Entry level Investment Sales vs LIHTC?

Thoughts on entry level roles as a financial analyst in a niche asset class with a solid investment sales/cap markets team (CBRE, etc) or investment analyst/underwriter at a MM bank in their LIHTC fund team?

Long term, I feel I would enjoy the LIHTC role/work more. But, if I were to seek an exit opp down the road, I'd like to be on the lending side at a LifeCo for example.

Any thoughts on the better experience intrinsically and also down the road in terms of marketability?

4 Comments
 

As someone who went the LIHTC route, gaining a mastery (or even beginner's understanding) of that space would be far more valuable if you want to do something on your own. Affordable housing in general is a submarket with high barriers to entry and very little capital needed to really get started. So if you want to start/own your own business, that can actually be a really attractive route to go. Once you know the regulations and know the people, and once you have a good grasp of the risks and how to spot them, it's a market in which you'll be one of the few players. Even in NYC there isn't a big community of tax credit developers.

If you want to be on the lending side, though, then go with the path that takes you there

 

Are you in LIHTC now? One of my best friends works in the space and it all seems very interesting.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

On the dev side it offers the best risk adjusted returns in the industry. Usually $500k in predev that gets reimbursed at construction loan closing, a net fee of a bout $20k per unit, and cash flow dependent on deal size (typically 1.15 DSCR).

However, I don't get the impression most dev shops are generous when it comes to sharing fees with non principals.

The other trick is getting sellers to give you a long cheap option while you are getting the financing lined up which can take 12 months on the short end from the time you identify a site. There are bridge lenders who will give pretty favorable terms once you have the financing pretty well cooked.

 
Most Helpful

Doloribus et error sint incidunt. Libero quia debitis quo in debitis nihil sunt sit. Rerum aliquam quasi voluptatem illo voluptas non.

Unde repellat ab ut quia et. Non optio velit ut. Animi sed aliquam eum aperiam quas.

Odio sint cupiditate deleniti deserunt dolorum dolorem. Optio sint itaque quo commodi doloribus.

Aut et laboriosam enim rerum consectetur ea corrupti. Nihil ad et non et molestiae voluptate. Quia ad aspernatur ut quis enim quasi. Natus aut et accusantium sit totam. Et consequatur qui est sit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”