CEO Levi Benkert of Harbor Capital has masterfully cultivated trust with his LPs through radical transparency and a rigorously disciplined strategy, transforming early $50,000 investments into multi-million dollar commitments for Harbor Capital’s first Industrial fund. We sat down with Levi to discuss how this disciplined approach powers his firm’s performance.
Q: Levi! Thanks so much for your time. Congratulations to Harbor Capital on launching its first industrial fund, a $205 million platform with a $150 million commitment from a major global asset manager. Why was it the right time to bring this fund to market?
Benkert: There’s never a perfect macro moment to launch a fund. The market is always shifting, but great deals are always available if you are deeply embedded in a market and know every transaction that takes place. That is where we live.
The timing is right for us not because of the headlines, but because our deal flow is fully proprietary. Roughly 90% of what we buy is off-market, found through long-standing relationships with owners, brokers, and operators who know we close. When you build that level of trust in a market, you see opportunities others do not.
Another major reason we can raise a fund of this size is because our investors trust us. That trust was earned over years of doing exactly what we said we would do and delivering strong returns. Many of our largest investors today started with $50,000 checks years ago and have since grown those commitments into $10 million or even at times $20 million across our portfolio. Our investors have seen us roll up our sleeves and execute through different market environments, and that track record gives them confidence to scale with us.
This fund is not a reaction to the cycle. It is the result of years of groundwork. The deep relationships, disciplined underwriting, and local expertise we have built across Texas allow us to move quickly and with conviction.
Q: You’ve built Harbor around a deep focus on Texas industrial assets, specifically sub-200,000-square-foot buildings. Why that size, why Texas, and why industrial as the target sector?
Benkert: We are hyperfocused on this niche because Texas is a rare combination of scale, velocity, and cost advantage. Population and job growth are durable. The business climate is pro-growth. Logistics is unmatched because Texas sits at the front door of North American supply chains.
Nearshoring to Mexico is accelerating, and Texas has become the gateway for those goods. Laredo is now the top U.S. port by trade volume. Freight flows up the I-35 corridor from Monterrey through San Antonio and into Austin and DFW. That movement is driving sustained demand for infill warehouses, shallow bay distribution, and functional flex space.
Texas is winning because it is positioned at the intersection of global trade, domestic migration, and infrastructure investment. The entire state is seeing economic momentum that is long-term and structural, not cyclical.
We focus on sub-200,000-square-foot buildings first because they are the workhorses of local commerce, and second because they have not been overbuilt the way large warehouse space has. They are too small to attract most institutional capital and too operationally complex for many private buyers. That is the gap where mispricing lives. Our edge comes from sourcing relationally, acquiring below replacement cost, executing practical capex, and leasing quickly to tenants we already know.
The fund is built to repeat that same playbook in a tight set of Texas submarkets we know deeply. Our advantage comes from knowing every corner of these markets, having real relationships with the people who own and occupy the buildings, and moving faster than anyone else when opportunity appears.
Q: Fundraising has been tough across private real estate, yet you’re successfully raising from both institutions and individual investors. How have you approached those conversations differently?
Benkert: We have always grown through results, not marketing. Many of our largest investors today started with $50,000 checks years ago. They reinvested because we delivered and communicated consistently.
That is our playbook. Over communicate, perform, and let trust compound. This fund combines that foundation of long-term LP relationships with the scale of an institutional anchor. An anchor commitment from one of the largest global asset managers in the world validated our strategy, but it was earned through years of disciplined execution in one market. We are in the season of sitting in the shade of trees we planted a long time ago. Every cycle of transparency and delivery has created deeper alignment and larger commitments.
Q: You’ve described Harbor’s edge as “using speed as pricing power.” Your IC includes folks from heavyweights like PIMCO and Morgan Stanley, another advantage. First, how correlated is your team's background with the speed of decision-making? Second, what does using "speed as pricing power" look like when you’re sourcing or closing deals?
Benkert: Our investment committee is a major part of what makes us fast and disciplined at the same time. It includes former senior leaders from top global investment and real estate platforms. They challenge us in every meeting, pressure test our assumptions, and keep us anchored to fundamentals. That rigor sharpens our decision-making and lets us move decisively when the right asset appears.
Speed as pricing power means certainty. We have committed capital, a narrow buy box, and a repeatable plan. Sellers know we will close with no noise, no retrade, and no delay. That certainty lets us negotiate from a position of strength and often secure assets below replacement cost. We pick our spots, set the pace, and create value through execution, not speculation.
Q: We're proud to partner with you on fund administration and investor communications. How does the combination of software and service we offer fit into the way Harbor builds transparency and long-term trust with investors?
Benkert: We have always believed that transparency builds trust, and consistency sustains it. Since the beginning, we have sent monthly updates to every investor, no matter the size of their check. That rhythm gives LPs a steady view of how we are performing and keeps everyone aligned.
Juniper Square fits that approach. Every update, distribution, and document is archived in one place, which gives investors full visibility into their portfolio and our communication history. We can quickly reference past correspondence, track questions by asset, and keep everything organized. When something needs to be updated or adjusted, the support team moves quickly, often the same day. That responsiveness mirrors how we operate as a firm. Clear, direct, and accountable.