Founded on Merit

Merit Hill has been a leading institutional self-storage investor since its founding in 2016.

Founded by Liz Raun Schlesinger, Merit Hill represents the culmination of her extensive industry experience, notably as co-founder of the W.P. Carey self-storage platform in 2006. Liz’s indomitable spirit, strong management skills, and commitment to excellence led to the creation of Merit Hill, an organization guided by the principles of collaboration, relationship-building, and respect for all stakeholders.

Key
Milestones1

2006 - 2016
Liz co-founded the W.P. Carey self-storage platform and led the acquisition of over 120 self-storage properties totaling ~$1B while there, building the 8th largest self-storage portfolio in the U.S. as of 2016
2017
Large institutional investor made $300M capital commitment to Merit Hill’s first value-add vehicle
2018
Acquired 36 self-storage properties for $224.6M and sold 4 properties for strong returns well ahead of schedule
2019
Institutional investor made an additional $200M capital commitment to Merit Hill’s second value-add vehicle
2020
Sold 31 properties for strong returns well ahead of schedule
2021
Acquired an off-market 59 property portfolio for $635.5M as part of a joint venture with an institutional investor and a sovereign wealth fund
2021
Launched Merit Hill's first core-plus fund, Merit Hill Self-Storage Core Plus Fund, LP
2022
Closed fundraising for Fund IV with total commitments above the fund's $100M target size from a diversified investor base
2023
Began fundraising for Merit Hill Self-Storage V, LP (“Fund V”)
2024
Closed fundraising for Fund V with total commitments of $500M, above the Fund’s target size
2025
Acquired 66 self-storage properties for $525.7M and sold 62 properties
2016
Liz founded Merit Hill Capital
2017
Acquired 32 self-storage properties for $136.7M
2019
Acquired 62 self-storage properties for $368.2M and sold 12 properties for strong returns well ahead of schedule
2020
Acquired 57 self-storage properties for $374.2M, including an off-market 26-property portfolio for $178.9M
2021
Acquired 126 self-storage properties for $1.08B and sold 41 properties for strong returns well ahead of schedule
2021
Institutional investor made an additional $180M commitment to Merit Hill’s fourth value-add vehicle while Merit Hill began fundraising for Merit Hill Self-Storage, LP which together entered into a joint venture to form Fund IV
2022
Acquired 62 self-storage properties for $474.1M and sold 1 property
2023
Acquired 63 self-storage properties for $328.5M and sold 3 properties
2024
Acquired 52 self-storage properties for $269.7M
2025
Began fundraising for Merit Hill Self-Storage VI, LP (“Fund VI”)
2026
Closed fundraising for Fund VI with total commitments of $578.3M, above the Fund’s target size

Why Merit Hill?2

Merit Hill’s competitive edge lies in experienced leadership, a strategic investment strategy, and proprietary deal flow.

Industry Experience

A pioneer and innovator of self-storage space, our Founder has worked exclusively in self-storage since 2006.

Strong Relationships

A 20-year history of deep industry connections with top public REIT managers provides us with differentiated opportunities, industry data, and insights.

Defined Process

Through a well-established selection framework, we seek to consistently uncover the most attractive value propositions.

Differentiated Deal Flow

Leveraging our experience and relationships allows us access to off-market and first- and last-look opportunities.

Testimonials3

"Merit Hill Capital has impressively grown their platform over recent years and is one of our largest third-party management clients. Having worked closely with Liz and her team since we introduced our CubeSmart Management program ten years ago, we have both truly grown our businesses together. Over that time, we’ve bought stores from one another, worked collaboratively to enhance stores through additional capital investment, and of course, have been able to create a lot of value through buying right and then putting our powerful operating platform to work. CubeSmart truly appreciates and values the Merit Hill Capital team and relationship."
– Guy Middlebrooks, SVP, Third-Party Management, CubeSmart
"Liz and the Merit Hill team is the hardest working team in self-storage. Their hustle, drive and knowledge combined with their values and true sense of partnership has allowed for their successes in identifying sites, completing transactions and unlocking value often time missed by others. As one of our most tenured, largest and most valued partnerships, Extra Space Storage continually looks for more ways grow this decade-plus relationship."
– Noah Springer, EVP and Chief Strategy and Partnership Officer, Third-Party Asset Management, Extra Space Storage
"I have personally known Liz for over 15 years and in Argus’ 26 year history we have worked with thousands of buyers and sellers. We have found that Liz and her team at Merit Hill Capital have been the most efficient, productive, honest and enjoyable team to interact with. They are extremely timely, hardworking and fair when reviewing investment opportunities. The amount of work that the Merit Hill Capital team puts into each property during underwriting is unparalleled in the industry. Liz’s leadership principles of integrity, fairness and efficiency permeate through all layers of the company culture. It is truly a pleasure doing business with Merit Hill Capital and they have my highest recommendation."
– Ben Vestal, CEO, Argus Self Storage Advisors

1. As of December 31, 2025. Past performance is not indicative of future results. For illustrative purposes only.
2. Certain statements represent Merit Hill’s opinions and views, which are inherently subjective.
3. Certain statements about Merit Hill are intended to illustrate Merit Hill’s business relationship with such personas as a business partner, rather than Merit Hill’s capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services.