- DST equity raised reached $7.5B through September, up 27% from $5.9B in the same period last year, according to Mountain Dell Consulting.
- Ares Real Estate Exchange leads sponsors with just under $1.5B, or 19.3% of activity, followed by Blue Owl at $626M and ExchangeRight at $619M.
- Industrial assets account for 39% of DST equity and multifamily 22%, even as September fundraising of $357M trailed last September’s $461M.
U.S. investors have put more than $1B more into Delaware statutory trusts this year than they did over the same period in 2025, according to Bisnow.
DST equity totaled $7.5B through the end of September, a 27% increase from $5.9B raised through September last year, per Mountain Dell Consulting. AltsWire first reported the news.
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Why DSTs Keep Growing
DSTs let individuals pool funds into commercial real estate and own fractional interests while fund managers handle the asset. Investors, especially aging baby boomers, use them to invest passively and defer capital gains taxes.
The surge in popularity has pushed more institutional firms to build DST platforms to meet the demand.
Ares Leads the Sponsor Ranking
Ares Real Estate Exchange is the most active sponsor this year, having raised just under $1.5B, or 19.3% of overall DST activity, according to Mountain Dell’s September report.
Blue Owl Capital and ExchangeRight Real Estate rank second and third with $626M and $619M. Hines Real Estate Exchange, which launched its DST platform in September 2022, has raised $590.6M this year.
Industrial Takes the Biggest Share
Industrial assets account for 39% of all DST equity raised this year. Multifamily makes up 22%, and retail ranks third at 8%.
That split shows where sponsors are finding assets that fit a tax-deferred buyer base. Industrial has also driven the broader small-cap sales recovery this year.
A Softer September
Fundraising did slow in the latest month. DST equity raised in September came to $357M, down from $461M in September 2025, per Mountain Dell.
The year-to-date total still leads last year by a wide margin, and a single weaker month does not change that.
Why It Matters
DSTs have become a steady source of private capital for sponsors at a time when other funding is harder to find. The channel also ties into the broader shift in alternatives, a trend CRE Daily has tracked as alts fundraising moves toward hard assets.
A growing roster of institutional sponsors suggests competition for investor dollars will intensify.
What’s Next
Watch whether the fourth quarter can close the gap left by September’s slower month and whether additional institutional firms launch DST platforms.
Sponsor concentration is worth tracking too, since the top three firms together raised about $2.7B of the $7.5B total.
