Sternlicht defends gating Starwood REIT withdrawals, hopes it will be a ‘6-month thing’ as rates fall

Barry Sternlicht, Starwood Capital Group chairman and CEO, defended his choice to cap how a lot cash buyers may pull from his actual property fund amid mounting losses and redemption requests.

“With all of the hysteria within the media, persons are saying, ‘I need to get out now and I am going to come again in later when the coast is evident.’ So we took a really powerful choice,” Sternlicht mentioned on CNBC’s “Squawk Field” Wednesday. “I made a decision that for the advantage of the 80% of people that’ve by no means redeemed we might decelerate redemptions. … We hope that is going to be a six-month factor.”

The investor’s $10 billion Starwood Actual Property Revenue Belief, which invests in multifamily, industrial and workplace properties, has suffered from steep declines because it grew to become troublesome to refinance loans in mild of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive price hikes.

In a letter to shareholders on Might 23, Starwood launched new restrictions that cap month-to-month withdrawals at 0.33% of web asset worth, in contrast with the earlier 2% restrict. In the meantime, the agency additionally determined to waive 20% of its administration charge.

Sternlicht mentioned he determined to implement the cap to guard loyal shoppers who by no means redeemed, which represents 80% of his buyers.

The agency mentioned the true property belief, one of many largest on the planet, maintained $752 million of quick liquidity as of the tip of April.

Sternlicht known as the Fed’s financial coverage “unbelievably ineffective,” however he believes rates of interest will come down quickly.

“The true property asset class might be the most important sufferer of the unintended consequence of his actions,” he mentioned. “The spreads are coming in, which implies the markets are therapeutic, the longer term’s getting clearer.”