Is Finance all that Matters (RE-IB)

For those who work in the real estate investment banking space, or know people who do?

Quick question. Examining classes, etc. If you want to land in Real Estate IB, should you take all real estate finance classes (REITs, REPE, Distressed Workouts)? Or is knowledge of the entire real estate process just as good (Development, Due Diligence, Construction)?

*End Goal - REPE or REIT

6 Comments
 
Best Response

Depends what you mean by REIB. If you want to work in real estate M&A (real estate coverage group at Greenhill), just follow the same accepted path to BB IBD.

If you want to work for a smaller, capital-sourcing shop (say, Eastdil) that raises money for property deals, then those other classes are also valuable. But even then, you're not being hired for your knowledge fo construction, zoning, land deals, environmental studies, etc - you're being hired to mainly for your ability to process numbers as a spreadsheet monkey. Therefore, if you can only choose one of the two routes you mention above, choose the former.

 

You can mix them. However, I was thinking that it wouldn't show "commitment" to finance by being well rounded. lol. Maybe I am wrong.

I would be coming in as an Analyst, as i have been informed of on here due to my lack of finance history, if that makes a difference

Ultimate goal would be Blackstone REPE or something similar or a nationwide REIT.

prospieDepends what you mean by REIB. If you want to work in real estate M&A (real estate coverage group at Greenhill), just follow the same accepted path to BB IBD.

If you want to work for a smaller, capital-sourcing shop (say, Eastdil) that raises money for property deals, then those other classes are also valuable. But even then, you're not being hired for your knowledge fo construction, zoning, land deals, environmental studies, etc - you're being hired to mainly for your ability to process numbers as a spreadsheet monkey. Therefore, if you can only choose one of the two routes you mention above, choose the former.

 

Just like any IB gig, it will come down to your GPA, OCR, work experience, and interview skills. Just take the classes required for your major and have a strong GPA and extracurriculars...taking specific classes won't give you a leg up on the competition...better time would be spent networking and studying for your interviews.

 

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