What is a better starting point for a career in real estate? Gotta pick between two offers.
1) MM REIB group (Think WF/RBC/Jefferies/ (NYC)
2) LaSalle Asset Management Team (Chicago)
Goal is to work at a RE megafund. Thoughts on what my path might look like with both the jobs?
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You will be a slave in REIB, and exit OPS are dependent on what you make of it. You will also learn the most and apply skills in IB to whatever you want to do asset level.
If you go LaSalle, if acquisitions then it's easy to pivot to any large fund or development in the future. You will have to go back to grad school if you want to do REIB. Hours will be "ok" and you will also learn a lot.
It's asset level vs operating companies. Do you want to look at FFO, and EBITDA or do you want to you want to be in ARGUS and NOI.
Can't go wrong but it depends on what you love more! Faster burn out in IB, never burn out at the asset level unless you work for an a-hole or the culture blows.
I know guys who did property level at similar shops, went to grab school and crushed IB. End of the day, IB is a sales job to raise capital at the operating level for REITS, mega funds or dynamic groups. At the property level, you are kissing ICs ass to get a deal across the finish line and hearing some MD try to sound smart to talk about risk adjusted returns. Both are sales but different kind of sales.
Off topic, I love the property level!!! But today's market blows at the property level. Everything comes down to the team, ability to move up and turn over. Money will come if you are a gangster at executing to make your manager look good at the bigger shops!! Small shops, can me a mix of morons and extremely brilliant folks.
End goal is to be in acquisitions on the asset level working at a top fund (BS,Ares, Starwood)
LaSalle gig is not Acquisitions. It’s asset mgt. So, it might be harder to pivot to mega fund acquisitions as I see a lot of them hire from IB.
You think I can go to REIB and move to acquisitions in a year?
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth" - Mike Tyson. I love that quote and its' so true!
Off topic: All I can say is, if you go to Jefferies, you will grow your hair out and be a NYC bro! No idea what your exit ops will be, market timing and luck play a huge role!
I have seen folks go from DB to Goldman IB, and I know Goldman IB folks who have gone to property level at mid-market shops.
I don't have a crystal ball to know what the future looks like.
I wanted to work for a mega fund, didn't happen. I made some interesting moves the last few years, and folks I was begging for a job at top 50 jobs 4 years ago for an analyst job are now wanting to hire me for director roles for acquisitions.
You have to know our shit and crank, and the rest is some luck and if you have the gritt, smarts and thick skinned you will become the sexy kid that brings all the CIOs, MDs want on their team. Just have to deal with the BS, get punched in the face and reset until you get what you MOTHER F**KING WANT! Never easy.
Buddy are you on booger sugar? Trying to follow your stream-of-consciousness comments is like teaching Stephen Hawking how to jump rope.
If you're trying to do acquisitions at a mega fund, working on an REIB team with good deal flow will set you up better than doing AM at LaSalle. Networking will be easier in NYC as well compared to Chicago.
You will also make much more comp at the REIB position - when I interviewed with LaSalle last year their AM analyst pay was like $75k + 15% bonus. IB will be more like $110k base with 30%+ bonus. Granted your hours will be 65+/week instead of 50 in AM.
Starting off in REIB will give you more exits/lateral opportunities than AM. You could easily go from REIB to an AM role, but not the other way around.
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I can add some input as someone who started off in IB then moved to a top REPE shop.
First, you might need to be a little more specific on the bank. Those banks aren’t peers for RE - the Wells REGAL group is one of best in the industry while RBC is mediocre and Jefferies is a bank you rarely see when it comes to RE. I doublechecked Green Street’s last M&A list and it confirms what I just said. You’ll be able to land any position in RE out of Wells but not the other two. Keep in mind Wells has a bunch of random shit that they call IB so make sure it’s the actual REGAL group if your offer is from Wells.
Something I’ve noticed is that top RE shops have moved away from hiring bankers towards hiring people with relevant experience. You’re extremely far removed from the real estate when you work with REITs and the top shops are realizing it’s a pain to train someone compared to poaching someone from a peer. You may be better off doing AM at LaSalle if your only goal is to break into acquisitions at a top shop. You understand the lingo better.
