Like other non-traded REITs, the new Cole investment vehicles will offer shares available through registered investment advisors and broker/dealers that charge their clients a fee for their services. Cole Capital Corp., an affiliate of the sponsor, Cole Real Estate Investments, will be the dealer manager of each offering and will offer the shares of each company on a best efforts basis.

According to SEC filings, the purchase price will be equal to that company’s net asset value, or NAV, divided by the number of common shares outstanding for that company, as of the end of business on each day (NAV per share). The calculation of each company’s NAV will be based principally on the market value of the company’s real estate portfolio, as determined by an independent valuation expert.

Cole’s decision to allow investors to trade in and out of their shares and to value the shares on a daily basis addresses the main concerns usually voiced by non-traded REIT critics, according to industry experts. For years, non-traded REITs have been criticized for their lack of liquidity and have been accused of being sold at valuations that have little to do with current market conditions.

In fact, financial advisors often warn their clients away from non-traded REITs, pointing to issues with liquidity and pricing. Nonetheless, investors have flocked to non-traded REITs over the past few years.

In fact, investment volume into non-traded REITs has reached an all-time high: non-traded REITs have raised $5.1 billion from the sale of their shares through August, up 30.8% from a year ago, according to Robert A. Stanger & Co., a Shrewsbury NJ-based investment banking firm that specializes in the direct investment securities markets. On average, they're raising $650 million per month, up from $560 million per month at the beginning of the year.