Twenty-eight undergraduate students were selected for the first class of the J. Wesley Rogers Real Estate Investment Fund at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business.

The managed investment fund course began this month. Students research and underwrite private-market investment opportunities and present recommendations to the fund’s investment board.

The fund was made possible through a $2 million gift from Terry alumnus and Landmark Properties Chairman and CEO Wes Rogers (BBA ’99, MBA ’04). It gives students experience throughout the investment process, including sourcing deals, underwriting acquisitions, monitoring investments after closing, and presenting recommendations. Students evaluate potential investments and make recommendations within a professional governance framework.

“We are grateful for a gift that puts our students on the private side of real estate investing, an experiential learning opportunity that most real estate programs cannot offer,” said Ryan Dietz, Senior Lecturer in the Real Estate Program and faculty advisor for the fund. “They are applying their coursework to live deals, and the returns they generate will support real estate students for years after they graduate.”

Faculty and industry leaders are establishing the investment board, which reviews and approves investment recommendations before capital is deployed through the UGA Foundation. The board guides students through professional underwriting standards and investment reviews.

The fund is seeking private-market real estate investments in which it can take a passive equity position, typically as a limited partner or co-investor alongside an established sponsor or operator. The focus is on equity investments, generally in the $25,000 to $100,000 range, across a variety of domestic commercial property types and investment strategies. The fund is deploying existing capital rather than raising new capital.

Rhodes Kleiber, a Terry College senior majoring in real estate and finance, was named the inaugural president of the Rogers Real Estate Investment Fund.

“Our goal is to deploy the first portion of this capital provided by Mr. Rogers into an investment that we’re confident in bringing to the investment committee,” Kleiber said. “We want to create a foundation with this inaugural class that will have a big impact on the fund to come.

Program leaders are encouraging real estate professionals to submit investment opportunities for consideration by contacting Dr. Dietz at [email protected].