REPE vs Re Credit

I wouldn't say one is superior to the other. Both make great risk-adjusted returns and can lead to very lucrative careers. REPE roles are going to make the headlines of " ___ bought this $XXX Million dollar deal that's Class A and blah blah blah" whereas Private Credit roles are less eye catching. REPE are the eternal optimists and looking for any and all possible upside (with limited downside) and Credit is looking at worst case scenario so the Sponsor can pay back the debt service and principle and the upside doesn't really affect them as much. I will say that people tend to want to go "shopping' for new deals on the equity acquisitions side because you get to find a shiny new deal that has a ton of potential in their eyes so it becomes that coveted role. These are just the opinions of person on the equity side, I'm sure there are very differing opinions across the REPE and Credit spectrum. If you are curious of both, I would recommend interning at both and finding out for yourself. 

Related, but I think opportunistic RE credit (hedge fund/debt fund shops) is fun. For context I work in a REPE shop but can/have invested across the capital stack in higher yielding credit (bridge, mezz, b-notes, CMBS subordinate bonds). In the limited experience that I have working on these investments, I found them to shorter fuse/faster moving, which ultimately is a good fit for my personality type. These opportunities also tend to be a lot more hairy/complex in nature and you really need to have a good grasp of the collateral and your ability to take back keys in the event of default. 

But again everything boils down to fit -- REPE's fun because you're crafting a business plan for an asset. You're thinking like an owner and you're constantly trying to find ways to add value to make returns pencil. On the other hand, RE credit is a lot more focused on downside mitigation. Things like negotiating control and cure rights, sizing to ensure you have enough credit enhancement, adding more structure to the loan to reduce risk of non-payment etc. 

REPE returns are much higher than lender returns. In theory.

As someone who spent a bit over a year in REPE and after that transitioned to a real estate debt fund where I've been for the last 4 years, I think I can chime in on this. 

The equity side is as people have already mentioned a bit less structured, a bit less repetitive. Its about looking for upside and trying to see where you can find growth. It is the more 'visible' side of the deal as you're the person doing the actual deal, the credit people are just providing your deal a mortgage. 

Personally, I strongly prefer the debt side. Because you're that one step removed from the deal, there's less pressure. You're less likely to work long hours as the pressure is a bit less on you to get the deal over the line, its much more relaxed, and I love that. Some hardos seem to revel in working into the early hours of the morning, personally I prefer to get a slightly lower bonus (but still pretty decent) but leave at a reasonable hour so that I can enjoy things outside the office. Credit is all about thinking about the downside, thinking about the things that can go wrong and how you protect yourself against that. I actually quite enjoy that from an intellectual perspective. 

Credit is also more structured. You have procedures to go through, you have documentation and committees. Covenants and terms are relatively standardised, though adjusted for individual deals.  If you like structure, then this is where you'll fit in just fine. The other thing I like is that you're much more protected when things go wrong. Equity positions can be wiped out completely, debt will nearly always recover at least something. So if you screw up an investment, your fund/firm/job isn't wiped out by it, you have downside protection. Also with equity you have to live and breathe your deal continuously for the entire hold period, as you'll need to be managing it, carrying out asset management initiatives, etc. With debt you make the loan, and then you park it and forget about it (unless something on it goes wrong). 

Credit is a lot about saying no. Someone else commented on this thread that "you can't really say no on the debt side". What kind of an irresponsible shop are you working at? Your job literally is to make sure your investor's money doesn't go into something stupid. We never believe the sponsor business plan. If you're telling me your cap rate is 3.5% but SONIA before you add any margin is at 4.0%, well then that just makes no sense at all. If the ability of your project to pay interest current is fully reliant on future rental growth, then you're asking for too much leverage. The vast vast majority of funding proposals we see we kill right off the bat, relatively few make it to the stage of running full models and negotiating terms.