Simon Wadsworth

Simon Wadsworth is a Principal at SS+D Financial.  He retired  in 2009 from Mid-America Apartment Communities (now known as MAA) a Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). He joined the company as chief financial officer in 1994, right after it had gone public, and retired in December, 2009. During his tenure the company’s capitalization grew from $200 million to $3.5 billion.

Born in Birmingham, England, Mr. Wadsworth graduated from Cambridge University and received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1973. 

In early 2009, as the financial crisis hit, Mr. Wadsworth was preparing for his retirement. He was concerned at the lack of suitable retirement investments, which need to have limited risk and produce income in excess of inflation. As CFO of MAA, Mr. Wadsworth had been intimately involved in the issue of MAA preferred stock. He noted that the yields on these securities were set at the same rate as high-yield bonds, but their credit risk was far less. He sensed an investment opportunity.

Mr. Wadsworth made a series of investments in 2009 and 2010 in REIT Preferreds. The price of these shares had plummeted as a result of the turbulent market, but he knew from his experience that REIT Preferreds are fundamentally sound and would rebound. Indeed they did. His annualized internal rate of return over 2009 and 2010 was an astonishing 50% -- a once-in-a-lifetime achievement that will not be replicated in the near future. But he continued to research the category and crunch numbers to see if REIT Preferreds could continue to be a sound investment for retirees seeking a respectable cash return. He discovered they could.

Mr. Wadsworth’s unique perspective as both an investor and REIT financial executive makes him confident that REIT Preferreds can produce yields in the high single digits. With many of his friends facing retirement, Mr. Wadsworth shared his success story and encouraged them to take advantage of this little known investment opportunity. He decided to write down what he knew about REIT Preferreds, and provide a road map for investors to follow. The result is Cash Is King; Investing in REIT Preferreds to Generate Long-Term Income(2011, BookMasters, Inc., 136 pg, $16.95). His book describes the tools and steps investors need to take to significantly boost their portfolio’s cash flow.

Mr. Wadsworth lives in Memphis with his wife, Jill. He is a past president and current member of the Board of Directors of Ballet Memphis, and is president of the University Club in Memphis.