. Then compare it with the same measure from another program.

ExchangeRight's linked track-record PDF, dated August 31, 2026, explains that its reported return ranges reflect differing brokerage or advisory fee structures. It also describes a valuation basis for investors choosing certain 721 exchanges. The PDF's date is earlier than the web table's September date; this article uses its notes to explain method, not to replace the newer table's counts. ExchangeRight's track-record PDF

In a fictional one-year cash investment, an investor pays $100,000 and receives $108,000 at the end. With no other cash flows, that is an 8% gain before any separate personal costs. If the investor also paid a $1,000 outside account fee at the start, the all-in starting outflow would be $101,000. The $7,000 gain on that amount is about 6.93%.

That example does not show what any sponsor charges. It shows why the cash boundary matters. A program-level calculation and an account-level calculation may use different outflows. Both need labels that let a reader reconcile them.

Ask for a fee map with three levels: the property or trust, the investor's purchase terms, and any outside account agreement. Check whether each cost is already included in the reported result. Subtracting an included cost again would understate returns, just as omitting an extra cost would overstate them.

Taxes add another personal layer. Keep a pre-tax investment result separate from a household's after-tax result. An educational sponsor comparison should not infer one investor's tax outcome from another's. Ask the adviser responsible for that analysis to use the actual records and facts.

Separate Cash Exits From Continuing Interests

A completed event can produce cash, a new investment interest, or a choice among paths. The distinction matters because a value assigned to a continuing interest may still be exposed to future gains, losses, and limits on sale.

Inland's company page defines completion through several events. They include an end to an affiliate's business-manager role, a listing, a sale of all or substantially all assets, or a specified merger. Thus, its completed-program count should not be treated as a count of identical cash exits. The definition belongs beside the count. Inland's completion definition

For a fictional case, an investor contributes $100,000, receives $15,000 in cash over the holding period, and then receives new units assigned a value of $105,000. The combined cash and stated unit value is $120,000. Only $15,000 has been received in cash in this example. The new units are a continuing position, and their future sale value is unresolved.

A report can show this mixed result if it clearly states the valuation date, method, and continuing interest. It should not describe the entire $120,000 as cash returned. The investor needs to know what can be spent now and what remains invested.

ExchangeRight's PDF notes that certain full-cycle return ranges include 721 choices based on the receiving REIT's net asset value at the transition. That is a reason to inspect the exit path behind a reported range. It is not a conclusion that every investor received cash or the same outcome. ExchangeRight's full-cycle method notes

For each program, record the event date, what investors received, and what they still hold. Then ask how later results are tracked. A transition may end one reporting period without ending the investor's economic exposure.

Include Active Programs in the Track-Record Review

Completed results can be useful, but they describe the completed group. A full sponsor review also needs to know what remains active. Excluding ongoing programs can leave much of the capital outside the reader's view.

Imagine ten fictional programs, each with $10 million of investor contributions. Total contributed capital is $100 million. Three programs have ended and returned $12 million each, including all their payments. Those three returned $36 million on $30 million contributed, a 1.20 cash multiple for the completed subset.

The other seven programs are still active. Their final results are unknown. The 1.20 multiple cannot be assigned to all ten programs. It also would be wrong to treat the $36 million received against the full $100 million as a final 64% loss, because capital remains invested in the seven active programs.

Suppose the seven active programs report a combined current value of $70 million, with no other payments. Cash received plus that reported value would be $106 million. The 1.06 ratio to original capital combines realized cash with an estimate. It is not an all-cash final return, and the estimate needs a source and valuation date.

Separate the review into completed and active groups, then reconcile both to the full program list. For active programs, request current distributions, changes in debt, major operating issues, estimated values, and expected next events. Leave uncertain fields blank or label them as estimates.

A result from only the exited group may look different from a result that includes all programs. That is a population issue before it is a judgment about quality. Ask why each program is included or excluded, and preserve the answer in the research file.

Compare Sponsor Results Across Similar Investment Groups

Even a complete return dataset needs context. Programs bought in different years can face different prices, interest rates, and operating conditions. A simple sponsor average may hide those differences.

Start by grouping programs with similar launch periods and business plans. Separate a stabilized net-lease portfolio from a project that planned major construction. Note debt use and the exit method. These groups do not remove all differences, but they make the comparison's limits easier to see.

Weighting also changes the result. Suppose two fictional completed programs each lasted one year with no interim cash flows. One had $1 million invested and a 20% gain. The other had $9 million invested and no gain. The simple average of their two percentage returns is 10%.

The combined dollar result is different. Total gain is $200,000 on $10 million invested, or 2%. Both calculations are reproducible. The first gives each program equal weight. The second gives each invested dollar equal weight in this tightly defined example. Neither should appear without its method.

If dates differ, the calculation becomes more involved. Pooling cash flows requires their actual timing. An average of program IRRs is not automatically the IRR earned on all investor capital. Ask for the method rather than trying to repair a summary with missing dates.

Look at the spread as well as the average. A table with the lowest result, highest result, median, and program count can reveal variation that one number hides. Ask for each program's result and a clear treatment of incomplete records. These are research requests, not assumptions that any named firm has poor results.

