Veteran-led real assets platform
built on operational discipline.
From one renovation funded with personal savings to 230+ rental residences, a premium cabin portfolio, and a repeatable operating model designed to expand across borders with control.
Built through service.
Run by operators.
Designed to last.
Aquino & Kings began in central Ohio with one renovation and an execution-first culture. Michael Aquino built the first project using personal savings earned through military service after two deployments to Afghanistan.
The early years were defined by hands-on renovations, tight underwriting, and small multifamily growth. The platform expanded carefully, prioritising quality homes, operational consistency, and respectful relationships.
Today, Aquino & Kings operates a professional real assets platform anchored in Ohio, with a disciplined expansion agenda across the U.S. and selectively internationally.
What we believe
We earn the right to expand
The core must be stable before we add complexity.
We treat people with respect
Residents and guests are not line items.
We protect capital and reputation
Governance, reporting, and discipline come first.
We build systems, not dependence
The platform should run without heroics.
Veteran-led is not a marketing badge.
It is a standard.
Leadership
Aquino & Kings is led by a team that has worked together for years under pressure. Our foundation is trust earned over time, clear roles, and an execution standard that holds in demanding conditions. We operate with mutual cover and accountability, enabling fast decisions, direct communication, and consistent performance as the platform scales.
Michael Aquino
CEO and Founder
Ohio native and founder-operator who built Aquino & Kings from the first renovation funded with savings earned after two deployments to Afghanistan. Served in the Navy and the Army, later commissioning as an Army engineer officer and commanding a battalion headquarters of roughly 2,000 personnel. Today he applies the same discipline to acquisition decisions, operating standards, and long-term platform stewardship.
Zack Duclos
CFO
Former Marine and trained electrical engineer. Zack brings analytical rigour to financial stewardship, underwriting discipline, and decision support. He ensures the platform scales without losing control: clean numbers, clear reporting, and capital allocation that protects downside while enabling growth.
Britney Duclos
Customer Relations
Former Marine aircraft mechanic with a service-first approach and high attention to detail. Britney leads customer relations and ensures residents and guests experience consistent standards, fast response times, and respectful communication.
Colton Jordan
Head of Operations
Former Navy SEAL and tactical instructor. Colton drives day-to-day execution across property management, maintenance reliability, and new project readiness. He builds operational clarity, develops vendor capacity, and ensures the platform performs under real-world constraints.
Maurice Willen
Strategic Partner, Switzerland
Protects the core, professionalises the operating model, and builds the governance, cadence, and transparency required to scale without losing control or standards. He works across strategy and implementation, aligning partners, clarifying decision rights, and installing the execution infrastructure that keeps the business reliable under any scenario.
Diverse assets. One standard of execution.
We manage a varied portfolio through a single, unified operating system that prioritizes truth, reporting, and capital discipline.
Residential Holdings
A durable base of small multifamily (duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes) operated to consistent institutional standards.
Avenwood Cabins
Premium short-stay operations built around a hospitality-grade guest experience and professional maintenance cadence.
Modern Development
Build-and-sell initiatives expanding our capability set in property development and modern housing delivery.
Europe & Indonesia
Exploration only, strictly governed by partner quality, local operating coverage, and clear decision rights.
Operating Advantage
Operational excellence is not a slogan. It is a system designed for truth and decisions.
Truth Fast
Weekly cadence for truth and decisions.
Reliability
Vendor and maintenance reliability by default.
Scalability
Execution that does not depend on one person.
We acquire with discipline, operate to a standard,
and expand with control.
Operating Base
Goal: Make the current portfolio feel boring, predictable, and measurable.
- One operating cadence
- Weekly truth metrics
- Clear decision rights
Growth Engine
Goal: Create repeatable growth that is not personality driven.
- Deal sourcing system
- Capital stack strategy
- JV governance model
Cross-border Expansion
Goal: Expand selectively without losing execution quality or control.
- Core expansion first
- Local operating coverage
- Managed risk gates
Leadership Attention & Capital
We stay ambitious while protecting cashflow, reputation, and team capacity. Our attention is strictly allocated to ensure exploration doesn't destabilize the core.
Strategy in one sentence
Protect and strengthen the core, then expand through a managed portfolio of experiments.
The Result
A platform that earns the right to expand.