Career Prospects Advice! Where do I stand.
Need some opinions here on how long it will take the RE Market to get hot again for acquisitions. I know a lot of major players have plenty of dry powder for opportunistic funds, but when we do you think there will begin to be a rise in job postings for acquisitions in general?
I currently work at a PERE 15 in a major east coast market under the asset management team. I did a year in middle market investment banking before that (non RE coverage group). Will this experience set me up in a great position to compete for upcoming acquisitions analyst positions once the market gets hot again?
This is the golden question. So hard to answer, but from what I've heard after talking to others, there will probably be openings popping up closer toward the end of the year if there isn't a resurgence of COVID. Best bet will probably be around November once there is a clear path in the market.
Given your experience, you should be in great shape for top firms. I've meet tons of people who did it with AM and IB experience.
I'm in a similar boat, but a little different. Two years in corp dev with F500, then 1 year acquisitions with a boutique PE firm in the EU and an MBA in the EU. Now looking to return to the US and it's hard to gauge where you really stand because there aren't many postings. From networking calls, you should be fine having been with a PERE 15, but it may have a step lower in terms of size of firm to get to acquisitions.
At the end of the day though, RE depends so much on who you know, I'd say at where you are you could end up at another PERE 15 firm in acquisitions if you had the right connections.
It should be noted that this is actually the time when the asset management teams get to shine, maintaining the value of the portfolio and investments will be the number one goal of many firms. So, I'm not sure if you really should plan on jumping anytime soon. Your profile shows you are a 2nd year analyst, I think you would want to stay and hopefully get promoted, especially if you are at a PERE 15.
A lot more firms are running joint or semi-joint acquisition/asset mngt teams, so I don't see why jumping as an analyst makes a ton of sense. If you can transition within your own firm, or have a more hybrid role (not sure your firm intermixes the two), that's a good way to go about it.
But seriously, your on the right track, hang in and get the value of it. If you lateral to acquisitions you could be hitting reset on promotion path. This is not a negative to your career, but could be a slowdown.
Thanks for the input. That was really helpful! Unfortunately, making the transition internally will be too long of a road. It could take a few years to get there and from what I've seen, former AM folks who jumped internally took years to get into an acquisitions analyst position at my firm.
The good part is that I get to handle not only AM, but also dispositions and refinances. My ideal position would be to add acquisitions onto my duties at another firm given the transition track at my current firm might take years to do.
@Real Monkey" it sounds like you have a really good position. Assuming you have good leadership, ability to learn, and are generally happy, I see no reason to try to lateral to acquisitions.
My personal advice would be to run with where you are. Your career path in AM should aim you towards Chief Investment Office, Fund Manager, etc. Don't disagree with wanting to add acquisitions to the portfolio, but I would wait till at a more senior level. Going as an analyst seems to be a non-value adding move.
redever in your opinion, is it fairly common to see people jump to acquisitions once they take a more senior role in AM? At a more senior position, it is unheard of to transition from a senior AM role to an Acquisitions role at my current firm, so I would most likely have to jump to another shop eventually.
Also, at the most senior levels (AVP, VP, Director, etc.), is the pay discrepancy between acquisitions and AM large or small? I've heard kind of a mixed bag of things, but it mostly comes from younger professionals making assumptions, or some kind of estimate given from CEL research.
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