weldenfield

Firm Headquarters: Birmingham, Alabama

Date Founded: 1977

www.weldenfield.com

This Page was Updated January 2020

Investment Approach

INVESTMENT THESIS

The primary objective of the Fund is to achieve Business as Mission quadruple bottom-line returns on invested capital for value-add multi-family properties. The quadruple bottom-line for us means achieving market or near market returns while impacting all the stakeholders (employees, tenants, neighborhood, competitors, vendors, investors, etc.) from a spiritual, social and environmental perspective. We plan to leverage our industry experience to identify opportunities and inefficiencies in the market and achieve operational synergies through our property management and construction management companies. In a world of so much capital chasing every deal, we must be efficient during our execution to arrive at good returns.

INVESTMENT OVERVIEW

We plan to invest in value-add apartment properties ranging in size from 100 to 250 units. We anticipate these properties will located be in the southeast United States. We will likely concentrate on two target cities for investment by the first fund to achieve operational efficiencies and maximize spiritual impact.

Capital Raise Strategy

Strategy: Fund and Deal by Deal

Total Properties Under Management: SPM is our property management company and it manages 18,000 units. We have developed and/or acquired (value add) over 9,000 units.

Total Assets Under Management: Our plan is to raise $15,000,000 to $25,000,000 of equity for the fund. We’re still raising money.

Investments to Date: 100-250

Total Number of Investors: Over 30 different investors including high net worth individuals, family offices, and funds

Average Investment: TBD

% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: Less than 25%

Financial Reporting Frequency to Investors: Quarterly

Minimum Amount: Typically $100,000

Setup to accept charitable capital through the National Christian Foundation or other listing platforms? For our current Business as Mission Apartment Fund we are working on approval with Impact Foundation.

Focused Geographic Regions of Investment: 

• Is all of your activity in the US? No.

  • Which states? Southeast primarily but we have also done deals in Texas, California and the northeast.

• What countries outside of the US are you active in?

  • Working on labor accommodation housing in Dubai with Andre Mann.

Focused Industries of Investment:

• Multi Family – New Development   

• Multi Family – Existing  

• Single Family – New Development 

• Commercial – New Development

Company Differentiator:

The WeldenField Real Estate BAM Fund I is being set up with the full intention of having a kingdom impact through its activities. Fund leadership has specifically set this as a fund goal. We anticipate most of the investors will also be spiritually aligned going in, and also hope that this fund-raising process allows us to witness to other investors about what we hope to achieve and how to think about integration of business and missions. 

WeldenField is a flat organization where the executive leadership team is directly involved in all aspects of the business from acquisition, renovation, asset management as well as the spiritual integration. We believe in our key stakeholders taking direct responsibility for executing and managing the investments.

Investment Example:

WeldenField has successfully executed many new construction and value-add apartment investments over the last 10 years. In 12 of these projects we have brought on a mission focused on-site program called Apartment Life, which creates a social fabric for the communities and strives to generate gospel presentations through their interactions with residents. 

Our new fund will bring a focused Business as Missions approach to apartment value-add investing where we will proactively purchase properties that are uniquely positioned to allow us to have a kingdom impact with the residents. The evangelism and discipleship strategies will be customized for each property based on location, demographic, etc. 

We anticipate that we will own each of these properties between 7-9 years and achieve Limited Partner returns in the 12 – 14% IRR range. Rehab usually takes 6 to 12 months and stabilization occurs in 2nd or 3rd year depending on size of property and level of repositioning.

Previous or Active Portfolio PROPERTIES:

We have 12 deals under development or in planning stages. We also have 5 others under contract. These transactions include multifamily (new and value add), active adult, hotel and land development. The fund will focus on value add multifamily. We have closed on 3 value add multifamily deals in the last 12 months and have one under contract currently.

Leadership Team

• Cumulative Leadership Experience in Accredited Investing: 50+ Years

charles V. welden, iii | principal

Chuck Welden holds a B.S. from the University of Alabama in Commerce and Business Administration, a J.D. from George Washington University School of Law, and LL.M in Taxation from New York University School of Law.

After practicing law at the Birmingham law firm of Burr & Forman, Chuck joined WeldenField, a Birmingham-based family real estate company. He focuses on alternative investments and real estate opportunities that include both acquisition and development in multifamily, single family, hotel, active adult, and land. He currently serves on the Board of the Alabama Wildlife Federation and the National Christian Foundation of Alabama.

