Summary
In this episode of Life by Design, Jessilyn and Brian Persson dive into the world of passive investing in real estate, with a special focus on the exempt market and private equity opportunities. They unpack why these lesser-known strategies are gaining traction, how they work, and the advantages they offer—like tax benefits, portfolio diversification, and professional management.

You'll also hear real talk about why private equities are often overlooked, how accessible these investments can be, and what you should know before jumping in. If you’ve ever wondered how to build wealth without being a hands-on landlord, this is your episode.

Contact Jessilyn and Brian Persson | Weekend Wealth Investments:

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Passive Real Estate Investing

02:36 Understanding the Exempt Market

05:43 Benefits of Private Equity Investments

08:55 Types of Private Equity Investments

11:56 Investment Accessibility and Requirements

14:43 Tax Advantages and Returns

18:01 The Role of Professional Management

20:36 Why Private Equities Are Not Common Knowledge

23:48 Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Transcript

Jessilyn Persson (00:07)

Welcome to the Life by Design podcast we're Jessilyn and Brian Persson struggling to align your financial goals or confidently invest in real estate as a couple.

Brian Persson (00:16)

That's why we created this podcast and the Riches, Relationships and Real Estate program to help you build wealth and strengthen your relationship. Visit weekendwealth.ca to take our quiz and discover your real estate investor type. Let's create the life you deserve together.

Jessilyn Persson (00:34)

Today we're going talk about the ultimate sleep at night investing. We're talking about what we believe to be the most passive way to invest in real estate. As Warren Buffett said, if you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die. And this strategy is it. Let's get started. So Brian, what is the most passive way to invest in real estate?

Brian Persson (00:57)

Well, in Canada, the official name is called the exempt securities market. And you may have heard it called private equity or private capital markets, or sometimes even alternative investments. Whatever the name, it is definitely the most passive way to invest in real estate. And so a quick disclosure for the audience out there, I am licensed in the exempt market and the private equities market. So these, ⁓

And some of the things you're going to hear in ⁓ this podcast are actually from my own experience and my own education and my license.

Jessilyn Persson (01:32)

So tell us what is the exempt market?

Brian Persson (01:37)

Right. This is a, this is a big question I get a lot and, you, you get it a lot as well when you're off in your networking circles. Uh, the easiest way to explain it is it's basically the difference between public and private securities. So if you go buy Apple shares off of, you know, from your bank trading platform or your, or whatever securities trading platform you use, that's public securities, private securities.

Operates very very similar. There's just no public trading platform Effectively, I am your trading platform You need to come to me and we need to decide on what securities that you want to buy and then we you know Do things like that any proper financial advisor should do look at your goals, etc, etc Figure out what's right for you. And then we actually transact ⁓ directly through me. So that's really the only difference is there's no trading platform, but ultimately they work very very similar to

how you buy Apple shares or any other kind of shares out there on the public market.

Jessilyn Persson (02:39)

So why would anyone invest in say the private equity versus say stock market?

Brian Persson (02:46)

Yeah, diversification is the way I look at it. So the first level of diversification is that you are no longer invested in the public markets. Now you have some of your money, ⁓ proper diversification, not all of your money, but some of your money inside of the private equities market. And you have basically a level of diversification right there that you are now no longer correlated.

to the public markets, i.e. your money is not tied to the markets going up and down. A recession comes and all the markets fall, it's potential that your private equity's investment is not going to fall because it's not tied to the public sort of sentiment of what they feel the economy or the market is doing at that moment. It's not tied to anything, it's tied to the investments and the assets behind the actual shares.

Jessilyn Persson (03:33)

So what is it tied to?

Brian Persson (03:40)

So when I say not tied to anything, mean publicly and globally not tied to anything. So if you were investing into say a share that or a piece of securities that had real estate behind it, then it is tied to the price of the real estate, maybe the rent, how well the real estate is performing, all the aspects that make real estate a good investment, the share is actually tied to that. So your dividends and your share price are all.

based on the actual performing asset behind what you've invested in.

Jessilyn Persson (04:14)

So could a person get similar returns? And by returns, I mean, there are different ways to make money in real estate, as we always talk about, and when we own it personally. So we always talk about cash flow, mortgage pay down, tax advantage, appreciation, right? Can a person benefit from those same things through the private equities?

Brian Persson (04:37)

They can, there are ways. ⁓ Like, you know, your public equities, there are a couple different ways to do it, primarily appreciation and dividends. You have ⁓ appreciation and dividends in the private equities as well, but you also can get access to things like tax ⁓ write-offs. So there are ways for, there more creative ways and more unique ways for private equities to ⁓ sort of structure their funds.

that can allow you to have better tax advantages. you can get more real estate in the end because it's under your thumb and you have ultimate control over the whole real estate sort of has the most number of ways you can ⁓ get all the advantages of real estate. But then again, you have to do the work. And that's why we're calling this the ultimate sleep at night investing. When you are doing the real estate yourself,

you're not fully asleep at night because it is under your control and you actually have to do the work of the real estate. Gr...