Real estate investors and entrepreneurs are leaving money and flexibility on the table if they still rely on generic 60/40 planning. Tom Watts breaks down what works when your wealth is tied up in illiquid assets, private funds, and active businesses - and how to build a portfolio that can handle volatility, taxes, and a sale event without forcing bad decisions.

Tom Watts, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Watts Capital, unpacks the financial playbook he uses with clients navigating real estate, private markets, and complex wealth transitions. Tom brings a rare mix of Wall Street experience, deep family real estate roots, and hands-on advisory work across tax, planning, and portfolio construction.

You'll discover why the traditional model breaks down for founders and property owners, how the newer 50-30-20 framework changes the role of alternatives, and why liquidity risk matters just as much as return targets.

We also get into the hard questions that show up after a sale - what to do when a major asset suddenly becomes cash, how to avoid overconcentration in one sector, and how families can use trusts, education, and asset allocation to prevent the classic wealth transfer mistakes. Tom shares how he thinks about AI in the back office, what still drives client growth in a relationship business, and why he believes the next edge in advisory work will come from better systems, not more generic advice.

If you own real estate, advise investors, or are planning for a liquidity event, this episode gives you a sharper way to think about wealth, risk, and long-term control.

LinkedIn can do more than build a brand - it can fill a real estate fund. Zane Schartz explains how Freedom Commercial Real Estate has used content, credibility, and a clearly defined niche to attract investors, raise capital, and scale a portfolio of single-tenant net lease properties across 18 states.

Zane is the president of Freedom Commercial Real Estate and a former chief investment officer who helped oversee $750 million in assets before launching his own firm. In this conversation, he breaks down how he went from the stability of a paycheck to betting on himself, why he chose commercial real estate over other wealth-building paths, and how he built a business around one of the lowest-risk corners of the market.

You'll discover how his team sources deals from brokers, developers, and repeat sellers, why investment-grade tenants like Starbucks, Bank of America, Chipotle, and Dollar General make the strategy so resilient, and how triple net leases help create cash flow with less day-to-day risk. He also shares why his investors care most about capital preservation, why his funds are designed around consistency instead of headline-grabbing returns, and how depreciation and cash flow make the math compelling for high-income professionals.

We also get into the bigger picture behind the strategy: when real estate makes sense versus stocks, why now may be an attractive window for buying, and how tokenization could eventually change access to private investments. Zane shares his view on where the market is headed, what regulations could unlock next, and why the future of investing may be more global and more liquid than ever.

If you're a real estate investor, a high-income professional looking for tax-efficient cash flow, or someone trying to turn content into deal flow, this episode is packed with practical insight. It is especially relevant if you want to understand how a focused niche, strong underwriting, and smart distribution can turn into a durable capital-raising engine.

If you are interested in this fund, contact info@yildai.com or contact Zane directly and let him know you came from "The Deal & The Dirt" for a special offer.

Zane Schartz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zaneschartz/

#investing #realestate #REI #financialfreedom

Tokenization was supposed to unlock instant liquidity. Instead, Edwin Mata argues the real breakthrough is something more powerful: access, compliance, and smarter capital formation.

Edwin, CEO and co-founder of Brickken, breaks down why the biggest misconception in tokenization is chasing liquidity first. If you’re a real estate developer, fund manager, or investor trying to raise capital across borders, this conversation shows how tokenization actually works when it is built around the underlying financial product, not the hype.

You’ll hear how Edwin went from 10+ years as an M&A lawyer to building a global tokenization platform after discovering blockchain in 2018. He explains why real estate is only one use case, why private credit and debt may be even more compelling, and why compliance never disappears just because the rails are digital.

We break down:

• Why tokenization did not create liquidity, but did create accessibility
• How compliant fundraising works across the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America
• Why you should sell the financial product, not the token
• How tokenization expands your investor base instead of replacing your existing LPs
• Why AI agents may become the real democratizing force in capital markets

Edwin also shares how Brickken is using software, blockchain, and AI to help sponsors onboard investors, distribute earnings, generate real-time NAV reporting, and match better opportunities with better capital. The result is a faster, more efficient fundraising process for products that are actually investable.

If you care about real estate capital markets, private credit, cross-border investing, or the future of AI-powered finance, this episode gives you the clearest, most practical view of where the market is really headed.

Perfect for founders, developers, fundraisers, and investors who want to understand what tokenization can actually do today, and why the next wave may be driven less by crypto and more by execution.

If you want to work with Brickken or get a Demo, mention "The Deal & The Dirt" or reach out to info@yildai.com for more information and special offers.

Edwin Mata: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinmata/

Brickken: https://www.brickken.com/