Jenkintown-based AR Capital upbeat on commercial real estate

A PNC Bank in Swarthmore, a Pep Boys in North Wales, a Wawa in Allentown, a Wal-Mart near Pittsburgh - nearly 500 stand-alone properties in 43 states are part of Jenkintown-based American Realty Capital Trust Inc., worth $1.8 billion since it started trading on Nasdaq earlier this month.

American Realty boss Nicholas S. Schorsch calls the sale a sign that commercial real estate is again attractive to investors - at least for national landlords with solvent corporate tenants. The company leases to FedEx and the U.S. General Services Administration, Walgreens and CVS drugstores, and the Dollar General, Payless and PetSmart retail chains, among others.

As a listed stock, "it's now an equity investment, not an 'alternative' investment, and we can borrow cheaper," Schorsch told me.

Schorsch and partner William Kahane started the business that spawned American Realty in 2007, after they had to leave the former American Financial Realty Trust in a disagreement with partner Lewis Ranieri, the Wall Street genius credited, and blamed, for accelerating the real estate boom and bust of the last 20 years by "securitizing" home loans into mortgage-backed securities. Those loan-backed bonds drew trillions into U.S. real estate investment, but jammed the financial markets when they proved extra vulnerable to falling values.

American Realty employs around 70 at its offices in Jenkintown and Dresher, though Schorsch, a native of Meadowbrook, spends most of his time at the New York executive offices of its parent firm, AR Capital L.L.C.

American Realty pays a yearly dividend of 70 cents a share or around 6.5%, which some investors found comfortable, vs. the late volatile stock market and record-low interest yields. Now the shares are easier to unload: Shares began trading on Nasdaq on March 1 around $10.50 a share and have mostly stayed close to that.

Last summer, AR Capital listed another, smaller portfolio, American Realty Capital Properties. That stock is currently worth around $84 million, or $11.40 a share, also close to its offering price. Institutional investors in that company include BlackRock Fund Advisors and Fidelity Management, among others. Former Gov. Ed Rendell is a director; so is Dr. Walter P. Lomax, who formerly operated the AmeriChoice HMO and prison and welfare medical service contractors.

Schorsch wants to do this again. "We have 8 other non-traded real estate investment trusts in our platform raising capital right now," specializing in medical, industrial and other property sectors, Schorsch said. "We look at three options: sell the company, sell the assets, or list the company as a public offering. It's a good time for real estate. People are looking for durable investments."

Too much sharing?

Banks have been able to track what you spend since the dawn of Visa and Mastercard. Lately they're linking up with merchants, advertisers, specialty marketers, and social-networking sites to customize shopping incentives through "merchant-funded rewards" and credit card offers, writes analyst Thomas C. McCrohan in a report to clients at Janney Capital Markets.

"The old model of reward cards" with frequent-flier miles or fuel discounts has gotten expensive, and the federal government has trimmed bank fees, so cash-strapped banks want to sell more data, McCrohan's deputy Leonard DeProspo tells me. Say you shop at CVS; armed with your bank spending records, RiteAid or Walgreen could send you a $25 bank card bonus to seduce you into their stores.

"Privacy advocates don't seem to like it," but that's not stopping the trend, DeProspo told me. Especially appealing: merchants can "pay for performance," tracking ad response. American Express is leading the charge, working with Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare on supermarket promotions.

Contact Joseph N. DiStefano ?at 215-854-5194 or JoeD@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @PhillyJoeD.