Is PE Audit -> REPE/REIT Accounting -> Investment Analyst (CBRE/JLL/Savills/Tishman Speyer) Realistic (London)?

Hi Everyone,

I'll try to keep it short. I've currently been an auditor for 5 and a half years in London, 2 years of which were at a Big 4 firm and the last 3.5 of which have taken place at boutique audit firm specialising in PE/VC funds/fund managers. The sole purpose of originally going into audit was to qualify to then transition into finance/consulting. However, because of a couple of exam failures and (primarily) because of a horrible job market for FDD/Valuations roles here in London, I have been extremely unsuccessful in my job applications to the stepping stone roles that have traditionally led to the end-goals of IB/ER (the latter of which was always a little bit pie in the sky, to be honest).

I recognise that the longer I wait (I am now 30 years old), the harder it is to make any kind of transition away from audit, and I have been quite desperate recently. My number one goal in life is (and has always been, ever since I started working nearly 6 years ago) to chart a realistic course to leave the accountancy profession, if not in my next job (unrealistic), then definitely through the job after that in 2-3 years' time.

Through a friend who works as an investment analyst at a major REPE firm, I was encouraged to take a real estate financial modelling course (BIWS). I enjoyed it much more than I expected. A new long-term plan I have in mind is as follows, and is based on the premise that it would be far easier to make the accounting -> front-office transition in real estate than it would be at a generalist PE firm:

i. Leave audit for REPE fund accounting OR REIT management/financial accounting/finance business partnering, all of which are realistic exit options that I've seen my colleagues pursue. I would kick ass at whatever job I got for 2-3 years. My question here is, is there a discernible difference between the two in terms of longer-term exit opportunities between REIT and REPE accounting, both in terms of the probability of moving to the buy-side and within accounting (as a worst-case backup in case my plan fails)?

ii. Sit the CFA during my 2-3 years of employment there - I have already passed L1, and would sit L2 in August 26 and L3 in August 27. I understand that it is not the most useful designation in the world for real estate, but this is honestly also for my own education etc and I honestly don't think it could hurt.

iii. I would also begin writing my own research reports on London real estate in my free time, though I'm not sure which form this would take.

iv. Once I've passed all 3 levels of the CFA (and perhaps even before then), aggressively network on LinkedIn and within my firm to move into an analyst role.

How realistic is this path? Keep in mind that aside from this, the only other realistic options are stay in audit (unimaginable), go into fund accounting at a more generalist PE/VC firm (I have never seen anyone go into a front office role from here, ever) or continue waiting around another 6-12-18-24 months until something magically pops up in FDD/valuations/boutique M&A, though after 2-3 years of the former 2 roles, which investment bank worth their salt would hire a 32-33 year-old analyst anyway? And besides, it's not like FDD is inherently more fun than analysing real estate anyway, and I'm really starting to have second doubts about IBD and whether I was always just blinded by the prestige of it all rather than any genuine interest in the field ...

This is an enormous life decision, but one that is honestly long, long overdue. I feel like I just need to take the plunge and jump off the edge and take a risk for once in my life, but I wanted to canvass opinion here to see how realistic industry professionals think the route in the title would be.

Thank you all in advance!