When we did it, new management had old manager transfer all funds held in relation to our account to the new management, including existing security deposits. 

These are not typical life insurance policies.If the down payment comes from an existing asset whether it is money from money market, money from savings account, money from CDs, money from heloc, money from selling stocks, money from stock margin, gift from family, money from life insurance it does not achieve a 100% LTV with respect to determining return.  

Retirement account?

Their rationale is based on Illinois law, where security deposits must be held in a separate account and accrue interest if held over 6 months.

Especially in tax advantaged retirement accounts. 

I don't frankly know I have a dinner with him in a week or so will get more detailI know he bought a facility .. he owns dirt all over Oregon so that's not an issue.. and I know he has the financial ability to execute.. what I don't know is if he has just done these so far for his own account or has sold to the public.Standby I will find out and report back..

I use Quickbooks online for the formal accounting so it's easy for my tax guy to get in there and do his piece every year, since I have an LLC per building.

You often hear from real estate investors who scaled businesses  attribute their success to great contractor relationships, a realtor who helped identify an underserved housing need, lenders who gave them a chance despite not having a balance sheet, even good attorneys who navigated them through entitlements or perhaps accountants who educated them on tax saving strategies.  

One thing every investor needs to be aware of: No real estate fund or syndication is FDIC insured.You may come across phrases like "the money is in an FDIC insured account," which only means the funds are held in a bank account, not under someone's mattress.

@Adolphus Fletcher - If you're main goal is to build business credit there are different avenues to do so including: obtaining and unsecured line of credit for the business, applying for a business credit card, applying for business accounts such as Home Depot/Lowes, etc...