Customer Story

Calidus Management, LLC:
Streamlining business operations to scale faster

Calidus Management, LLC

Established: 2012
Headquarters: West Palm Beach, FL

Calidus is an investment and management platform focused primarily on student housing, multifamily, and commercial properties. President and Co-Founder, Oliver Cameron-Hayes, is focused on operations, business optimization, and deal structuring as Calidus looks to acquire further properties across the United States.

Asset Type
Commercial, multifamily

Investment Type
Syndications

“If I have a problem or anything comes up that needs urgent assistance, it’s good to have peace of mind knowing the AppFolio team will be there to assist.”

Oliver Cameron Hayes
President and Co-Founder, Calidus Management, LLC

A Partnership with AppFolio

We interviewed Oliver to understand how his team is leveraging AppFolio Investment Manager to aid their growth strategy.

How has using AppFolio Investment Manager impacted your relationships with your investors?

The initial response from our investors has been extremely positive. Some of our older clients can be intimidated by new technology, but all of our investors have accepted the technology and have logged in to their new investor portals. We have added an easy to find access tab on our website which will directs them to find the information they need. The bottom line is our investors are busy—they want to know they are achieving the returns we advertised and they want a simple way to view their individual investments. The feedback we've received is that the portal allows them to see this information easily and comprehensively.

What processes have you streamlined with AppFolio Investment Manager?

Our previous accounting software was challenging to say the least. It was necessary to memorize a lot of code and the interface was hard to navigate. With AppFolio Investment Manager, I'm able to understand and find the information I need more easily. I'm not an accountant by trade, but AppFolio makes it easy to understand complex processes and gives me a better ability to direct our accountants to make changes or improvements. I can measure and see metrics better than before and it's far more intuitive.  

Further, I believe AppFolio Investment Manager will continue to accelerate the process of doing monthly distributions going forward. We hope to transition all of our investor statements online, as this will significantly cut down our end-of-quarter workload. In addition, we have started to use the document sharing feature, which allows us to easily email statements, reports and other information to our investors and track what has been sent. For example, sending out K1s is going to be a much more organized process with this type of feature. AppFolio Investment Manager enables us to see what has been shared, with whom, and if it has been read by the receiver of that document.

“AppFolio Investment Manager allows me to understand and find the information I need more easily.”

Oliver Cameron Hayes
President and Co-Founder, Calidus Management, LLC

What feedback have you received from investors?

A primary goal of upgrading to the AppFolio Investment Manager platform was to give our company a more professional appearance and provide our current and future clients with a sustainable, elevated investment experience. Unlike some of our competitors, we can now use tablets at investor meetings and retrieve all pertinent information we need from one central location. As a result, it will be easier to provide our investors with simple and straightforward answers to any questions they may have - all the information is at our fingertips. My back office team also has a much quicker and fuller understanding of who our investors are, what they have invested in, and what their returns are.  

Because I can see exactly what my investors see in their respective investor portal, I have a better understanding what they may be looking for. I can provide them with a better response giving our investors even more confidence in our business

What are your business goals for Calidus?

Calidus is a forward-thinking company and we want to leverage technology to help grow our business. AppFolio fits into that category. For example, we have started to open our doors to smaller investors who may be investing for retirement or simply “on the side” and I want them to feel comfortable and confident as we help them grow their portfolio. Having a very professional appearance will help Calidus gain credibility in this space, maintain their trust, and ultimately attract more clients. Having the right look and delivering that proper experience, will help us meet those goals.

  I am hopeful that our improved impression on our clients will help drive word-of-mouth references. Honestly, the best marketing we could is for our investors to go tell their friends and associates that we are doing a great job. This will help the organic growth of our network.

Can you tell us about your experience with AppFolio's training and support?

The support team at AppFolio Investment Manager responds to our needs and questions very quickly. I know I can reach out and hear back within a few hours. If I have a problem or anything comes up that needs urgent assistance, it's good to have peace of mind knowing the AppFolio team will be there to assist. From that point of view, I am very satisfied with the transition and implementation of AppFolio Investment Manager.

“Unlike our competitors, we can take out an iPad at an investor meeting and pull up all the information we need in one central location. They may have to print heaps and heaps of paper to provide a simple explanation.”

Oliver Cameron Hayes
President and Co-Founder, Calidus Management, LLC

How is AppFolio a partner with you and your business?

AppFolio is a solid software provider that offers an investment management product I find superior to any other solution. There are constant improvements to the platform and I look forward to those frequent updates that continue to make my work life easier.

Would you recommend AppFolio Investment Manager to other investment managers?

Yes, because it is a great platform and I think it will help us achieve our business goals. The only reason we would hesitate recommending AppFolio is because we want to stay ahead of our competition!