Originally Posted by
SparkyTheClown
Disagree Ratkin. Summerset have an excellent reputation and I admire what Norah and her team are doing, but there are a couple of differences that make me think Ryman is better.
1. Ryman villages are larger, and are mostly all built at once, so there aren't any facilities missing. I had the chance to tour a summerset village up in Warkworth around-4 months ago, and while the better part of 100 residential units were built for those in independent living (and had been for around a year-18 months), the aged care, restaurant, recreational facilities and similar were still being built. So Ryman can deliver the whole continuum of care and better facilities right from the get go.
2. Ryman offer dementia level care at their villages. Summerset are planning to deliver this, but presently can only look after residents with mild/moderate levels of cognitive impairment. This is a big selling point for Ryman in that a resident knows that once they move in, they can stay at the village until they eventually join the choir invisible. They don't need to move elsewhere.
3. Summerset have a design philosophy called "Lifemark", which essentially incorporates design changes in buildings to assist the elderly in living more easily, eg wider door frames, power points located at knee/hip height instead of ankle height. While these Lifemark design features are meant with the best intentions, there is also some resistance from residents and potential residents who feel its ugly and pandering (some of the old ladies considering villages are fiercely proud and don't like the idea of conceding weakness at bending over, or having ugly TV power cables running up the wall. You might think I'm nuts raising this, but I have done lots of homework.
I don't mean to raise the above to suggest Summerset is inferior or that I am negative. I like Summerset as a company, and am impressed with what they are doing. They deserve their awards. I just have seen a lot of evidence to suggest that Ryman offers a wider selection of benefits to residents, and that as a stock, Ryman is better. I've even heard Norah Barlow describe SUM to a room of potential investors as "Ryman Jr".
I agree that there is no reason to suspect why in a property slump that Summerset values would decrease at a worse rate than Ryman. Summerset's villages may be smaller but they are still desirable places for people to live, and the demographic tailwinds will work in their favour too.
FYI - I sold my SUM because I found a better investment opportunity on the NZX and needed cash to invest in it. I also felt SUM was the most fully valued in my portfolio, and because RYM is my biggest holding, I was happy to just hold the one company.