What our numbers mean — and what they don’t.
Every performance figure on this site carries an asterisk. This is where the asterisk leads. We publish the sources, the definitions, the way we aggregate, and the limitations in plain terms, because a track record an investor can’t interrogate isn’t worth much.
In short: figures are sponsor-reported, cover realized programs only, are net of fees and expenses, and are not a forecast or a recommendation. The detail below explains each of those words.
The data behind the numbers
Where the figures come from and what they cover.
Sources. Performance is compiled from sponsor-published full-cycle track records, offering materials, investor reporting, and public filings. We present these figures as reported by the sponsor. We do not audit, recalculate, or independently verify them, and a sponsor’s reporting conventions are its own.
Scope. Aggregate statistics reflect full-cycle (realized) programs — offerings that have been acquired, operated, and ultimately sold or otherwise liquidated, so that total investor proceeds are known. Active and unrealized programs are excluded until they complete. This is the single most important thing to understand about every average shown, and the reason the limitations section below exists.
Coverage. Sponsor profiles span the institutional 1031 / DST universe we track. A subset are designated preferred sponsors, reflecting the depth of our diligence coverage — defined precisely further down. Figures are refreshed as sponsors publish updated track records; they are point-in-time, not continuously audited.
What each metric means
Definitions as we use them. Where a sponsor reports a figure on a different basis, we present it as reported rather than normalize across sponsors — so read these as the common meaning, not a guarantee of identical calculation.
An offering that has completed its life cycle — raised, deployed, operated, and exited (sold, refinanced to liquidation, or otherwise wound down) — so that the total return to investors is known and final.
Active and ongoing programs are not full-cycle and are excluded from realized averages.The average annualized total return realized across a sponsor’s full-cycle programs, as the sponsor reports it. Total return generally combines distributions received during the hold with the gain or loss at sale. These figures are reported net of fees, sponsor load, and program expenses.
Methodologies vary: some sponsors report an internal rate of return (IRR), others an average annual yield plus appreciation. We do not reconcile these to a single basis. A simple average of program-level returns also weights a small deal the same as a large one.Total cash returned to an investor divided by the equity originally invested. A 1.8x multiple means $1.00 invested returned $1.80 in total — original capital plus $0.80 of profit — over the hold.
A multiple ignores time: 1.8x over four years and 1.8x over twelve years are very different annualized outcomes. Read it alongside hold period.The time from a program’s acquisition to its exit, in years. Averages are across realized programs.
DSTs are illiquid and the hold is determined by the sponsor’s business plan, not the investor; realized averages do not promise any future program’s timeline.The share of a sponsor’s full-cycle programs that returned at least an investor’s original invested equity — i.e., did not result in a loss of principal — as reported by the sponsor.
Definitions differ by sponsor; some define success as meeting a target return rather than simply avoiding loss. A high success rate measures avoidance of loss across realized deals, not the size of gains, and excludes any active program not yet resolved.The sponsor’s reported total assets under management across its platform — a measure of scale and tenure, not of DST-program performance.
Firm-wide AUM may include strategies unrelated to 1031 / DST offerings, so it can overstate a sponsor’s relevance to a given exchange.Where we lead with a mean (simple average), we show the median (midpoint) alongside it. The mean is pulled upward by a few exceptional outcomes; the median better reflects a typical program.
When the two diverge, the spread is the story — averages conceal dispersion, and dispersion is risk.How we aggregate
Turning many programs into one number.
Aggregate statistics are computed across realized programs, generally equal-weighting each program unless a figure is explicitly stated as dollar-weighted. We report sponsor-universe figures and preferred-sponsor figures separately, and we lead with the mean while disclosing the median so the distribution isn’t hidden behind a single headline.
Because sponsors report on differing bases, an aggregate blends programs of different vintages, asset types, leverage levels, and structures. We treat these aggregates as directional context for evaluating a sponsor’s history — not as a precise, like-for-like benchmark, and never as an expected return for any specific offering.
What these numbers are not
The limitations, stated as plainly as the figures themselves.
Survivorship
Realized-only means a sponsor’s currently active or troubled programs aren’t yet in the average. A clean full-cycle record can coexist with strained active deals.
Net — but taxes vary
Figures are net of selling and dealer-manager commissions, sponsor load, and program fees and expenses. Your own after-tax result still depends on your circumstances, entry point, and holding period.
Not normalized
Different sponsors compute returns differently. We don’t force them onto one basis, so cross-sponsor comparisons are imperfect.
Dispersion
An average is not a typical outcome. Individual programs range widely around it; some return less than invested capital.
Unverified
Performance is sponsor-reported and compiled from sponsor and public sources. We have not independently audited it.
Not a forecast
Past full-cycle results do not indicate, predict, or guarantee the outcome of any current or future offering.
Not a recommendation
Nothing here is investment, tax, or legal advice, an offer, or a solicitation. Suitability is determined for each investor through offering documents.
Structural risk
DST interests are illiquid securities; a 1031 exchange can fail to qualify for tax deferral. Loss of principal is possible.
How a sponsor becomes “preferred”
What the designation reflects — and what it deliberately does not.
A preferred sponsor is one whose platform, programs, and reporting we cover in depth. The designation reflects the breadth of our diligence relationship, not a rating, ranking, endorsement, or any assurance about a program’s outcome. Coverage considerations include:
Tenure and full-cycle history
A multi-cycle operating record, including how programs performed through a downturn, not only in a rising market.
Transparency of reporting
Consistent, accessible investor reporting and full-cycle disclosure — including the deals that didn’t work.
Asset and strategy focus
Demonstrated specialization in the property types and structures a sponsor underwrites, rather than opportunistic drift.
Structural and sponsor diligence
Review of program structure, leverage, fees, and the sponsor’s organizational depth and alignment.
Designation can change as coverage evolves, and a sponsor’s absence from the preferred list is not a negative judgment. Every offering — preferred or not — is evaluated on its own facts and is subject to registered-principal review before it is presented.
Common questions
See the record itself.
Review sponsor-level track records, or request access to current 1031 / DST inventory.
Important disclosures. This page describes how Baker 1031 Investments compiles and defines the performance information presented across this site. All performance is sponsor-reported, compiled from sponsor and public sources, not independently verified, and subject to change. Aggregate figures reflect realized (full-cycle) programs only and are therefore subject to survivorship bias; they are averaged across differing assets, vintages, leverage, and structures, are net of fees, sponsor load, and program expenses, and are not indicative of future results. Nothing herein is investment, tax, or legal advice, a recommendation, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. DST and related securities are speculative and illiquid and involve substantial risk, including possible loss of principal and the risk that a 1031 exchange fails to qualify for tax deferral; consult your own tax and legal advisors. Designation as a preferred sponsor reflects diligence coverage, not an endorsement. For accredited investors as defined under SEC Rule 501 of Regulation D. Securities offered through Aurora Securities, Inc. (ASI), member FINRA/SIPC; all performance content is subject to registered-principal approval.