TL; DR - Senior analyst/associate on investment sales team wondering if and when to jump to acquisitions
I am currently an analyst on an Investment Sales team in a primary market. Three years out of college, two years in real estate and with this firm. My firm is smaller and regional, but covers the full spectrum of brokerage and Asset Management activities and competes with all of the national tier 1 firms. Deal-flow has been strong the last two years, and I would expect it to remain strong for our group outside of any major market turmoil.
I really enjoy my job, benefits are good (eg I have my own office, hours are generally no more than 45-50 a week, partners are very reasonable, etc.), and will be sitting down with the partners in the next few days to discuss my position and future here. I've been the senior analyst for the last year and generally work on all our major assignments. My all-in compensation last year was around $110k, and will likely be slightly higher this year.
What I'm struggling with is that there is no real upward mobility available in this position. I will most likely get a title change and a slight salary increase (most of my compensation is from the bonus pool as-is and I feel like I'm already at the comp ceiling for my role) but the day-to-day work will largely be the same. The only future opportunity would be to eventually transition into a full-time investment sales broker, which isn't something I'm sure I want to do.
I've been thinking about starting to apply for associate-level positions on the buyside (eg REPE firms, institutional asset management groups, REITs, etc.), but my understanding is that compensation and hours will likely be worse. I originally had an offer at a REIT two years ago that would have had all-in comp about half of where I'm at currently.
My current thought process is that I should probably stay on with my current group for now. My group works with most of the REITs and institutional groups in the industry, and we compete with most of the major national firms, which has given me a lot of exposure to the industry.
My real question is would I be holding back my career by doing so? I obviously don't want to be doing analyst-level work forever, but this is a good job and I am generally very satisfied. My worry is that if I stay here for another few years, I will have essentially just been treading water from a career-progression standpoint, even if I was making more money.
I would try to transition sooner rather than later for two reasons: 1) If you stay too long in brokerage, you are going to be labeled as a broker. If you switch now, you will go in as an Associate/Senior Analyst. If you wait a few more years, you will still likely enter at the same level. There is no substitute for real acquisitions experience. 2) We are nearing the top of the market. If you wait too much longer, we might be in a recession which will likely dry up acquisitions jobs. That means you'll need to wait another year or two to for the markets to recover to break in.
Also, which market are you located in? My company (Gladstone Commercial) is looking for an acquisitions/asset mgmt analyst. Check out the job posting on SelectLeaders if you are interested in applying or PM me.
WSO networking. Brings a tear to my eye :')
I'm in Chicago and am not really interested in relocating though, but appreciate the heads-up. Understanding that I don't want to stay in this role too long if brokerage isn't right for me, do you think it would be reasonable to stay for another year or so? I think I would like to at least try the brokerage component to some degree before I jump ship, but if that is really going to hold back my career it might be worth it long-term to not even bother.
If you don't mind me asking, what does the all-in comp look like for someone in the role you have open? Curious to see how much of a pay cut it would end up being.
You can always jump to brokerage at any point in your career, you can't always jump to the analytical side
Agreed as to OP's comment about being labeled a broker, which is only a good thing if you want to be a broker long-term (partly kidding).
One comment that I'll make to you is that, title-wise, lateral moves are easier to make than upward moves, firm-to-firm. What I mean is that if you're on the verge of making it to associate at a well known firm, your best bet for the next few months is to get that title and hang onto it for a bit.
If not, you'll likely get hired as an analyst somewhere else (or will have a more difficult time getting hired as an associate), and that will have been time wasted as an analyst at the other firm because any new firm is going to start their own timer with regard to promotions.
That said - if you're around 25, making six figures, in a job you like with decent hours, I'd suggest you not be in such a hurry to get moving. Hiring appears to have slowed down a bit in the last year or so, and, as OP mentioned, you don't want to find yourself between jobs if there's a hiccup in the market.
As someone who literally just made the exact jump a month ago (2 years at JLL/CBRE/CW/HFF in a major market, now in real estate PM role at a BB), do it. @RE Bootcamp is right on the money. As a broker, you're never really going to learn how to do anything other than sell an asset with lofty expectations. A broker. A salesman. Long-term, I'm sure you'd agree it would be more beneficial to know what reality is on the investment side, and what to actually look for in an asset. Not to mention, as he also already mentioned, the market is peaking, and not only will that dry up your potential acquisitions ops, but it's also likely going to dry up that $110k comp you're at now (considering you make all or majority commission). I moved from one major city with a fairly high COL to one with an even higher COL, so it was hard to distinguish the pay difference apples-to-apples. Sure, the sky is virtually the limit when it comes to comp as a broker. But the same concept applies going the other way too. It's all about what your end goal is.
As someone with a phone interview for a first year capital markets analyst position at one of the large brokerage shops in Chicago tomorrow - what should I expect for a starting salary and total comp? In the event the HR recruiter is going to ask my salary expectations.
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