CBRE IM portfolio management vs FLDP at fortune 500
I have a friend who has two job offers. One offer in a rotational finance program at one of the largest companies in the world (fortune 100). It is a 3 year program that teaches you all about corporate finance. Having worked at this company will probably open doors at many places because of its good reputation.
The other offer is a position ar CBRE IM within their international direct real estate portfolio team. This is where he will be working on acquisitions, portfolio management etc.
The roles are totally different of course. He does not know about WSO and I would like to advise him and I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter.
Does he have any idea what he wants to do long term?
A rotational program is good because it gives you exposure to a lot of stuff and the need to specialize at age 22 is minimal. But if he already knows he wants to be in RE, then why wouldn't he take the RE job?
Long term he is interested in a commercial role. He wants to have a job where he is responsible for generating revenue while also making strategic decisions.
So the thing is that the rotational program starts with 1.5 years of reporting which is something that he thinks he is not interested in. Of course there is another 1.5 year rotation where he could do FP&A, Treasury or M&A but 1.5 years of reporting is long for him.
Regarding the RE position he is unsure about the reputation of CBRE IM and wants to know about their position in the market etc. Compensation for both roles is equal.
In a 40 year career 1.5 years is nothing. Nobody's first job was absolutely perfect, we all had to start somewhere, and there are shitty aspects of all jobs. I wouldnt let that be the defining factor.
If the pay is the same the question still remains, does he want to be in RE? If the answer is no, or he doesn't know, then I would consider the rotational role so he can figure out more what he wants to do.
RE is sort of niche. While a lot of people fall into it and end up staying, it isnt one of those careers that people easily flip in and out of.
In the end, he needs to be playing the long game, but only he can decide what that means.
If he wants strategic decisions, then I would go with CBRE IM as they gatekeep for all the equity. From my experience they are a very boring bunch.
So the thing is that the rotational program starts with 1.5 years of reporting which is something that he thinks he is not interested in. Of course there is another 1.5 year rotation where he could do FP&A, Treasury or M&A but 1.5 years of reporting is long for him.
Regarding the RE position he is unsure about the reputation of CBRE IM and wants to know about their position in the market etc. Compensation for both roles is equal.
CBRE IM is a solid shop. They aren't BX or Carlyle, but they are still one of the largest REPE firms out there. We have them as an LP on a bunch of our developments. At the end of the day, it's a buyside role vs a LDP role. Unless you have a strong aversion to RE or are looking to start a career in that specific F100 / niche, this feels like an easy choice to me. 1.5yrs as a reporting LDP analyst sounds like it would bore me to death, especially since the light at the end of the tunnel is FP&A or Treasury..... not exactly super exciting functions either, especially at a big corporate. How I see it, CBRE IM >>> The LDP
Curious what the comp looks like at IM though, any insight? I know they seem to have a pretty good WLB/culture, so I imagine the comp isn't top of the market as a result.
Whether he is industry agnostic or interested in real estate, I would still pick CBRE. I started in a similar rotation program where 2 of the rotations were Treasury and Reporting and it was so fucking boring and the skills/knowledge are not transferable to anything because there really isn’t any skill/knowledge learned. The only potential rotation that may have transferable skills is M&A, but I’m not sure if putting up with 1.5 years of treasury and reporting is worth it.
CBRE on the other hand is a large shop that everyone knows and the work he will be doing will be much more interesting and transferable. If he doesn’t like it, I’m sure he can always lateral to a different industry after a year, but doing 1.5 years in treasury and reporting is literally a waste of time
Had to make the same call during my FT recruiting. FRP at a large credit card/commercial bank vs acquisitions at a family office.
Stuck with the deal role, turned down about 40k year 1. I have no regrets. But I had interned in CRE and knew I had a passion for it. Also knew I wasn't cut out and wouldn't be happy working for a mega sized F100 corporate entity.
Imo he should do what he wants. Corporate FDLP is probably better if he doesn't give af and is super chilled out. CRE if he wants to take a crack at the being in the industry.
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