End of an Era
Independent broker / dealer Omni Brokerage has closed its doors.  Omni was a leading proponent and seller of syndicated real estate investments, in particular tenant in common programs.  I suspect that Omni's lack of product diversification was crippling during the real estate downturn.   The Investment News article (linked above) tries to correlate Omni's closure to failed TIC deals by DBSI, but I am not sure I believe this argument.  Omni was the first and loudest champion of strict due diligence and disclosure for TIC products.  It tried to tame the frenzy that was the TIC market place in the early 2000s as much as it tried to capitalize on it.  While Omni's legacy will be inextricably tied to the rise and demise of TIC syndications, investors and broker / dealers benefited, and will continue to benefit, from its efforts to improve deals, emphasize due diligence, and its push for more transparency and disclosure.