May 6, 2025
Real estate investing has always been a reliable way to build wealth, but today, the landscape is rapidly evolving, with innovative platforms offering new ways to participate.
Whether you're looking for residential rental properties, commercial real estate loans, or fractional shares in individual homes, platforms like Roots, Concreit, EquityMultiple, and Gatsby Investment provide unique options for investors at different levels.
For those looking for a low entry point, low fees, and to invest in residential real estate that has a unique, positive social impact on its renters, Roots is for you.
If you're looking for more flexibility in your investments, Concreit may suit you best, as you can purchase fractional shares of properties or invest in a diversified portfolio of various real estate properties.
EquityMultiple caters to those seeking investments in commercial real estate or those interested in generating returns through mortgage loans.
If you’re an accredited investor seeking aggressive returns in the Los Angeles real estate market, especially through multifamily and development projects, Gatsby Investment might suit you best.
Let’s break down Roots, Concreit's Cash Flow Fund, EquityMultiple's Ascent Income Fund, and Gatsby Investment across three dimensions: minimum investment, liquidity, and social impact.
Roots
Roots' REIT offers a portfolio of residential properties focused on the workforce housing segment currently in Atlanta and Augusta, GA, with expansion plans across the Southeast. What sets Roots apart is its unique "win-win" model, where good renters (those who pay rent on time and take care of the property) can also become investors in the fund. This strategy has led to low vacancy, low turnover costs, and historically high returns for investors.
Concreit
Concreit offers fractional ownership in residential real estate, giving investors access to individual rental properties, or they can invest in the Cash Flow Fund. This fund allocates 75% of its portfolio to short-term debt notes, and the remaining 25% is invested in mid-term equity positions.
EquityMultiple
EquityMultiple allows accredited investors to invest in fractional shares of commercial real estate or portfolios like the Ascent Income Fund, which will be the focus of this comparison. The Ascent Income Fund focuses on first-mortgage loans, providing opportunities to invest in property loans that span across different sectors.
Gatsby Investment
Gatsby Investment targets residential and multi-family real estate in the greater Los Angeles area. The platform provides accredited investors the opportunity to participate in high-growth markets, focusing on both rental and development projects.
Minimum Investments, Fees & Liquidity
Roots
Roots allows you to invest with a $100 minimum, making it highly accessible. With no assets under management fees, Roots has a low fee structure. Roots only charges a $5 transaction fee per investment but drops to a $3 transaction fee for recurring investments. With Roots+, there are no transaction fees, so more of your money goes to work. Early withdrawals within the first year incur an 8% fee, but after one year, there are no fees for withdrawals.
Roots has historically distributed profits to investors every quarter, giving them the option to reinvest or cash out. Liquidity is available quarterly, allowing investors to withdraw up to $100,000.
Concreit
Concreit is highly accessible, with a minimum investment of just $1. The platform charges a flat $5 monthly fee for accounts under $5,000, and a 1.0% annual fee for accounts over $5,000.
Investors can withdraw from the Concreit Cash Flow Fund on a monthly basis; however, if any shares are liquidated within the first year of investment, a 20% penalty will be applied to all dividends earned on those shares up to the withdrawal date. Once shares are liquidated, the funds must then settle before they can be withdrawn.
EquityMultiple
EquityMultiple requires a $5,000 minimum investment to participate in its Ascent Income Fund.
EquityMultiple has various fees depending on the investment type, including an administrative fee between $30 and $70 for all of their offerings. Debt and preferred equity offerings come with a servicing fee of around 1%. Fund investments may also include an Origination Fee, which is paid upfront.
Liquidity is limited, as investors are locked in for one year.
Gatsby Investment
Gatsby Investment has a $10,000 minimum investment and is only open to accredited investors. Fees vary by project but typically include development and service fees. For rental properties, investors receive quarterly distributions, while development projects pay out lump sums after the completion of the sale.
When it comes to liquidity, an investor is committed to the fund until the specified timeline for each investment.
Performance
Roots
Roots targets annual returns of 12–15%. It has met or exceeded this goal every year, delivering a 12.6% return over the past year (May 7, 2024 – May 6, 2025) and an average annual return of 17.2% since inception (July 1, 2021 – May 6, 2025). Dive into Roots' historical performance here.
EquityMultiple
EquityMultiple’s Ascent Income Fund has an 11-13% target annual return. Investors benefit from the stability of first mortgage loans backed by commercial real estate, though liquidity is limited during the investment period.
Concreit
Concreit's Cash Flow fund targets an annual return rate of 5.5%.
Gatsby Investment
At the time of writing, Gatsby Investment has not published data on its target returns. The returns vary from user to user as they are dependent on the properties the user invests in. Gatsby Investment reports historical annualized returns on individual properties ranging from 10-25%. It has an average annual return of 22% from 2017-2024 across all of its properties.
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
With a $100 minimum investment and a one-of-a-kind model that builds wealth for both investors and renters, Roots is a great opportunity for those seeking positive social impact alongside strong returns. Start investing today, in just 5 minutes.
Sources
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