Assetmonk: Disrupting & Simplifying Grade-A Real Estate Investments in India Via Fractional Ownership

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Assetmonk.

Traditionally, real estate investments have always been a part of Indian investing trends. It was a custom to own a house for rental purposes, and pass it on to the next generation or sell it for a profit and continue the loop. But, the thought of investing in commercial real estate rarely occurs. Some prominent reasons for this might be large ticket sizes (commercial real estate assets come with a heavy price burden), lack of awareness about quality real estate assets, and the time-taking process of asset management.

Being one of the highest yielding asset classes, the core team of Assetmonk had a pressing question - why should everyday investors, who proactively invest in stocks, mutual funds, gold, etc, be denied a chance to invest in commercial real estate?

As an attempt to offer a solution, Assetmonk, a wealth-tech platform, was founded in 2019 to popularize a new alternative investment class and democratize commercial real estate investing with fractional ownership. A concept that is new to the Indian market and holds immense potential to disrupt the investing habits of Indians. Driven by Surya Pulagam and Prudhvi Chinta, the startup has now become a thought leader in the industry with asset-backed wealth management. They have now made commercial real estate investments possible with a budget of just INR 10 lakhs and upwards, with a promise of higher returns. In this article, you'll discover how Assetmonk was conceptualized, its growth, future plans, business model, funding, and more.

Assetmonk - Company Highlights

Assetmonk - About and Vision

Assetmonk offers carefully vetted assets that are customized to meet the objectives of different investors. Its objective-oriented products are designed to cover a large spectrum of investors with different objectives, may it be value appreciation, regular passive income, or diversification of risk. Assetmonk's real estate investment plans go through strict due diligence and expert evaluation to make the investment process as secure and safe as possible.

The vision behind Assetmonk is simple - to transform the largest and the oldest asset class to become more investment-friendly and make real estate investments accessible to more and more investors. Due to the high-ticket sizes, unavailability of reliable instrument vehicles, and enough knowledge, the high-quality assets and deals with higher returns have remained elusive for most regular investors for a very long time. Hence, Assetmonk works to break the stereotype and make real estate investments a smooth and transparent experience for every investor.

Assetmonk - Industry Details

The industry will move towards transparency, structured processes, and disruptive regulations like RERA that are boosting investment deals. The fractional real estate market opens doors for small investors and builders to promote growth and unlock value both for the investors and the owners, which worked out in countries like the USA. The Indian market is witnessing similar growth, with the help of REITS, building stability and attractiveness to commercial real estate.

Assetmonk - Idea & Inspiration

The real estate sector in India has always been unstructured and unorganized. Yet, it’s one of the largest asset classes that lack educational awareness. With more than a decade of experience in the sector, dealing with large fund houses and the numerous interactions with smaller investors, they now have an understanding that there is a need for a platform to simplify the complex and opaque transactions that dominate the market with a data-driven approach. Assetmonk is determined to streamline the selection process, democratize commercial asset classes and good quality deals for smaller investors.

The startup simplifies asset acquisition on the basis of a 100 point checklist called AssetScan, ensuring transparency, responsiveness, and eliminating the chaos associated with asset management.

Assetmonk prides itself on being a thought leader in real estate investment and asset-backed wealth management. This expertise came as a result of thorough market research by interacting with potential investors/NRI, buyers, and commercial builders. The initial response, once Assetmonk went to the market last year, was promising, which pushed it to expand further.

Assetmonk - Product and USP

The primary vision behind setting up Assetmonk was making Real Estate Investments enjoyable and easier to understand for investors with smaller ticket sizes but aspire for great quality returns or don’t have the time/ awareness for the same.

Assetmonk provides a reliable and investor-friendly tech platform that is accessible to all investors and strives to democratize real estate investments. It strives to bring high-end commercial real estate properties on the platform which would be inaccessible to independent investors otherwise. To the team at Assetmonk, every investor’s investment comfort is very important to them. To serve their needs, the startup offers a broad spectrum of investment opportunities to investors. At the end of the day, Assetmonk does all the hard work wherein the investors only reap the rewards of their returns hassle-free while tracking the investment performance through an intuitive dashboard.

