Calkain Cos.

"We felt that it was important to institute a completely separate entity in order to accommodate clients in need of attention to their precise requirements in this very exclusive investment classification," Hipp explains. "Our institutional division will be able to deliver a tangible advantage to investors seeking to either dispose of or acquire assets that are above private investors' conventional transactional range." Another industry player, Joel Kahn, has been tapped to serve as managing director for the new entity.

Calkain Institutional Advisors' first act was to bring an 11-property, six-state retail portfolio, occupied by Havertys Furniture Inc., to the open market. "There is a tremendous upside potential based on the market demographics and quality of each area in which the assets are located," Hipp says. "The absolute bond master-leased portfolio is a rare and unique asset type within today's investment market and is typical of the offerings that our institutional division will feature."