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Construction
- Construction
Utah’s Number One Apartment Builder TM
Relationships are paramount
ICO Construction prides itself on helping owners and developers any way possible to implement development and construction solutions. Our interest is in helping our clients succeed on a lot of dimensions, not just in the development or construction arenas. We often share our value engineering ideas and project management processes as a way to help others, even if we don’t end up doing work for them. We have no preconceived notions of doing any projects for a potential client. We simply like to get to know you and listen to your needs. If, along the way of developing a friendship and hopefully sharing some useful information, we feel we can add a lot of value in development or construction, we’ll do our best to make it happen.
ICO Construction Background
ICO Construction is the commercial construction company affiliated with Ivory Homes. As you know, Ivory has been Utah’s largest homebuilder for each of the last 25 years. This allows all ICO entities preferential access to the best of Ivory’s development and construction relationships. We started by developing, designing, and constructing Ivory and ICO office buildings, clubhouses, and industrial warehouse properties. We have since acted as general contractor on marquis construction projects in multi-family, mid-sized office, medical office, assisted living, industrial warehouse, and retail categories. We have been recognized for the success of these projects and have since become a significant commercial builder, rising to become a top 10 commercial builder in the state and Utah’s Number One Multi Family Builder.
The ICO Advantage
Our advantage comes from creating value for the owner by delivering a customized construction solution on the dimensions of cost, quality, and timely completion. ICO Construction typically only takes projects where early involvement in plan design, in collaboration with owners, can influence total cost of ownership and quality of the project. For example, from a cost perspective, we provide purchasing and value engineering advantages others can’t match as we combine buying power from residential with commercial projects, in particular on concrete, HVAC, framing, and finishes. In addition, ICO’s Construction teams have benchmarked properties from multiple major markets across the nation to incorporate best practices, applied in a proprietary way, to create unique building systems, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and other building features, that yield the Lowest Lifetime Total Cost of Ownership (LLTCO™). On average, our total cost of ownership is percentage points lower than that of competing properties.
From a scheduling perspective, we have unmatched project management expertise to complete build-outs in a timely fashion. Finally, from a design perspective, we help our customers define their own unique value equations by accessing the full range of commercial and residential finishes we offer from our three design centers located across the state. Our proven relationships with subcontractors and suppliers give us a tremendous advantage when it comes to providing a great product for our customers while at the same time saving them a lot of money. Bottom line: customers love what we build, and often use the cost savings from our buying power to invest in higher grade finishes they didn’t imagine were possible.
Protect & Enhance Long Term Wealth
A practical investment philosophy
ICO Capital’s mission is to protect and enhance long-term wealth. Adhering to a disciplined, value-based investment approach has added significant value over time.
A holistic perspective comprehends the entire balance sheet of the combined companies.
ICO constructs its portfolio by considering all assets and liabilities across the combined ICO enterprises.
Both diversification and concentration are important
Traditional academic approaches validate that asset class diversification can substantially reduce a portfolio’s investment risks without necessarily compromising expected returns. ICO, however, often goes against conventional academic wisdom in its investment approach. Concentration, when one understands underlying investment characteristics and value, can also reduce investment risks while still enhancing returns. ICO disbelieves rote application of traditional risk/return models-often higher returns can be generated with lower risk through applying proprietary knowledge and deal structuring techniques.
Active vs. Passive Investment Management
It is well known among academics and professional money managers that, while active investment managers can add value, in aggregate they tend to underperform a given market average because of add-on fees and taxes. Despite imposing a burden of due diligence and continuous monitoring, ICO selects active asset managers with the right fee structures and incentives aligned with ICO, to supplement investing for its own account in the public markets.
Information-based,asymmetric, and less-liquid strategies are most likely to outperform
Inefficiencies are best exploited through non-traditional investments that have greater potential to reward active management and a disciplined manager selection process.
Hold cash to reduce risk.
Holding cash (or deleveraging) can reduce a portfolio’s risk and return profile without sacrificing portfolio diversification.
Tax optimization is important.
While tax rules vary across investment situations, ICO considers after-tax returns when making all its investments.
Investing innovation has exploded over the last several decades. Technology has enabled and will continue to enable new approaches such as high-speed trading, increasingly fine niche strategies, ETF market surrogates, etc. Despite this, ICO does not feel the need to fundamentally change its value-based investment philosophy and processes, grounded in approaches developed decades ago. Patient analysis and adherence to a value-based discipline will continue to outperform versus other investing disciplines over a market cycle.