Evaluating Real Estate Investment Platforms: An In-Depth Look at Roots, BlackStone’s BREIT, and YieldStreet’s Alternative Income Fund

Investing in real estate can be a great option to diversify your portfolio, but getting started can be difficult. Companies like Roots, Blackstone, and YieldStreet make real estate investing accessible and easier to manage via their online REIT investing platforms and products. All platforms offer different minimum investment options and strategies that they use to grow their funds. The decision ultimately comes down to your individual goals and preferences.
If you are looking for low fees, low minimums, and to invest in real estate that has a unique, positive social impact on the renters, Roots is for you.
If you’re an experienced investor, have the time to coordinate with a financial advisor, and want to allocate a larger amount of resources to bet on a REIT, BlackStone’s BREIT may be the right one for you.
If you’re content with a high minimum investment and prefer having a wide variety of choices, Yieldstreet, like it's Alternative Income Fund, might be best for you.
Below you'll find an in-depth breakdown of Roots' REIT, BlackStone's BREIT, and YieldStreet's Alternative Income Fund, highlighting their differences across 4 dimensions: investment minimums, fees, liquidity and social impact.

Investment Type
Roots, YieldStreet, and BlackStone's BREIT each offer a unique portfolio of real estate assets.
BlackStone (BREIT)
Blackstone is the 1000-pound gorilla in any real estate room, and in this case, has a very large “private” non-listed REIT appropriately named BREIT.
BREIT allows individual investors to invest in institutional-grade commercial properties, typically only available to large institutions. BREIT's portfolio is concentrated in high-growth sectors, including data centers, warehouses, student housing, and the fast-growing Sunbelt market.
BREIT is the largest owner of student housing in the United States and also owns QTS, one of the world's fastest-growing data center companies. BREIT also invests in multi-family, single-family, and affordable housing.
YieldStreet
Yieldstreet is a cutting-edge financial services platform that bridges investors to a diverse array of private market opportunities, also known as alternative assets. Unlike traditional investments such as stocks and bonds, Yieldstreet's offerings encompass dynamic sectors like real estate, private equity, venture capital, fine art, transportation, structured notes, and legal finance. Some of these investments are related to real estate, like their Alternative Income Fund, which exposes investors to various sectors like aircraft, residential real estate, and commercial real estate.
Yieldstreet's investment opportunities are a la carte.
Roots
Roots is a private REIT portfolio of single and multi-family residential rental properties, currently in the greater Atlanta area. Roots has a unique model in which renters of Roots' properties can get invested in the fund for being good renters. By simply paying rent on time, taking care of their property, and being a respectful neighbor, a Roots renter can gain tangible equity in the fund, something that's incredibly rare to find in a country where one in four Americans have less than $1,000 in savings.
This model has led to low vacancy, lower turnover costs, and high returns for its investors, all while giving people from all walks of life the opportunity to grow wealth while renting. Roots is subject to financial reporting within SEC guidelines through its REG A designation.
Minimum Investments, Fees & Liquidity
Roots, BlackStone, and YieldStreet make real estate investing easy, but when it comes to fees and liquidity, each company differs significantly.
Roots
Roots allows you to invest with a $100 minimum. With no assets under management (AUM) fees, Roots has a low fee structure, with only a $5 transaction fee for each normal investment and a $3 transaction fee on any recurring investment. If you need to liquidate your funds before one year, there is a 6% early withdrawal fee, but after one year, there are no fees to withdraw.
Roots typically distributes to investors every quarter, and investors have the option to reinvest or cash out their distributions at that point in time. Investors can withdraw up to $100,000 of their investment on a quarterly basis.
BlackStone (BREIT)
Blackstone allows you to invest with a $2,500 minimum for their Class D, S, and T shares and a $1,000,000 minimum investment for their Class I shares. Unlike the other REITs mentioned in this article, Blackstone is open to investors based on a minimum income requirement of $70,000 annually or a net worth of at least $250,000.
Blackstone offers monthly distributions for the BREIT but cautions investors that these are not guaranteed. They have a limited number of repurchases that they choose to make each month or quarter and can potentially choose to repurchase none of the submitted shares.
Blackstone has a 1.25% management fee, a stockholder servicing fee, a selling commission fee, and a high-performance fee.
YieldStreet
Every Yieldstreet investment opportunity has different costs and associated fees. The minimum investment for the Alternative Investment Fund is $10,000 and any additional investments must be at least $1,000. The investment carries a 1.0% annual management fee. The Alternative Investment Fund allows investors to withdraw on a quarterly basis.
Prospective investors should first browse Yieldstreet’s website or talk to a support team member to best understand the entire fee structure.
Performance

All platforms have delivered returns to their investors with Roots generating some great returns.
Roots had returned 13.67% in the last 12 months (January 10, 2024 - January 10, 2025) and has returned 61.00% since its inception from July 1, 2021- January 10, 2025.
Blackstone reports an annualized return of 9.5% since BREIT's inception in 2017. While it has been historically dependable, BREIT had a rough 2024, returning just 2.0%.
Yieldstreet's Alternative Income Fund has seen a return of 6.7% since March of 2020. In 2024, the fund returned 10.2%.
However, it's crucial to note that past performance is not a guarantee of future results. There are always risks in investing, and it's essential to understand them before investing your money.
Ready To Get Started? Invest With Roots
Imagine owning real estate where your renters wanted it to succeed as much as you do.
Start investing with as little as $100, and own a piece of the only REIT that creates wealth for both its investors and its residents. It took us years to build Roots, but you can invest in as little as 5 minutes.

Sources
- BlackStone - Performance
- BlackStone - Investors FAQ
- BlackStone - BREIT Offering Terms
- BlackStone - YahooFinance - Trend of Bad News
- YieldStreet - Essentials
- YieldStreet - Performance
- Roots - Performance
- Roots - Social Impact
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