About Christopher Barry
Christopher Barry, Vice President of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations at National Retail Properties (NNN REIT), appeared in two interviews on September 17, 2020, to discuss the company's structure and the benefits of investing in real estate investment trusts (REITs). Barry stated that National Retail Properties invests in freestanding retail stores on a triple net lease basis, where tenants pay taxes, maintenance, and insurance costs. He noted that the company owns a portfolio of 3,043 stores across 48 states with more than 400 tenants and 37 lines of trade, which he said helps diversify and mitigate risk.
Barry highlighted the company's financial performance, stating that it increased its annual dividend for 30 consecutive years, which he described as the third longest track record of annual dividend increases in the REIT universe. He added that the company has grown its portfolio by averaging about $600 million in new properties each year and has grown its funds from operations (FFO) by an average of 6% since 2013. Barry also discussed the company's workforce, noting that it has 268 employees with an average tenure of 11 years and senior management averaging 19 years, which he said provides institutional knowledge.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Christopher Barry's recent appearances.
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Transcript (11 segments)
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Adrienne Man's0:00
Live from Dallas, Texas, I'm Adrienne Man's for the Money Show. I'm here today with Chris Berry of National Retail Properties, ticker symbol NNN on the New York Stock Exchange. Been looking since 1990, for a long while. That's right. So tell us a little bit about how your REIT is structured and what the benefits are to investing in a REIT general.
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Christopher Barry0:23
Sure. So National Retail Properties invests in freestanding stores, specifically freestanding retail stores. So that's one building, one tenant. We own our properties on a triple net lease basis, which is the moniker NNN, our ticker symbol. That means that the tenants are paying the taxes, the maintenance, the insurance costs at the property level. We own a portfolio of over 3,000 stores spread across 48 states, more than 400 different tenants and 37 different lines of trade. So we've done a good job of diversifying the portfolio and mitigating any risk for the portfolio.
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Adrienne Man's0:57
Right. It's all I know NNN because we trade it pretty frequently, but it seems to me that there's a little more stable REITs.
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Christopher Barry1:02
Absolutely. We've been known for our consistency. We've increased our annual dividend for 30 consecutive years, the third longest track record of annual dividend increases in the REIT universe. We have a pre-conservative balance sheet. We've been very consistent with our conservative use of leverage. We have grown our portfolio through the years, averaging about $600 million in new properties each year adding to the portfolio. And we've grown our REIT earnings, FFO, which is funds from operations, on average 6% since 2013. So we've been a pretty steady, consistent company.
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Adrienne Man's1:41
How long have you been with them?
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Christopher Barry1:43
I'm in my 24th year within that.
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Adrienne Man's1:45
But what's your role?
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Christopher Barry1:46
I am VP of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, and we do have a pretty stable, you know, 268 employees total, and we have an average tenure with the company of 11 years. And senior management, the average tenure is actually 19 years. So we have a lot of institutional knowledge within the people, with a couple of newbies. That says a lot about a company that people are very involved and it makes for a very different organization than when something's turning over. It really does. You know, of the 68 people I mentioned, half of us have been there more than 10 years now.
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Adrienne Man's2:16
If somebody wants to learn more about the investment jewelry?
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Christopher Barry2:20
Our website is NNN REIT dot com, or you could call us at 1-800-NNN-REIT.
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Adrienne Man's2:31
Alright, Chris Barry, thank you. Thanks, Adrian. For the Money Show, I'm Adrian Man's, live from Dallas, Texas.
