Your Experts in Tax-Advantaged Investments

Your portfolio reflects the time and discipline it took to get you where you are. But now you're ready to enjoy life more—travel, recreation, and being with friends and family—instead of spending time wrestling over today's complex range of investment choices.

That's why we formed the Private Equity Group. Our mission is to help you achieve your personal wealth-building goals. We work with you to create an investment plan designed to meet your short-term needs and long-range financial goals. We monitor and adjust investment strategies as your objectives change and new opportunities emerge.

Private Equity Group specializes in real estate 1031 exchanges, 1031 exchange replacement properties, and institutional-quality Tenant-In-Common (TIC) programs. We work with the nation's leading 1031 exchange property sponsors, helping you select from a variety of high quality Tenant-In-Common (TIC) and Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) programs. We seek those programs that offer fractional real estate ownership of investment-grade income properties around the country. We represent only those products that survive our demanding, thorough due diligence process.

Private Equity Group offers you:

Access to the nation's leading 1031 exchange property sponsors
Wide variety of well-managed properties with the goal of generating stable cash flow
Proven track record of performing properties
Extensive independent due diligence performed on your behalf by teams of professionals
Oil and gas investments that capitalize on global economic and market conditions
Tax-advantaged investment products designed to create a balanced portfolio

Expertise in hard-asset investments

Private Equity Group is your trusted advisor:

Each senior team member is an industry expert including real estate professionals, attorneys, and MBAs
Each senior team member is a qualified Registered Representative
Your needs are put first in every offering
Our team members benchmark to the highest levels of professional ethics

As recognized experts in the field, we offer a variety of investment products customized to meet your needs. Our comprehensive solutions provide smart choices for portfolio and risk diversification through select institutional-quality real estate programs, hard-asset investments, timely energy opportunities, and carefully constructed wealth preservation plans. Our goal is to help you accumulate wealth and work toward securing your financial future.

Let our team of experts put your money to work for you. We are committed to earning your trust.

