Michael Underhill

Michael Underhill, Founder and CIO, Capital Innovations: Waiting is not a strategy — it’s surrender. Investors should deploy a mix of Real Assets, options overlays, commodity exposure (think infrastructure-linked energy inputs), and selectively structured credit. We’re also integrating private market exposures with longer-term real assets to dampen volatility while capturing durable alpha. 

Warren Thomas, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, ExchangeRight: Periods of heightened volatility often can lead to inaction, precisely when disciplined positioning is most critical. For long-term investors, proactive risk management is not about timing the market but about allocating capital to the right assets in the right structure. This is why we concentrate on necessity-based, net-leased real estate, particularly through diversified portfolios such as the Essential Income REIT.

Warren Thomas

Keith Lampi

Keith Lampi, CEO and President of Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation: Volatility is a reflection of risk and uncertainty, which also creates opportunities for well-capitalized and experienced investors. At Inland, we are pursuing high quality assets in sectors that have less correlation to overall economic growth like Healthcare, Senior Housing, Multifamily, Self-Storage, and Student Housing. Further hedging volatility, we believe in utilizing a long-term investment horizon and capitalizing deals with long-term, fixed rate debt at moderate leverage points, or with no leverage at all. 

Michael Lee, Partner, HKS Real Estate Partners: Tariffs haven’t had an immediate or direct impact on real estate, but they’ve certainly introduced a level of uncertainty that makes clients more cautious. We’re seeing more conservative underwriting across the board. Some groups have responded by shifting away from ground-up development in favor of lighter value-add or adaptive reuse strategies, which offer more flexibility. When every input feels like a moving target, flexibility becomes the most valuable strategy. 

Michael Lee

Jake Heidkamp

Jake Heidkamp, Principal, Co-President, FactRight: We are not seeing material implications in most of the funds we track which skew towards U.S. real estate, and private credit.  We track a few funds that focus on lower middle market private equity and a few of their portfolio companies are on high alert, predominantly when it comes to raw materials manufacturing inputs as most of their sales are to U.S. customers. 

Ganesh Sakshi, CFO, Mountain V Oil & Gas: Yes, tariff uncertainty—especially around steel, aluminum, and Chinese imports—affects oilfield services, pipe costs, and equipment sourcing. At Mountain V, we hedge exposure by favoring U.S.-based suppliers and maintaining a strong inventory position. Strategically, this volatility reaffirms the value of domestic energy security and long-lived assets. For investors, it underscores the importance of direct ownership in U.S. oil and gas over foreign-exposed industrials. We’re emphasizing long-cycle value over short-term speculation, with a focus on efficient, tariff-insulated basins like Appalachia. 

Ganesh Sakshi