Chuck and his wife, Lauren, reside in Birmingham, Alabama. They have four children and five grandchildren. Lauren is from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They attend Third Presbyterian Church. Chuck and Lauren have visited over 14 countries while working on missions and/or Business as Mission. Chuck enjoys tennis and most any hunting or fishing adventure–his favorites are gator hunting and redeye bass fishing. Lauren enjoys investing in others, especially younger women and children. She devotes time each week to Discovery Club where she leads a Bible study for elementary age children in urban schools in the Birmingham area.

robert c. field | principal

Robert Field earned a B.S from the University of Alabama with a major in Accounting. He was a CPA in the Washington office of Arthur Andersen prior to returning to Alabama. Robert’s responsibilities have included the daily operations of Corinthian Mortgage Company and Highland Mortgage Company prior to the sale of these assets. In addition to other duties within the WeldenField organization, Robert serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Southern Hospitality Services, LLC.

w. Edgar welden, jr. | principal

Ed has been involved in the Section 202, PRAC, and Section 8 programs of HUD for over twenty years in his role as Manager of SPM, LLC. Additionally, Ed has been involved in the refinancing and redevelopment of numerous 202 Properties through the use of bond financed, tax credit, FHA financing and also with new construction of Senior Housing with HUD through the PRAC program.  Ed also served as Managing Partner of Interactive Video Technologies, LLC.  Ion247 focuses on video monitoring as well as the installation and service of Security Cameras, Access Control, and Alarm Systems at communities and business in the Southeast. Ed graduated from the University of Alabama in 1991 with a B.S. degree in Commerce and Business Administration from the University of Alabama.  Ed is involved in such organizations as the Monday Morning Quarterback Club and the President’s Cabinet at the University of Alabama.

william B. welden | principal

Bill currently serves as President of SPM, LLC. Over the last 40 years, SPM has evolved into one of the most respected and innovative property management companies in the industry. As President, Bill provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for SPM and its affiliated companies.

Bill works closely with property owners and SPM’s management team to enhance client relations and to achieve positive revenue goals and operational efficiencies. Bill has been responsible for the development, acquisition and management of more than $2 billion of multifamily assets. Additionally, Bill has served as an officer and on the Board of Directors of various multifamily housing associations, including the Greater Birmingham Apartment Association.

He holds an Alabama real estate broker’s license and has been involved in the management of over 50,000 units of conventional, bond financed and tax credit communities for the past 30 years. Before joining SPM in 1987, Bill earned a B.S. degree in Commerce and Business Administration from the University of Alabama and a Law Degree from the Cumberland School of Law.

john grady welden |

acquisition & development

John Grady Welden has been with WeldenField since May 2019 on the team’s acquisition and development projects and has managed all aspects of the capital raising, acquisition, renovation and asset management on his deals. Prior to WeldenField he worked as an acquisition analyst at Covenant Capital Group in Nashville, TN and was involved in six transactions totaling approximately $100 million in purchases across nearly 1,000 units. He received his M.S. in Finance from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management and B.S. in Finance and Economics at the University of Alabama. John Grady attends Redeemer Community Church in Birmingham, AL and presented on BAM at the Lion’s Den event in 2019.

matt scarola | acquisition

Matt Scarola has been with WeldenField since April 2018. He has led four apartment acquisitions over the past year and managed all aspects of capital raising, acquisition, renovation and asset management for these projects.

Prior to WeldenField, he worked at Newmark in Florida on the multifamily investment sales team where he was involved in 28 of the teams sales across 2017 and 2018 for over $1.5 billion in transaction volume. Matt worked at Ladder Capital Finance in New York in 2016 as an Underwriter and at EY in their Transaction Real Estate department in 2014 and 2015 as a Senior Analyst.

Matt received his M.S. in Real Estate and his B.S. in Finance at the University of Florida. Matt attends Arise Community Church in Birmingham, AL, and presented on the Real Estate BAM (Business as Missions) panel at Lion’s Den 2019.

Team and CULTURE

While not complete, one of the things investors have found helpful in the past is seeing how employees, customers have reviewed someone online. As of the date of completing this out …

• Glass Door Rating: N/A

• Facebook Review Rating: N/A

Spiritual Integration and Impact:

Faith Driven Investing can span a wide range from high yield to concessionary returns that have a higher level of spiritual integration. Having clear expectations of this philosophy is key for the movement. Each investment is unique and you might want to select multiples but if you had to choose one quadrant that best fits your groups spiritual integration and financial performance targets … What would it be?

We believe we will be in the medium to high spiritual integration with a slightly below market rate financial return. Typically, we see IRRs for market rate value-add multifamily deals in the 14 – 18% IRR range for 5-7-year hold periods. With our investment of 1.5% – 2.0% in a “compassion overhead” fee to fund the cost of the spiritual and social mission work at each property, we believe we will be looking at returns in the 12% – 14% IRR range for 7-9-year hold periods.

