Leader exists for accredited investors who want to own quality commercial real estate without betting everything on one building or signing personal guarantees to a bank. We find, finance and manage multi-tenant industrial, retail and flex properties in Alberta, invest our own capital alongside yours on the same terms, and report to you on every property.

Behind every Leader investment is Chad Snow’s 29 years in Edmonton commercial real estate: more than 1,200 transactions for clients, over 15 years as President of one of the city’s leading brokerages, and commercial properties of his own, bought and repositioned with partners.

The Lead Up to Leader

1997 I started in commercial real estate as an assistant to a top industrial leasing producer. I was trained by industry pioneers who did deals on a handshake and meant it when they talked about integrity, trust and honour. Those values still guide how I work.

2010 Through the oil boom I watched Edmonton building values double, then double again. Prices outran what most people could save, and many investors were shut out of quality commercial assets.

2016 When the economy turned, the banks wanted more guarantees. I saw how exposed investors are when they are highly leveraged, fully invested in one building, and personally on the hook to a lender.

2020 By then I had invested in commercial property through my own businesses, and tried residential and stocks too, only to confirm that well-bought commercial real estate was where I wanted my money. When I looked at syndications, I was often put off by fees that were layered on or hard to find, and by projections I could not agree with.

Today Leader is my answer: a way for accredited investors to own quality commercial real estate deal by deal, alongside someone with real skin in the game. Every fee is disclosed up front, our own capital ranks equally with yours, and we share in profits only after investors have received their preferred return and their capital back. When it comes to the question “Where is our pension?”, our answer is simple: “We need to grow it ourselves.”

Personal Note: I’m a father of two girls and a boy, and our two bernedoodles, Miko and Maui, keep the house lively. My wife and I have always believed our best times come from building things together and from not saving life for retirement, a lesson we learned when her father passed suddenly before he could enjoy his life’s savings. So we travel with our kids now, from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan to all over Europe. My wife runs her own business too, so ours is a business-owning family, and like any owner, I don’t switch off until the deal is done right.