BB Real Estate Lending or Mid-Size REPE
Hey everyone. I recently graduated from school (non-target) and have received two offers. The first is at a top BB RE Lending group (where I would be doing both CMBS and BS lending). The second is at a mid/small REPE firm that directly invests in RE companies ~$10bn AUM. As my end goal is to work in acquisitions at a large PE shop (BX, Starwood, Carlyle...), I was wondering if you guys would be to provide input on which of these jobs will be better. I understand that the REPE shop is more applicable work, but I was wondering if the 'name brand'/CMBS work outweighs the REPE and offers me more opportunities upon leaving.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.
They have 10bn of equity capital raised / managed? That’s not a small / mid sized repe shop. Also if you’re doing entity level investments, I don’t know how transferable it is to doing property level acquisitions. However that line of work is more complex and interesting (in my opinion) than buying individual apartment complexes.
Are you sure you’re describing the PE fund correctly? Don’t know of a place that only makes corporate level RE investments and also manages $10bn. Maybe KSL but they also do asset level deals. Also those places rarely hire straight out of college. PM me if you want, I’m curious and pretty familiar with the space
Hey JSmith. Yes, the PE shop invests solely in RE entities, rather than directly in RE assets. I'll shoot you a PM with more info now.
Edit: Can't send a PM because just made account and WSO requires 2 days of account activation to send. If you send me one, will be able to respond, however.
If your end goal is acquisitions, this is a no brainer. $10B AUM is not small, so transitioning from that to a larger fund will be easier than going from debt to equity.
Hey Net Work, thank you for the input. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, however, when I brought this up to my professor, he stated that the 'prestige' of the brand name of the BB will provide more opportunities in the future rather than the mid-size REPE firm. Would you agree with this?
Your professor is a professor for a reason. A $10BN fund will carry plenty of prestige.
If the REPE opportunity is actually at a fund of funds, take the BB CRE lending role imo. A fund of funds is much different than REPE and while it would help with REPE networking, the skillset isn't a direct crossover and you won't be learning the fundamentals of the individual deals.
I believe what OP means is it is a PE company that invests in RE playformas, ala Vista (I think?) or Almanac Realty.
If I am right then this exp would be exactly what Bs / starwoods are looking for.
Edit: not vista... Almanac realty
Hey TGB, thank you for the response. Yeah, that is what I mean. If I were to take the job, do you think I would be pigeon-holed into this type of entity-investing REPE or would I also be able to move to more acquisition type roles?
Dude no way. Think about it... A lot of BX/SW guys are REIB allum. Entity level investing is arguably more impressive than REIB IMO.
Either one is good but I'd go the platform REPE company. Just make sure there is direct RE exposure and it isn't like a fund of fund structure or some bs.
REPE firm no contest. Generally its always best to get direct experience in the space you want to work in.
If your goal is real Estate Acquisitions, go to the lender. If the real estate private equity firm only invests in platforms, and not single / portfolio assets, it’s going to be very different. I would suggest going to the lender. It’s not a hard switch to go from debt to equity or equity to debt. I see people do it all the time. On this forum, people make it out like it’s impossible, but it’s not hard at all.
Hey Pudding, thank you for the input. Yeah, that's what I have been seeing in most of the debt to equity posts. However, where do REPE shops typically look for new talent? I've been reading a lot about REIB and REPE but would you consider RE debt to be one of these 'targets'? In addition, as I am relatively new to the industry, I am not completely sure if a large REPE shop is where I want to be in the future. Simply in terms of the ability to move around in the RE industry, which of the two jobs offer do you believe offer the most opportunities in the future?
Assuming you want to be in bricks and sticks real estate, go to the BB lending team. You can move around throughout the industry.
I'm currently at a BS lender and I've gotten REPE interviews. The skill set is very transferable.
To put something else into perspective for you- you’re in a great spot. I don’t really think there is a “wrong” answer here. Will one provide marginally better opportunity than the other? Possibly. Not the guy to definitively answer that. But whichever route you take, you’re getting great experience and this will not inhibit any success.
Platform Investment Role > BB Lending Role > FoF Role
how would asset level acquisitions compare to a platform investments role?
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