Starwood Capital Group - Interviews
Monkeys, curious to know if anyone has some insight on the interviews (first/second/third rounds) at Starwood Capital for an Acquisitions Analyst position (OCI drop)
The search function didn't help much so here goes another shot of trying to squeeze some info out.
Also interested
Send me a PM.
think very carefully about how much you enjoy your life before accepting an acquisitions analyst position at SCG
Assuming this is not a culture issue, what is the typical work week like? 80+? 100+?
reLA is that food for thought from experience?
What's your issue with SCG?
Sweatshop?
goodL1fe, i'm interested to hear your insight as well however I don't have enough points to initiate a PM. Would you mind pming me?
Thanks
anyone have an idea of comp for analysts with 1 year experience at a place like starwood, BX or carlyle?
*1 year of REIB, then starting as an analyst at one of these places (with base / bonus breakdown if possible)
150
150 all in? any idea on base / bonus breakdown? seems to be in line with 2nd year REIB.
Sounds about right (base + 100 to 120% bonus). All in. I have heard that the words sweat and shop used in the same sentence. Strong brand on your resume.
if anyone else has an idea, please feel free to chime in
I speak from experience. Life is brutal for an associate. Can't imagine the hell an analyst would go through. Didn't even know they hired analysts.
but as stated above, best in class if you are looking for branding.
thanks odog808 and reLA. another question: which repe firms are generally considered to have a best in class brand, as well as a decent work / life balance? any word on BX, lone star, colony, carlyle, ares/area (and other top repe firms?)
i ask as some threads touch briefly on the top repe firms, but are either outdated or don't drill into the specifics about reputation, culture and work / life balance.
are you referring to SW In the US or is it a sweatshop elsewhere as well? London for i.e. ? Any idea about comps in Ldn ?
Bonus recently came out. Analyst I know makes 90 ish. Hit 100% bonus. All in approx 200k.
Damn. Nothing wrong with that as an analyst.
Hell no, makes you wonder what Barry took home...
Interview with Starwood Capital (Originally Posted: 09/21/2012)
I have a first round interview with Starwood next week. In the next couple of days, I am going to review their recent deals and study their website. For information I can't really find online, like work culture, I was hoping someone on these boards could provide such details. And, for people who work in a REPE firm, I would really appreciate any information on your first round process.
Btw, the opportunity is for either the San Francisco or Greenwich office.
Thanks!
(FYI, I have used the search function and have started building list of potential questions. However, it is always helpful to get further insights, especially when the question is about a specific firm.)
I think they just finished recruiting at west coast schools
reLa: I have heard first round interviews is mostly behavioral. Would you expect that to be the case? I do have a previous RE internship, as well as currently intern for another RE firm. With my background, would they likely grill me harder with tougher RE questions?
they get worked pretty hard in the SF office. Starwood isn't known as a "fun" place to work
Sorry for the late response. I have heard that they do give brainteasers, but other than that I don't know much about the interview process. I do know a fair amount about the culture, however, and like I said before, be ready to grind. Let me know how it turns out. Feel free to PM if you want.
say whatup to Barry for me.
Capital Markets at Starwood Capital (Originally Posted: 03/13/2015)
Does anyone have any experience in capital markets at a large real estate PE firm and could provide any insight into what a role in that group would entail?
Analyst? Acquisitions underwriting/DD, Dispositions, tenant credit, partnership modeling, feasibility analysis etc
The role I am looking at is not in acquisitions it is specifically in capital markets dealing with financing of individual assets and portfolios. I appreciate you taking the time to answer initially, does this provide any mor elight on what might be entailed? Thanks dude
There is a great thread a few threads down on starwood. Just kidding, the thread, as it turns out, has actually nothing to do with Starwood.
Is the position with Starwood Mortgage Capital, or some kind of debt fund under the greater Starwood umbrella?
