You've heard which asset classes reduce taxes. You've read the marketing. You've seen which syndication sponsors emphasize depreciation and cost segregation. But what if the real story—the one that emerges from actually examining the data—is different from what everyone's selling?
Jeff Hiatt isn't an operator. He's a diagnostician. Since 1996, his firm has completed 28,000 cost segregation studies across every major real estate asset class. That means he's examined multifamily, self-storage, commercial, industrial, hospitality, short-term rentals, triple net leases—thousands of deals, the actual numbers, the real tax implications.
In this episode, Jeff brings The Capital Shift Compass into his office and diagnoses each asset class through the lens of tax efficiency—his specialty. But here's the tension: tax efficiency doesn't exist in a vacuum. It comes with tradeoffs. Some asset classes that promise the biggest depreciation benefits require operational complexity. Others deliver reliable tax shelter but sacrifice equity leverage. And some, frankly, are traps disguised as opportunities.
This isn't about which asset class wins. It's about understanding what the data actually shows when you strip away the marketing and examine the mechanics. If you've been making deployment decisions based on social media advice or FOMO, this conversation is a course correction.
Sometimes the best investment decision isn't choosing the highest-tax-benefit asset. It's understanding what that tax benefit actually costs you in other dimensions.
Episode 8