by holding a big
party. Some forego the champagne and noisemakers,
however, to start a whole new life. That was the choice
a group of entrepreneurial spirits made last December,
when they decided to pool their talents and launch Stor-
age Investment Advisors, LLP (SIA), in Houston, Texas.
SIA was formed to provide self storage property acquisi-
tion, disposition and capital market executions on behalf
of institutional and private clients nationwide.
The firm, composed of former members of the CB Rich-
ard Ellis Self Storage Advisory Group, includes Manag-
ing Partner Aaron Swerdlin, along with Minh Tran, Steve
Mellon, Doug McCarron, Monica Martin, Vanessa Ford,
and Jennifer Munoz. SIA also brought on Jessica Mandel
as a partner following their formation.
The entrepreneurial move happened quickly, says SIA
Senior Partner Minh Tran. We took a team-based
approach to starting SIA, as we knew it would have to
be a team effort in order for the new firm to work. Like
most entrepreneurs, we experienced some initial reac-
tion of wondering how it would happen, but we had con-
fidence in ourselves and understood the need in the self
storage marketplace for what we wanted to do. Were
very pleased with our results thus far. They have been
as good or better than we expected and our business is
strong.
Stepping Out on Their Own
Group of Entrepreneurs Form SIA,
Partner with Beacon Realty Capital
By Mark Wright
New Alliance
Not long after forming SIA, the partners made self stor-
age industry history by forming a strategic alliance with
Chicago-based Beacon Realty Capital. The alliance was
designed to support self storage property owners with
every aspect of their real estate property brokerage and
financing needs, explains Neal Gussis, the principal
at Beacon who directs the firms national self storage
programs.
This alliance is the first of its kind in the self storage
industry, says Gussis. We believe the alliances scope
and breadth of expertise helps self storage owners more
effectively find the best alternatives for their specific
property requirements.
The novelty of teaming a mortgage company and a real
estate services firm appealed to both groups. What
makes this alliance work is both teams are focused on
the national self storage ownership community, explains
Gussis. There are not too many other firms that have
that capability.
Self storage clients of both companies are able to utilize
the alliances services, including access to the firms data-
bases. Clients of either firm, however, are under no obli-
gation to use the others services.
This alliance is the first of its kind in
the self storage industry.
Neal Gussis,
Beacon Realty Capital
Through the alliance, we can now be
more of a one-stop shop and informa-
tional source.
Minh Tran,
Storage Investment Advisors Neal Gussis
t. 312.207.8240
ngussis@beaconrealtycapital.com
Minh Tran
t. 713.838.8000
minh.tran@siallp.com
Tran says the alliance enables them to better serve clients
in the transaction market. One of our main goals with
any client is to serve in an advisory role and provide the
best service we can.
Gussis adds: This approach gives us the ability to be real
estate investment advisors with a full scope, all the way
through a deal, both on a short and long term investment
horizon.
Selective Partners
Both companies make clear that they would not have
teamed up with just anyone. We wanted to partner up
with a company that had similar philosophies and stan-
dards as our own, Gussis says. It had to be someone
with the same attitude about how to treat clients, how
to treat employees, and that shared the same corporate
objectives. You want to work with somebody who really
believes in what theyre doing.
Tran agrees. What makes this new alliance work so
well is that everyone is on the same page, he says. Even
though two companies are part of the alliance, we dont
send out two messages when it comes to the alliances
services. Our objectives are unified.
Gussis recalls that from his perspective on the finance
side, his firm had been dealing with alternative sources
that were treating referrals more as order takers than as
investment advisors. Self storage represents close to 30
percent of Beacons volume so Gussis wanted an alliance
with a firm that focused more on building long term rela-
tionshipsand SIA fit that bill.
Tran echoed the sentiment. We saw both the demand and
the opportunity to create something new in the self stor-
age industry, and wanted to partner with a firm that took
the same approach as we did when it came to addressing
the needs of property owners. Wed known Beacon for a
long time and always liked how they operated.
A Learning Experience
One of the alliances benefits is advancing the learn-
ing curve for both firms, observes Tran. Our team has
learned a lot about the finance world by working closely
with Beacon, and weve been able to share some of our
real estate transaction expertise with them. Our clients
benefit from this because now were each more knowl-
edgeable on both sides of the coin. We used to know less
about the other side, but the partnership helps to boost
our collective strengths.
Forming SIA and then forging the alliance with Beacon
was a high-pressure challenge for the new teambut one
that they seemed to enjoy. We liked the pressure, says
Tran. And the alliance with Beacon was such a natural
fit. Through the alliance, we can now be more of a one-
stop shop and informational source.
Both firms see the potential of their synergy. We want
to make sure we advise clients to get them to the same
pointand we hope theyll use us because we helped
them, says Tran.
The alliance appears to have been productive. Gussis
reports that the members of the two firms collectively
have managed $1.85 billion in self storage real estate
transactions.
With the alliance now firmly established, SIA and Beacon
are working to introduce more of their clients to the
benefits of the partnership. Their goal moving forward:
ensure that property owners can capitalize on the mutual
resources the two firms offer. Its a new vision borne from
an entrepreneurial spiritand one that property owners
may see more of as market conditions continue to make
self storage an increasingly important component of the
real estate property environment.
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