Use Fundraising Growth to Ask Better Operating Questions

Fundraising can still matter. It describes one part of a sponsor's business activity and can help frame questions about growth. The error is treating growth itself as proof of investor profit.

If new capital rises, ask how acquisitions, staff, reporting systems, and oversight have changed. Which team members handle more assets? Are new property types being added? Are the same controls used across offices? These questions connect business scale to the work required to manage it.

Avoid assuming that a large raise means either excess strain or ample resources. Both require evidence. A sponsor may have prepared for growth, or it may be adapting while the platform expands. Request concrete descriptions of responsibilities, review processes, and reporting capacity.

Sales incentives deserve separate review. Ask who is paid when an offering closes, what ongoing fees apply, and what compensation depends on later outcomes. The amounts and conditions should come from the offering documents and relevant agreements. A sales ranking does not reveal that fee structure.

FINRA's guidance for recommending member firms requires a reasonable investigation of the security. A popular sponsor or a large capital raise does not substitute for that work. Investors can ask the firm how it assessed the issuer, the offering, and the evidence supporting key claims. FINRA Regulatory Notice 23-08

A large sponsor does not remove the limits of a private offering. The SEC's bulletin, updated September 21, 2026, says buyers may have less information and may struggle to resell their interests. A large platform does not turn a private interest into a freely traded investment. SEC private-placement bulletin

Build a Two-Part Sponsor Research File

Keep one record for fundraising and another for investor outcomes. Link them through the program names and dates. This structure prevents a missing return from being filled with an unrelated sales fact.

The fundraising record should identify the issuer, sponsor, product type, measurement period, amount, and source date. Add a field for the amount's basis: target, sold, gross subscriptions, or another defined measure. Note amendments and any known overlap before making a total.

The outcome record should identify investor contributions, payment dates, final proceeds, remaining interests, fees, and valuation methods. Record whether the result is actual, estimated, or projected. Keep the formula beside every rate. A number that cannot be traced to those fields remains an attributed summary.

For each unresolved point, write the next question and the document needed to answer it. “Need full-cycle records for the same programs” is more useful than “need better data.” So is “confirm whether this dollar total includes debt” or “identify separate advisory costs excluded from the reported range.”

Then write a narrow conclusion. You may be able to confirm a reported capital raise without confirming a return. You may be able to reproduce a completed program's cash result without knowing the outcome of the active portfolio. State each conclusion at the level the evidence supports.

This approach leaves room for a final investment review. It supplies a clearer account of business activity and historical results. The actual offering still needs analysis of its assets, debt, costs, risks, and fit for the investor. Neither the largest raise nor the best-looking past average performs that analysis by itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the Largest DST Sponsors Usually Deliver the Best Returns?

A size ranking alone cannot answer that. It may rank capital raised, assets, or program counts. To compare returns, you need matched program groups, cash flows, dates, fees, and a consistent calculation method. This article's public-source sample does not establish a market-wide performance ranking.

Is Equity Raised the Same as the Value of the Properties?

No. Property purchases may use both investor equity and debt. Equity can also fund fees, costs, and reserves. Read the full sources-and-uses schedule. Keep an announcement's stated investment cost separate from its equity figure unless the records show they are the same measure.

Does a Fully Subscribed DST Have a Completed Track Record?

Full subscription describes the capital raise. It does not establish the final investment outcome. The program may still be operating for years. Check whether a report discusses the end of fundraising, a property sale, a transfer to another vehicle, or another event.

Can I Compare a Sponsor's Average Annual Return With Another Sponsor's IRR?

Only after checking how each figure was calculated. A simple annual average and IRR can differ for the same cash flows. Ask for the method, dates, fees, and treatment of remaining value. Preserve the source's label until the calculation supports a more precise one.

Does a 6% Distribution Mean I Earned a 6% Total Return?

It shows a payment rate under a stated basis, not the complete result. Total return also depends on all contributions, other payments, and final proceeds or remaining value. The worked example pays 6% of initial capital each year but has a different five-year total and annualized result.

Why Can Two Investors in the Same Program Have Different Results?

They may enter on different terms or dates, incur different fees, or choose different exit paths. A result that includes a continuing interest may use a stated value rather than cash proceeds. Request the method that applies to the investor's actual cash flows and holdings.

Should Active Programs Be Counted as Zero When Reviewing Returns?

No. Missing final outcomes are not zero returns. Show active programs separately with their current cash and estimated values, if supported. Reconcile them to the full program list. Do not assign completed-program results to them or treat all capital still invested as a realized loss.

What Should I Request After Seeing a Fundraising Ranking?

Ask for the ranking's period, product scope, definition, and source. Then request a separate program-level outcome record with cash flows, fees, dates, and exit methods. If those records are unavailable, keep the fundraising conclusion narrow and the performance question open.

About Sequoia Research

Sequoia Research, LLC provides independent research on DSTs and other real estate investment offerings. This educational library helps readers examine source claims, compare defined measures, and prepare focused questions for their investment and exchange professionals.

Sources

Sources were accessed October 16, 2026. Company figures remain attributed reports, not independently audited results. All unnamed investment examples are fictional and are not projections for any offering. The calculations exclude personal taxes and any costs not expressly included in each example.