The former is their CMBS platform, and I think it would be a good place to work if you're interested in CMBS. There are a ton of CMBS threads on this forum to read if that's the case. If it's the latter, post a job description or more detail so we can get a better handle on what they do.
He's probably talking about this job listing on select leaders:
https://www.selectleaders.com/candidate/viewjobdetails.do?jid=39120&eid…
Starwood Capital Group is a privately held global real estate investment firm that invests capital into structured real estate investments globally (Equity, Mezzanine and Senior Debt). Starwood has more than $42 billion of assets under management and, since its founding in 1991, has raised nearly $31 billion of equity capital.
Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Apply comprehensive knowledge of the financial markets and utilize well-developed financing skills to obtain optimal financing and refinancing opportunities during varying economic climates. •Obtain optimal financing and refinancing opportunities during varying economic climates. •Obtain inexpensive debt financing for new funds and working capital lines for existing funds and complete and close financing transactions expeditiously. •Structure financing packages in order to attract optimal financing on all assets and portfolio of assets. •Leverage extensive banking and financing relationships with existing and new lending institutions and call upon them regularly •Regularly identify new aggressive lenders who will be able to find inexpensive financing in a turbulent market and competitive financing in a good market. •Review loan documents to provide consistent documentation and maximum protection. •Manage and motivate financing team whether it is an external or internal team, if called upon to do so, in a way that results in maximum leverage for the Managing Director of Financing. •Develop effective and collaborative working relationships with the firm’s senior management and acquisitions and asset management professionals.
Required Skill Set:
3 – 5 years of experience in real estate, ideally in a lending or capital markets debt role
Experience across all levels of debt – senior and mezzanine
Capital market knowledge with CMBS/structured transactions
Team player, collaborative, strong relationship building skills
Self-starter with the ability to multi-task on complex financings
Strong sense of urgency
Detail oriented and thorough
That is it
looking at the job description, they are looking for someone to work on their in house debt placement team. You would be spending the day trying to figure out the best financing options for the assets in the portfolio based on the current condition of the capital markets and the fund's goals.
it would be a lot of creation of OMs, talking with lenders to collect quotes and then analyzing those quotes to match the asset with the correct financing option taking into account current capital market conditions, relationship considerations, Specialized loan covenants (release/substitution covenants, lock boxes, reserves, etc.) and overall cost of capital (fees paid, interest rate, etc.).
this is the vitally important, yet unsexy side of PERE that is always ignored in favor for acquisitions.
They don't outsource any of the debt placement's to capital markets brokers? An eastdil or cushman would come to mind.
That is super helpful. Thank you
Can you elaborate why it is the vitally important side? I am not disagreeing. Just want your thought.
Closing. Right now, there are a lot of cash buyers, or buyers who can close on a line and then put debt on a property later. However, not everyone can (or wants) to do that, so they need a lender to show up with 60-70% of the purchase price on the day of close. You want your debt placement guy to be as sharp as the acquisitions guy who put the contract out on the property. If not, you run the risk of losing hard money deposits and months of work because you can't close on a contract. Given current underwriting standards (which are easing) some would say that it is easier right now to buy a property than it is to finance.
Cost of Capital. How are you supposed to get those sweet double digit returns if you aren't using OPM? Also, marrying the correct financing with your fund's asset plan is really important; doing it wrong can be costly. You don't put a 10 year CMBS loan with no substitution/release rights onto a portfolio deal if there is even the possibility that you need that flexibility; you negotiate that upfront or go with a life company lender. You don't pay up for flexible prepayment options at the end of a loan term if you plan on holding an asset through maturity and refinancing. Cheap financing is important, but sometimes you pay 5bps for a relationship. There is a huge balancing game in all of this, and making a mistake in one or more of these things can really impact your returns.
Starwood Capital Interview Questions (Originally Posted: 03/17/2008)
I have an interview there on Thursday and I was hoping for some insight into types of questions they ask (i.e. examples of technicals/ fit) and format. Thanks for any help in advance.
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