Pivot to Acquisitions

I'm looking to get some general career advice on navigating the commercial real estate landscape, and would truly appreciate any insights.

I’ve been in the industry for seven years, primarily in real estate advisory roles based in NYC. I started at CBRE, where I focused on corporate strategy and workplace solutions for large occupiers. I'm currently at a large consulting firm, where I support transaction advisory and restructuring assignments. My work has included recapitalizations across asset types (mainly office and multifamily), asset management, and general transaction support. I have strong financial modeling skills, including Argus, and I’ve learned a lot working across different sides of the table.

That said, I’m hoping to make the transition to the principal side and learn directly from experienced investors. I’m most interested in acquisitions, and over the past month I’ve been networking actively with professionals from institutional real estate private equity platforms. The consensus has been positive, they feel I’m well-qualified, and it’s just a matter of timing and fit. That’s encouraging, but after hearing it repeatedly without traction, I’m eager to see progress.

I know it’s a tough time in the market, and many equity platforms aren’t growing. I did come close with one asset/investment management associate role at an active REPE shop, but ultimately fell short on a pretty tough case study. It would have been an ideal fit, but it wasn’t meant to be.

I’m giving myself a 12–18 month runway to make the pivot. While acquisitions feels like the right long-term path, I’m open to different types of roles and platforms that align with my broader goals. One of the questions I’m grappling with is whether I should remain patient in pursuing an equity-side role or consider opportunities in credit as a faster track to transitioning to the principal side.

Thanks for reading, any thoughts or advice are welcome and appreciated.