Corporate Dev at REIT or other role?

Hello all. Could use some help from the community in regards to choosing a next next role for myself. Been in the CRE industry for 4-6 years now and have spent time on both the debt and equity side as an investment or acquisitions associate. Bottom line for my current firm is that the business is seriously struggling and the comp is not good enough to allow for the level of toxicity that it has.

Overall, I have the long term goal of working into a CIO/Head of Investments type of role. With that in mind, ive just received an offer for a corporate development role at a global, multi-billion dollar reit. My first thought with this was that it’d be great to work across a multi-continent portfolio on a public market scale with responsibilities including regular press releases, earnings presentation, M&A work, determining/helping on strategy regarding leverage/asset types, etc. However, a few friends of mine have suggested that the job as well as the overall investment strategy (core/stabilized) doesn’t help me with my long term goal at all and that I’d be better served to feel out an asset management role that I’m in the middle of a process for. What does everyone think? Would this still help me with working towards my endgame? Have people EVER gone from corp dev RE to acquisitions/investments at more “pure” investment firms, regardless of whether they’ve been at one before? Would asset management in one asset type be better suited and worth waiting for?

5 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Not familiar with Corp Dev at REIT, but just know that the real estate industry is in a world of pain for some years; especially on the acquisitions side (aka very few jobs out there now, and as the market continues to turn, acquisitions guys are the first to get cut.)

With that said, there are more Asset Management roles available right now and they provide more stability when the market cycles like this.

And regarding the Corp Dev position, it may allow you to pivot outside of real estate should you realize in the future that the investment side may not “come back” for some time.

I can’t say which is better for your career goals, but as an acquisitions guy I would heavily recommend that you pursue one of these non-acquisitions roles.

 

Pros - more “pure play” real estate role with both stabilized and transitional assets. Maybeeee some notoriety by parent/holding co but not as key of a benefit. Strong team too.

Cons - not acquisition/investment role which I still roles here and there for. One asset type (hotels/resorts) as opposed to office/retail/industrial global reit opportunity. 

 

Ipsam eveniet eius consectetur natus sed hic ut. Molestiae natus accusantium libero.

Molestiae aut autem enim fuga necessitatibus. In consequuntur eos quia saepe exercitationem debitis sit et. Vero et et adipisci laborum repudiandae perspiciatis.

Enim consequatur quas quo laudantium. Rerum aut temporibus ut. Omnis dolor quisquam repudiandae iste saepe et est.

Dignissimos illum itaque magni perferendis tenetur. Voluptas perspiciatis sequi sunt laborum sint. Dolor neque quibusdam error aut. Blanditiis officia aut et perferendis dignissimos sed dolor.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”