CHICAGO—Forming a new enterprise out of existing businesses can be a bit of a risk. There are always questions about how the various components will fit together or whether a culture clash will occur when once-separate staffs begin collaborating. But when done thoughtfully, the new organization can provide advantages, and not just ones that rely on simple size.

Capri EGM, for example, a joint venture formed in 2014 by Capri Capital Partners, LLC with Equity Global Management, brought together two Chicago-area groups working in different sectors. Capri has specialized in multifamily and multifamily mixed-use investments for decades on behalf of major institutional investors, while EGM focuses on significant net lease, sale-leaseback and build-to-suit real estate investments in office, industrial and retail properties.

But Shelby E. L. Pruett, co-chairman and chief executive officer of Capri EGM, tells GlobeSt.com that in the past year or so the partnership has given this new company almost unique insights as it navigates the US market.

"We've been peers in the business for a very long time, and we've talked about doing something together for about ten years," he says. And now that the combined venture "has cross pollinization of all the different disciplines which we work in," EGM has access to Capri's intelligence on the multifamily market, which has become a valuable tool when predicting where to pursue net lease opportunities.

"Where markets are shrinking or expanding can be seen by the volume of transactions on the multifamily side," says Pruett. And rather than just looking at raw projections, company researchers can take a deep dive into the data and pull out the exact numbers which will show where to make the best long-term, income-producing investments. "When an suburban area sees growing demand for garden-style apartments or developers concentrate on building units downtown or near an urban core, that has a clear parallel, at least on the office side, on where companies are expanding." Furthermore, this type of in-depth analysis also helps pinpoint where distributors such as Amazon will want to build new industrial facilities to serve growing populations.

Pruett adds that Capri has also brought a great deal of expertise in broad-based economic research and trend analysis. As reported in GlobeSt.com, in 2014 Capri named real estate economist Dr. Sam Chandan as a partner, and its chief strategy officer and global head of strategy and research. A contributor to GlobeSt.com, Chandan also joined the firm's investment committee.

"It all helps us make better investment decisions," Pruett says. And he believes that there aren't too many competitors that can match this level of cross-sector expertise. Angelo, Gordon & Co. is one of the few investors he can point to that operates with a similar concept, as net lease properties are part of its broad platform, which also includes the multifamily sector. "But the one-off shops don't have these capabilities."

Tommorow: Pruett will discuss where he believes the US net lease sector is headed and why it makes sense to use it for long-term investments.