Chicago does suck compared to New York though, which is something to think about. It also won’t be easy to interview for shops in New York while you’re out in Chicago. I think it goes Wells IB > RBC IB = LaSalle AM (slight edge to RBC IB because it’s in New York and will have way better pay) > Jefferies IB (stronger pay but weak in RE).
I came from IB and agree with most everything you said - one exception being your opinion on Jefferies REIB. They may not do landmark M&A deals but if you’re based in the NYC office, you’ll have good exits. I’d still take it over AM.
That said, I agree with what you’ve noticed regarding top shops recruiting from other funds rather than REIB. If it was acquisitions at LaSalle, I’d say take it over any REIB job. REIB has really been hit hard in the recruiting game - just does not get the respect it used to unless you’re at Goldman, Moelis, Evercore, whatever.
This is super helpful. Makes a lot of sense. What’s your thoughts on lateraling to one of the better REIB shops after a year?
Super helpful. Thank you for this. Mind if I PM you? Had a few more questions.
Great post. Any thoughts on Truist REIB?
100% do REIB. Lasalle is under the JLL brand and as a public company they are not doing so hot. Even looking at their most recent financials the LaSalle business is not doing as great as they would like. I will say the culture at LaSalle is great, and the people I know there are great, and they all enjoy working there. However, it will not open up the same opportunities that working in REIB will.
You ultimately will have more opportunities coming from REIB, although it will be tough VS LAM, I would not want to be working within the property level during this period of the cycle. Tough it out for a year or two, and you will reap the benefits throughout the rest of your career. Best of luck
Currently analyst in AM for a similar sized shop as LaSalle. Even in a down market I have been contacted by various sized funds for acquisitions positions. I do not know how LaSalle works, but if you will get a broad experience across various property types and strategies, I would strongly consider taking the AM offer.
My shop has a lot of ex bankers so id lean that way. This is coming from someone who was previously in AM. Also better if you want to do something else a few years down the road. Of course everyones opinion is going to be biased towards what they have seen and that will be different shop to shop.
Depends on the bank. If it’s REGAL definitely go for that - no better place to cut your teeth except maybe Eastdil / MF analyst programs.
I might have a bit of a contrary point of view here.
LaSalle might actually be the best bet with a big IF. The reason I say this has to do with the fund trajectory at LaSalle, IF they are seriously hurting like their financials seem to indicate they will be forced into dispositions regardless if they want to or not. The AM teams are deeply involed with the disposition process and it can give you a lot of access to the funds whom are actively buying now. You can take advantage of this and network with them hard. You can lobby internally for the groups whom you want to work with to be awarded the purchase contract, granted the offers have to make sense. Now, this depends on the current state of their financials but, it is a thing to consider. LaSalles Chicago office does manage a HUGE swath of their AM duties, so there is potential there.
Since when is WF REIB mm? lmao
What is it then? BB?
why is everyone here so obsessed with these labels? calling one of the largest banks in the US middle market is just dumb...
Do REIB. just way a better foundation for a career overall. If you happen to decide you'd like to explore careers outside of RE (which could very well cross your mind even if you think you are 100% set on the industry), it will give you much more optionality. Also being in NY will be very helpful as it relates to building out your network and easily interviewing for positions / being in the know. With AM, many people and recruiters will say you don't have front end acq / transaction experience. I would strongly advise against lasalle. Also, all of the recruiters who control many of the coveted associate jobs prefer to see those with banking experience and some (not all) funds still like / prefer banking experience. If you don’t agree with anything I said prior, that’s fine. But, Id find it very hard for someone to argue with my next and final argument. When you are in school, it is very very hard to know what you truly want to do (even if you think you know). You just don’t have enough knowledge / experience to make a solid judgment call. Understanding that, you want optionality. And IB provides you with optionality. For most of us, our first jobs are a chance to break into the industry and gain experience and then leverage that experience and determine what makes sense in light of all this new info we’ve learned. To me, that is the purpose of a first job. It is a stepping stone. Your first job will not be your last. Treat it as such and go with IB
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