Few of the points that make Assetmonk stand out  -

• A thorough 100-point due diligence process for asset listing
• A diverse product portfolio for investors with different risk propensity
• Robust dashboard for real-time updates and tracking
• Efficient asset management till the exit/sale for a favorable value
• All compliances and transactions are managed by the platform
• Data Analytics led investment decisions

Assetmonk - Founders and Team

Assetmonk is the brainchild of Surya Pulagam. After his successful stint as the Managing Director at Electronics Art, he set up the Incor Group along with a partner from the previous stint. After scaling up the real estate entity to a large size, he went on to set up other entities including a health care chain and a coliving firm. Surya felt the need to transform the real estate industry in India by bringing order to the chaos and democratizing it through technology and fractional ownership. Together with Prudhvi Chinta as the COO of Assetmonk, who is passionate about bringing the technology to the idea, the duo aims to make commercial real estate accessible to everyone and optimize asset management.

Presently, Assetmonk functions as a separate business with 30 employees and a presence in three Indian metropolitan cities, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai.

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Assetmonk - Name, Tagline and Logo

Real estate is driven a lot by the market sentiments and many times does not follow the proven method of due diligence, information assimilation, and an objective decision. Hence, there is a need for someone knowledgeable and objective, like a monk. Thus, the name Assetmonk in real estate resonates with a team of experts working in the background, powering the monk to help people make smart investment decisions.

• Tagline - 'Growing together' symbolizes fractional ownership.
• Logo - Sections of a pie also symbolize fractional ownership and the value of sharing.

Assetmonk - Startup Launch

The initial plan was to go about with physical on-ground events, but COVID-19 shifted the team's focus to digital practices to find interesting investors and help them invest and track their investments. Other sources of business are a strong partner network, re-investments from existing investors, and referrals. The repeat interactions indicate the investor's satisfaction level and put the team in the confident spot in terms of the business direction taken.

Assetmonk's strategy is quite straightforward. No compromise attitude towards selecting the quality assets, relentless focus on investor returns and security, customer service, and transparency (sharing updates about investments via asset tracking dashboard). The team ensures attractive returns and profit margins, seamless investor and post-investment experience, and absolute investor relationship management.

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Assetmonk - Challenges Faced

Stepping into an unorganized sector, the startup's major challenge was establishing trust and bringing awareness about this modern ideology of real estate investment, as opposed to traditional investing models that the public is accustomed to but unhappy with.

Assetmonk - Business Model & Revenue Model

To sustain the functions, Assetmonk’s revenue model consists of asset management fees and performance fees on exit. Assetmonk eliminates the hassle of property ownership by being involved from the start to the end, right from discovery to exit. Apart from an asset management fee, a performance fee is levied on the profit earned from the rental proceedings of the property.

Assetmonk - Funding and Investors

Assetmonk has raised funds from a strategic investor, who brings in a good amount of domain expertise and access to the assets to the table and fits in well as a long-term partner.

Assetmonk - Achievements

The participation of investors from multiple countries, a channel partner network, and a very healthy reinvestment rate stands as a testimony for Aseetmonk's progress.

The latest addition is The Landing, India’s first-ever co-living venture at Hyderabad International Airport, where it designed the investment structure, educated the audience, and came on board as asset managers in the long term. It’s an aesthetically designed infrastructure with top-notch amenities like a microbrewery, health clubs, co-working space, F&B, and abundant networking opportunities.

Assetmonk - FAQs

What is Assetmonk?

Assetmonk prides itself on being a thought leader in real estate investment and asset-backed wealth management. It strives to bring high-end commercial real estate properties on the platform which would be inaccessible to independent investors otherwise.

Who is the founder of Assetmonk?

Surya Pulagam and Prudhvi Chinta are the founders of Assetmonk.

How does Assetmonk make money?

Assetmonk’s revenue model consists of asset management fees and asset performance fees.

What is the tagline of Assetmonk?

'Growing Together' is the tagline of Assetmonk. It symbolizes fractional ownership.