On April 05, 2024, Whitestone REIT announced that it has filed its definitive proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held on May 14, 2024, and urged shareholders to vote for all of its trustees on the white proxy card. The Company stated that it has issued a letter to the shareholders highlighting: i) Stock Outperformance. Whitestone?s stock has continued to outperform its peers and the MSCI US REIT Index.

Since changing CEOs in 2022, Whitestone has the #1 performing stock on a 1-year and 3-year Total Shareholder Return basis and has outperformed on a 5-year basis when compared to peers and the MSCI US REIT Index, ii) High Same Store NOI. Whitestone has achieved some of the highest Same Store Net Operating Income (NOI) growth among peers since 2022, driven by a high-quality portfolio and a management team that is laser-focused on delivering consistent results, iii) Strong Core FFO Outlook. Whitestone is positioned to continue delivering strong results with the midpoint of 2024 guidance indicating 11% year over year Core Funds from Operations (FFO) per share growth; and iv) No Value Added from Erez.

We have concerns regarding Erez Asset Management?s short-term focus, failure to bring forward any new, value-enhancing ideas for Whitestone and we believe the election of Erez?s nominees would disrupt Whitestone?s substantial business momentum to-date and diminish the quality and strength of the Board of Trustees.