		Linda Genevieve Bak, MBA Linda Bak is a shareholder of Private Equity Group, Inc. and a registered representative with Direct Capital Securities, Inc. She is a frequent speaker on the topics of Tenant-In-Common ownership and tax-advantaged investment strategies for real estate attorneys, realtor associations, and investment property owners. Ms. Bak earned her masters of business degree from the University of Florida with a concentration in finance. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Bak worked for Arthur Andersen as a senior strategy consultant specializing in finance and executive management strategy. Ms. Bak holds a Series 7, Series 24 & Series 66 license.
		Joe Benguerel, MBA Joe Benguerel is a registered representative for Direct Capital Securities and has been in the financial services industry since 2002. Joe has been specializing in TIC placements since 2005. Prior to his joining Private Equity Group/DCS, Joe worked directly for a Tenant-In-Common sponsor marketing and selling their product. Joe holds FINRA Series 7 and 66 registrations and is a member of TICA. He earned his MBA from Sonoma State University.
		Cindy C. W. Chiu, Ph.D., EMBA Cindy Chiu is a shareholder of Private Equity Group, Inc. and a registered representative with Direct Capital Securities, Inc. Prior to joining the firm, Cindy was a Technical and Business Director at a Fortune 300 company for 17 years, specializing in new business and technology development. Cindy earned her Ph.D. degree from the University of Southern California and the Executive MBA degree from the Claremont Graduate School with a concentration in finance. She has been a personal investor in real estate for more than a decade.
		Robert (Bob) A. Horning, M.A. Robert Horning is a shareholder of Private Equity Group, Inc. and a registered representative with Direct Capital Securities, Inc. Bob was born and raised in the great state of Tennessee. A licensed securities broker since 1992, Bob has been involved with the Tenant-In-Common industry from its inception in 1994. He is a specialist in tax-advantaged investments, a member of the Tenant-In-Common Association, and a frequent speaker and author on income tax and capital gains tax planning. Bob has been listed in "Who's Who in America" and "Who's Who in Finance and Industry."
		Tyrone T.L. Huang, MBA, MSEE Tyrone Huang is a registered representative with Direct Capital Securities, Inc. Prior to joining the firm, Tyrone was a serial entrepreneur in the high tech industry for the last 10 years. Before that, he served in Fortune 500 companies and major semiconductor companies in Asia for 20 years. His experience covered management, marketing, sales, and engineering. Tyrone earned his MBA from the University of Santa Clara with a concentration in marketing and his MSEE from University of Texas at Arlington. He has been a personal investor in real estate for more than two decades.
		Sheryl Onopchenko Sheryl Onopchenko is a registered representative for Direct Capital Securities with over twelve years of real estate and investment advisory experience. Prior to joining Private Equity Group, Sheryl sold fractional ownership stakes in a $600 million portfolio of commercial real estate for one of the largest real estate sponsors. In addition to being a licensed realtor and CCIM candidate, Sheryl is an active real estate investor. Sheryl graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of California at Davis with an MS in Economics.
		Jodi Schneelicht Jodi Schneelicht is a licensed securities broker and registered representative with Direct Capital Securities, Inc. Prior to joining Private Equity Group, Jodi worked as an Internal Wholesaler for Triple Net Properties and spent over 10 years in the banking industry. Jodi earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Pepperdine University. She holds a Series 7, Series 24 & Series 66 license, and is currently pursuing a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.
		Josh Slaybaugh Josh Slaybaugh is a registered representative with Direct Capital Securities, Inc. He currently holds both Series 7 and 66 registrations. In addition, he is an actively licensed insurance agent and real estate salesperson in Pennsylvania. Mr. Slaybaugh is a member of the Tenant-In-Common Association (TICA), Apartment Association of Greater Philadelphia, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Slaybaugh held high-level posts with Corvest Realty, Inc., DeSanto Realty Group, LLC, and Triple Net Properties, LLC.
		Corbin S. Thomas, J.D. Corbin Thomas is a shareholder of Private Equity Group, Inc. and a registered representative with Direct Capital Securities, Inc. He has specialized in real estate investing and advanced tax planning for a decade. Cory holds a bachelor's of arts degree in real estate finance and a law degree from Chapman University. In addition to his professional career, Cory has been a real estate investor since 1997, is currently a California real estate broker, and owns 22 properties.
		Troy Thomas, Esq. Troy Thomas is an attorney, a shareholder of Private Equity Group, Inc. and a registered representative with Direct Capital Securities, Inc. He has specialized in real estate and tax related issues for a decade. His practice focuses on 1031 Exchanges and tax-advantaged investments. Mr. Thomas graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara (BA, with honors) and the University of California, Hastings College of Law (JD, cum laude). Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Thomas practiced law with a national law firm representing several prominent commercial and residential real estate developers.
		Lara J. Vanian, Esq. Lara Vanian is a registered representative with Direct Capital Securities, Inc. Her practice focuses on 1031 Exchanges and tax-advantaged investments. Ms. Vanian graduated from San Francisco State University (BA, 1997, cum laude) and went on to earn her law degree from Southwestern University School of Law (JD, 2000). She has been a member in good standing of the California Bar Association since 2000.
		Soraida Vargas Soraida Vargas is client services manager for Bob and Jodi's Private Equity Group staff. Soraida brings a wealth of experience in the real estate investment industry where she has worked as an associate program manager, international sales administrator, and banking representative. Soraida received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from California State University, Fullerton. Her bilingual (English/Spanish) skills are an asset to our customer service operations.
		Sharon Vaughn-Lahman Sharon Vaughn-Lahman directs marketing and communication activities. She brings to the Private Equity Group over twenty years experience in marketing, sales, training, and customer service in the information and database industry. Sharon received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Los Angeles (Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude), and her Master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.