Describe the Spiritual Integration Activities:

• Our budget will include compassionate overhead to fund and leverage ministry on site and in the surrounding neighborhood. This will be accomplished by collaborating with national, regional and local Churches and ministries such as Apartment Life and Crown Financial Ministries.  

• Each property will have a customized program for evangelism and discipleship based on the property’s location and demographics. 

• Strategically attract certain residents, such as a church planter, to help build an evangelistic and discipleship-oriented community. 

• We believe impact which is achieved by a sustainable, self-funding model will yield stronger results and will be viewed more favorably by the community as the transformation will be self-sustaining and a long-term strategy rather than just parachuting in on the weekends or for quarterly serve days.  

• The Fund will seek opportunities for outreach in multiple demographic sectors. While workforce housing will be a key component of our missional focus, the categories below could all be potential impact sectors (alphabetical order). WeldenField has experience in most all of these demographics:

  • Immigrants

  • Millennials

  • Seniors

  • Suburban

  • Urban

  • Work Force

• Community Outreach will be customized based on the community. To achieve community outreach, many of the programs below will be used to connect with the residents and provide access points to share the gospel.

  • Financial Training

  • Life Skills Training

  • Career Training

    • Resume Building

    • Computer Literacy

    • Mentor Relationships

    • Career Prep Classes

  • Evangelism 

  • Discipleship

  • Neighborhood Engagement

  • Family & Marriage Counseling 

  • Youth Programs

  • On-site Preschool Care

  • After School Tutoring 

  • Youth Mentoring Programs

Is Impact and Spiritual Integration Tracked?

• Over the last decade, the partners comprising WeldenField Development have been involved in multiple conversations with a variety of organizations that promote and educate companies on how to effectively bring spiritual integration into their business and how to measure the impact. As a few examples, Chuck Welden was a co-author on BAM Global Congress paper on investing in BAM, authored a paper for CEF on the issue, one of the co-founders of The Birmingham Lion’s Den and National Christian Foundation of Alabama, and has invested in 30 different BAM companies and serves on the board of several of these companies. Through this involvement, our principals have been exposed to and have helped structure spiritual integration plans within these companies and others that we have consulted with. WeldenField has been a part of conversations covering strategies of spiritual integration in a wide spectrum of businesses and sectors and recognize that they need to be catered to the unique aspects of each business. We have partnered with other advisors in the field to help us think through our customized KPIs (Kingdom Performance Indicators) list. We are currently creating our own tracking tools for the Real Estate Fund based on our experience in our prior investments and activities.

Are you partnered with any other organizations?

• The Lion’s Den

• BAM Global Congress 2020

• Ambassadors Impact Network (AIN) (application pending)

• Impact Foundation

A lot of Investing Conversations look at Social Impact related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Is there one of these that most resonates with your organization?

• Goal 11 – We plan to create a social fabric of connectivity and inclusiveness at the properties. We are striving to provide a safe and friendly place to live where residents can feel a part of a community and be proud of where they live.

WHY The FAITH DRIVEN INVESTOR?

• Why are you compelled to be certified and a part of the Faith Driven Investor Group?

  We have been talking for several years with other BAM practitioners, investors and leaders in the movement about starting a BAM Real Estate fund. Our views line up well with FDI. The FDI Group concepts of Steward vs. Ownership, Capital = Influence, Abundance Economy, and investing for Impact are completely in alignment with what we hope to create.

  We hope to be able to be able to connect with the larger FDI Group to gain wisdom into best practices for integrating faith and business. We believe we have a good foundational understanding but to be connected with a larger group of business and real estate professionals will advance our thinking and impact.  

• Does the leadership align with the Unifying Principles on Faith Driven Investor and agree to the Code of Conduct? Yes

• Who nominated you to be listed on the FDI site? Henry Kaestner & Luke Roush, Sovereign’s Capital

AFFILIATIONS- Are you a part of any third party groups, affiliations that you would like to list here?

• Co-Founder of The Lion’s Den 

• BAM Global Congress speaker and co-author of white paper

• National Christian Foundation of Alabama Board Member

• NMHC – National Multifamily Housing Conference

• NAA – National Apartment Association

• Board of Director seat on multiple BAM companies:

  • Turaco Insurance 

  • Polygon China

  • Sseko Designs

Learn More

• Key Contact Name: Charles (Chuck) Welden

• Phone: 205-790-0523

• Email: chuckw@weldenfield.com

• Mailing Address: 3010 3rd Avenue South, Birmingham, Alabama 35233

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