Real estate investment management is a complex and multifaceted business. For real estate investment management companies managing multiple funds, this means that technology solutions must support the business in a customizable, flexible way.

Designed for the most sophisticated investment management firms with more complex technology needs, we’re pleased to introduce AppFolio Investment Manager Premier. With the addition of a host of powerful and AI-driven features designed to propel your business to new heights, AppFolio Investment Manager Premier provides everything you’d expect from the leading investment management platform. Whether your firm has millions or billions of dollars in assets under management, AppFolio Investment Manager Premier is built for you.

Foundations for success

Before we dive into some of the more advanced functionalities present in AppFolio Investment Manager Premier, let’s cover some of the most important features that put the platform at the center of your business.

Investor portal and secure communication tools

Relying on email, spreadsheets, or limited solutions built in-house for managing investor communications can lead to inefficiencies. An intuitive and user-friendly investor portal is essential in investment management software. It not only grants investors round-the-clock access to their accounts and data but also significantly reduces the burden on GPs by minimizing routine inquiries and reporting requests. Investors can enjoy greater control and transparency over their investments, while GPs can allocate more time to other critical tasks.

Accurate distribution calculations

Calculating and managing investor distributions in real estate investment can be very complex. Real estate investments often involve complicated distribution structures, including preferred returns, waterfall structures, and carried interest. Accurately calculating distributions according to these structures requires meticulous attention to detail and a deep understanding of the terms of each investment agreement.

Automated calculations can handle different distribution structures and allow for the customization of distribution rules to match the specific terms of each investment. The software can also integrate with other financial systems to pull in real-time data on revenues, expenses, and capital events, ensuring that distribution calculations are based on the most current and accurate financial information. As your portfolio grows, the software can easily handle an increasing number of distributions and investors.

Bank-grade security

“Bank-grade security” in software refers to a very high level of security measures that are comparable to those used by banks and financial institutions, which are often targets of cyberattacks and require much more robust security protocols. Bank-grade security features include:

• Encryption: Data is encoded so that only authorized users can read it
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): An additional layer of security beyond just a username and password. It might include sending a code to a mobile device or biometric verification, like a fingerprint.
• Anti-fraud systems and anomaly detection: These systems monitor for suspicious activity and flag anomalies that could indicate a security breach, such as unusual login locations or patterns.

An investment management platform built for growth

These features — investor portal and secure communication tools, distribution calculators, and bank-grade security — should be standard in any real estate investment management software. But as your business grows, so do your technology needs, often requiring advanced features and functionalities. To support your needs as your business grows, AppFolio Investment Manager Premier includes these next-level features:

Maintain brand consistency and build trust

As your firm grows, so does the importance of brand consistency and professionalism — which means a one-size-fits-all approach to branding is not ideal. AppFolio Investment Manager Premier gives you the ability to customize your investor portal URL to reinforce your brand identity and build trust, which is vital in the investment management industry.

A custom URL is also typically easier to remember and more intuitive for your investors, which can improve user engagement. Investors are more likely to regularly check and interact with a portal they can easily find and recall.

Unlock ultimate flexibility to visualize your data anywhere

The ability to export raw SQL files to third-party business intelligence (BI) solutions gives you maximum flexibility for data analysis and decision-making. SQL export enables seamless integration with advanced analytics and data visualization tools, including Power BI, Snowflake, and Tableau that allow for a deeper and more customized examination of investment data. And when merging your AppFolio Investment Manager data with other data sources, you gain a greater ability to uncover hidden trends, forecast market movements, and find actionable insights. The flexibility to visualize your data within any business intelligence tool means that your investment firm can choose the best-in-class analytics platforms suited to your specific needs. And with an automatic nightly export of your entire database, as well as a daily backup of your data, you’ll always have access to the most recent performance indicators.

Keep your data continuously in sync across every system your business relies on

As your firm grows, it’s likely that the number of different tech solutions your team uses to maintain business operations will also grow. But keeping these systems in sync is crucial — and especially so is making sure that all that data is connected to your business’s main system of record. With AppFolio Investment Manager Premier, you can seamlessly connect your existing apps via Zapier to minimize change management and maximize operational efficiency.

By connecting your systems to your AppFolio database, you can reduce double data entry for your team and reliably store investor information across multiple systems without the inaccuracy and inefficiency of downloading information to upload across apps. You can even connect your investor portal to other email services. Zapier is compatible with 5,000+ apps, including Salesforce, Hubspot, Mailchimp, and Excel, which means the sky’s the limit when it comes to customization.

API Access

Granting comprehensive API access to all investor, investment, and financial information within your account allows you to leverage your data to its fullest potential.

The benefits of API integration are manifold. Firstly, unprecedented access to your database via the API is akin to possessing a private key to a treasure chest filled with your own data. This level of connectivity allows for direct interaction with your information, streamlining operations that previously required multiple steps or manual intervention. Furthermore, the uniqueness of your business necessitates tailor-made solutions that align with your specific needs and goals. API access empowers you to customize and enhance your use of the Investment Manager software, enabling the creation of bespoke solutions that perfectly fit your business model.

Efficiency is another critical advantage. The capability to automate data retrieval and manipulation processes not only saves time but also significantly reduces the resources traditionally expended in manual data management. This efficiency gain allows you and your team to focus on strategic decision-making and core business activities rather than getting bogged down in operational details. Lastly, in an era where the digital landscape is continuously evolving, having API access ensures that your business remains adaptable and competitive. It future-proofs your operations by providing the means to quickly implement new features, integrate with emerging technologies, and respond to the ever-changing demands of the market.

Keep track of the details that matter so you can leave a lasting impression

To build and grow relationships with your investors, you need to cultivate connections — and that means knowing what matters uniquely to them as individuals. Customized fields for investor contact information ensure that you’re capturing all the relevant information necessary for effective communication and investor relations management. For example, you can create specific fields to track investor attributes, such as t-shirt size or favorite sports team.

Discover AppFolio Investment Manager Premier

If you’re an AppFolio customer, contact your account manager to learn more and to see if AppFolio Investment Manager Premier is a good fit for your business. If you’re not an AppFolio customer and would like to see how our one powerful platform can help your business reach new heights, then sign up now for a free customized product demo.