Three numbers to check before you trust a private credit REIT's payout
Three numbers to check before you trust a private credit REIT's payout
Goldman Sachs and Fortress both launched private real estate credit REITs for wealthy clients in the last two years. This week I read both funds' filings end to end. They pay about 7% to 8% a year. Here is the checklist I used, and what each fund's own numbers show.
1. Is the payout earned, and from what?
Compare distributions declared with net income, then ask where the income comes from. Fortress Credit Realty Income Trust declared $52.0 million in the first half of 2026 against $47.8 million of net income. Goldman Sachs Real Estate Finance Trust covered its $20.7 million, but $8.9 million of its $19.1 million of income was loan origination fees, booked the day a loan is made.
2. How much debt sits under your share?
Divide total debt by NAV. Goldman's fund: $1.68 billion against $582 million, about 2.9 times. Fortress: about 1.6 times, after an August CLO in which it kept the first-loss slice.
3. Who is ahead of you at the exit?
Both cap repurchases at 5% of NAV a quarter. At Fortress, 69% of NAV sits in early share classes whose two-year lock-up ends over the coming year. At Goldman's fund, one holder owns 21% of the votes and can ask to be repurchased from January 6, 2027.
None of this says either fund is in trouble. Both have paid every repurchase request so far. It tells you what to look for in the next two quarterly reports.
Read the Goldman Sachs breakdown
If you hold one of these, or a fund like them, reply and tell me which of the three you would check first. I read every reply.
— Jorge