Green Street Advisors - Consulting Associate

Hello All,

Is anyone familiar at all with the CA role at Green Street Advisors? How about the firm in general?

I've done a search on WSO and there are few hits, but the little info I did glean says that GSA has a pretty strong reputation and should set one up nicely for an exit to REPE/REITs.

Could anyone please elaborate on the company's culture, working hours, and compensation?

Thanks!

 
Best Response

Well, I can tackle this pretty well. PM me for additional info and if I notice I will provide even more info.

GSA's consulting practice is similar to some boutique banks business models. They do a lot of valuation work on OP Units and one off projects for GSA's clients that require some in depth work. Generally speaking they basically just leverage the research staff to get them the information they need. The associate is their bitch and will do some modeling, presentation work, etc.

The firm in general: Well respected in the REIT space for its independent research. GSA doesn't have a straight banking business so they can actually do a real Buy/Hold/Sell analysis on stocks. They like to do fundamental research on stocks as if they were the underlying real estate. GSA also does a ton of work on macro and micro fundamentals in each space. They take some interesting stands on balance sheet management etc that not everyone agrees with.

Culture: In some ways a very flat culture where anyone can go chat up the CEO (as long as you aren't an idiot). In other ways extremely structured (its a pyramid with very few slots at the top). Some people are able to crack the mold and get up in the ranks, others go to pretty much anything you can imagine (top RE HFs, AM shops, CFOs of REITs, Bschool, etc). Consulting is a very small group and is much more of a frat atmosphere than the rest of the firm.

Working hours: In research its like a 8-6pm outside of earnings. During earnings you get up before reporting and you stay till the research is out, which means you can be working 5am till 9pm some of those days (call it 20-30 days a year). In consulting, you work more of a 9-6pm most days and then when its crunch time you may work later (never the early days though).

Compensation: Well below street averages in every way. You will get less vacation days, less money, smaller bonuses, and then be told to like it. The firm is based in Newport Beach, CA and believes that this is enough incentive to work hard. Pay is based largely on firm performance instead of individual performance. However, you will know up front what the bonus that your are aiming for could be.

Exit Ops: As I said earlier, they are many and varied. Within its niche, GSA is well know and respected, which means that you can place to some pretty cool jobs. Outside its niche, no one knows or cares about GSA, which means if you don't like real estate then you should not start working at the firm. Junior team members have gone to low level REIT shops, asset management jobs, etc. Mid-level guys go to hedge funds and AM shops. Senior guys are the CFOs at REITs, start their own shops or retire.

--There are stupid questions, so think first.
 

I'm curious as well. Despite being a research shop, they seem like an awesome company. Really smart guys. Seems like after working there it'd be easy to get scooped up by a top fund, even if just a mutual fund.

 

They're one of the top names in research for sure. If you want to learn about how the big picture works and have any interest in a future career in research it's probably a good place to start. Research guys get pigeon holed pretty quick though (I used to be one), so that's always a risk. Basically, you can piss people off a lot by knowing things that are inconvenient, or that someone who hasn't had the actual experience shouldn't know yet. You'll end up learning how to think critically and analytically, but that's often written off compared to things like "I sat on a bunch of conference calls with brokers and signed the first lease that came across the table."

 

GSA is a very well respected firm in the real estate space, and most people are aware of their platform. Their employees are really sharp, but also down to earth (it's a hard combination to find!). It's mostly ER, so you'd place well for REIB and REIT exit opportunities, but probably could land a good REPE job.

PM me if you are looking for any specific info

 
indexmatch:

GSA is a very well respected firm in the real estate space, and most people are aware of their platform. Their employees are really sharp, but also down to earth (it's a hard combination to find!). It's mostly ER, so you'd place well for REIB and REIT exit opportunities, but probably could land a good REPE job.

PM me if you are looking for any specific info

I'll echo this, and add that their research is fantastic and incredibly well reasoned. Worth every penny. Shouldn't have a hard time finding good exit ops, but your asset-level modeling might not be as great.
 

I agree that Green Street is a top firm in terms of research. Should have very good exit ops into other real estate research type roles at PE firms, or likely into roles at REITS or maybe REIB. If you're just starting a real estate career, I'd imagine it's a fine place to get going. However, if your ultimate goal is to work in acquisitions, you shouldn't stay there too long because you will not gain transaction expertise. I think in terms of modeling you'd likely be okay, but you might not be familiar with PE-type debt structures, distribution waterfalls, and the like, which you'd need to be competent in to get a REPE job at any point beyond the analyst level.

So in short, great place to start, but don't stay too long unless you want to be a "research guy". Side note: there is nothing wrong with being a research guy.

 

really good firm. seemed like a laid back/so-cal culture, but make no mistake these men/women are all smart and come from good firms and schools (re, ibanking, hedge funds, etc). interview process was lengthy and included an in-depth test. while not entirely sure if you focus on asset level modeling in the job, you absolutely need to know how it's done in order to get through their interview process.

warm regards,

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