Background
Gerald F. Baker, III (“Jerry”) is the founder and managing principal of Baker 1031 Investments, LLC. He has led the firm since its inception, specializing in institutional-grade Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) properties and tax-deferred exchange solutions for individual investors.
Prior to founding the firm, Jerry spent more than a decade on Wall Street, where he was directly involved in over $10 billion in real estate transactions. During that period, he led property investment strategies and acquisitions for several prominent private equity firms and hedge funds.
Jerry’s professional expertise is underpinned by a 60-year family legacy in real estate development, management, and investment — three generations of developing, managing, and investing in high-quality assets. He established Baker 1031 Investments to address the lack of transparency and efficiency in the 1031 exchange marketplace, engineering a proprietary execution model that allows for the completion of complex transactions in as little as two to three days.
To date, Jerry has educated and advised more than 250,000 real estate investors† on the complexities of DST properties, 721 (UPREIT) exchanges, and strategic capital preservation. He remains personally involved in the development of custom, diversified portfolios tailored to the specific cash-flow requirements and long-term investment goals of every client.
That background shapes how the firm works. Before a single offering is shown, Jerry underwrites the underlying real estate the way a private-equity investor would — the market, the rent roll, the business plan, the debt — on the conviction that if the real estate does not make sense, the rest of the deal will not either.
What he does at Baker 1031
Jerry serves as both the firm’s broker and the architect of each client’s replacement portfolio. He builds diversified allocations from institutional sponsors — names such as Blackstone, Hines, Apollo, Ares, ExchangeRight, and Cantor Fitzgerald — and coordinates the exchange against the 45- and 180-day clocks so investors can move with confidence. He is also the author of the firm’s Investing Memos, a body of first-principles writing on DSTs, the 721 UPREIT, mineral rights, and disciplined portfolio construction.
How he thinks about the work
Jerry’s writing and counsel share a consistent voice: measured, accountability-forward, and skeptical of anything marketed as effortless. He is candid about risk — illiquidity, sponsor concentration, leverage, and legislative uncertainty — because, in his view, the investor who understands what they are actually buying is the one best positioned to hold it patiently and let deferral compound.
Selection of Jerry’s real estate experience
Representative assets Jerry worked on across acquisitions, underwriting, financing, and redevelopment over more than a decade in institutional real estate, prior to founding Baker 1031 Investments.
Credentials
- FINRA registration — CRD 7537416 · verify on BrokerCheck
- FINRA Series 22 — Direct Participation Programs Representative
- FINRA Series 63 — Uniform Securities Agent State Law
- FINRA SIE — Securities Industry Essentials
- Real Estate Brokerage License
Education & experience
- Babson College — Applied Mathematics; Applied Statistics
- University of Detroit Jesuit High School & Academy
- Arbor Bay Capital Partners
- Detroit Venture Partners
- Faris Lee Investments
- Rock Ventures
- Rocket Mortgage (formerly Quicken Loans)
- ValueRock Realty Partners
- Westport Capital Partners
† The figure of more than 250,000 real estate investors reflects the cumulative number of investors served over the course of Jerry Baker’s career and includes both those who engaged Baker 1031 Investments (and its predecessor activities) for educational materials and information and those who completed transactions. For accredited investors only. Securities offered through Aurora Securities, Inc. (ASI), member FINRA/SIPC; Baker 1031 Investments is independent of ASI. This page is informational only and is not an offer or solicitation; any offer is made solely through a sponsor’s private placement memorandum following a suitability determination. Investments in DSTs and other real estate securities are speculative and illiquid and involve substantial risk, including possible loss of principal. Baker 1031 Investments does not provide tax or legal advice.