Summary: Fractional ownership platforms help retail investors own commercial real estate through an alternate investment route. They have become popular ever since the pandemic and some of them promise eye-popping returns. But, the sector lacks standard selling practices; disclosures made aren’t enough.

Bengaluru: Suresh Poddar works in a financial services firm in Kuwait City. A non-resident Indian, he keeps scouting for new investment opportunities in Indian real estate. During the pandemic, in 2021, Poddar decided to invest in commercial real estate. He also decided to try out a new but promising concept—fractional ownership.

Few individuals can invest in a commercial property—let’s say an office floor in a central business district—on their own. The commercial real estate asset class has been the playground of large institutional investors for years.