On Risk Management

Any visitor to Hall Equities Group will often find us dedicating a material portion of our energies to a type of real estate development project or investment we have never engaged in before. This work is undertaken with intention. Purposeful movement beyond ones’ comfort zone, into the chaos and fog of the unknown, done continually over decades of time, has a way of imparting valuable experience which only comes through the school of hard knocks. It keeps us young at heart, fresh, and wide awake. When enough curve balls and unknowns are thrown your way, you become conditioned to effectively engage the unexpected. This is the path to obtaining effective risk management skills. Risk management is not about avoiding risk. It is about being aware of it and learning to manage through it. It is about consciously training for dealing with the inevitable unforeseen condition.

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.

African Proverb

On Innovation and Creativity

Bringing innovation and creativity to project design and to the solutions of investment puzzles are core focal points at Hall Equities Group. Innovation and creativity occur where the depth, wisdom, broad product knowledge, and experience of the expert meet the lack of pre-conceived notions and innocence of the amateur. We strive to maintain a “Beginner’s Mind” culture. This requires focusing on the new, the relevant, and the cutting edge while questioning our preconceived notions and biases born of experience. This can create a difficult path to walk. A tension forms that can pull in opposite directions. Collaboration and teamwork become of paramount importance in this effort both to seek unique input, as well as to gauge the success of outcomes. Distinguishing between “group think” and deeper truth is an art born of practice. Embracing clarity and trusting intuition becomes central.

IN THE BEGINNER'S MIND THERE ARE MANY POSSIBILITIES. IN THE EXPERT'S MIND, THERE ARE FEW.

Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Teacher

On Speed

At Hall Equities Group, we work consciously to avoid the internal hurdles that may inhibit our ability to turn on a dime in the event truth demands action. We must be capable and comfortable moving real property based capital quickly across different asset classes and over multiple geographic areas as conditions merit. We embrace objective judgement, constantly evaluating our present investment positions versus our available alternatives. We maintain an awareness of relative risk adjusted yields available to our shareholders across both geographic regions and product types. When a lane opens, we move decisively. We cannot control the economic and political environments we operate within, but we can learn to adapt to them as they evolve and change.

IF EVERYTHING SEEMS UNDER CONTROL, YOU’RE NOT GOING FAST ENOUGH.

Mario Andretti, Race Car Driver

On Commitment

We don’t look to separate our personal financial risk from that of our shareholders. On the contrary, we embrace this commitment to risk as a necessary component to effective decision making. We consciously work to align our interests with shareholders, in a disciplined and consistent way. We purposely “get in the ring” together with our investors, by putting substantial capital at stake in all the investments and developments that we act as the business manager for. When we have the fruits of our labors at stake we have something to lose. It is in this way that we will tend to remind ourselves of the hazards involved in our decisions or the lack thereof. We are not immune from errors in judgement, but over the long run we believe our judgement will be better than those who never put their hard won treasure at risk.

THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN COMPARE TO TESTING YOURSELF THE WAY YOU DO EVERY TIME THAT YOU STEP INTO THE RING.

Sugar Ray Leonard, Boxer