"Real Estate Investment Banking"

I currently work on the principal side at a small, boutique PE practice that specializes in MF and senior living, but I have recently been interested in what I hear as "real estate investment banking." I realize this is different than actual RE investment banking (M&A, ECM, DCM, etc. for real estate companies) but I am still confused how this is different than the work at a brokerage house like CB or JLL on the capital markets teams. For example, I know CB has CBRE Capital Advisors, ya da ya, but how does this group differ from their capital markets team?

I understand REIB (at the property level) to basically build a deal's capital stack. Is it simply a broad term that wraps up all of CRE brokerage house services, or is there something particular that separates an REIB team at CB from their investment sales, E/DCM team?

Thanks for the help!

6 Comments
 
Best Response

I have come to the conclusion that REIB - in the formal sense - are firms that offer M&A, ECM, DCM, etc. services for real estate companies and REITS. As you can imagine, there is a small market for these firms which is why you do not hear much about them.

Brokerage firms like JLL and CBRE have "Real Estate Investment Banking Groups" that are no different than their Debt and Structured Finance teams. From what i gathered, these incorrectly titled "REIB" teams handle larger institutional/portfolio deals that span multiple markets. However, at the end of the day, they are still debt and equity brokers.

 

I think that's Eastdil's tag line... I work in RE DCM which fits the colloquial use of IB. However, if you look up the formal definition for investment banking, institutions like Eastdil, HFF, and other brokers 100% fit the bill.

"An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations, and governments in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities." - Wikipedia

"In finance and economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. One of the most important financial services provided by a financial institution is acting as a financial intermediary." - Wikipedia

This isn't college, Wikipedia counts as a source.

 

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