Hi All,
I just started a position as an analyst for one of the big 4 brokerage firms Cap Market, specifically CRE Lending. All of the deals that come to us are agency loan requests, so UW and all other aspects of deal prep and research are in tune with agency standards. I have started to notice that everyone I work with has only done agency lending, and there really isn't any strong outside agency growth opportunities, from what I can see. I can't say first hand and confidently that there is an agency lending trap in the industry, but it seems like a lot of the people that work in agency lending stay for the long haul.
What I'm getting at is, did anyone start in agency lending and later break into other forms of lending (balance sheet/conduit, etc)? If not you personally, do you know someone who came from an agency background? If not, do you think there is an agency trap in CRE lending? If so, why?
Realistically, I would like to look into REIB, PE, or smaller size buy side down the line, and I am just getting anxious/ concerned that it won't be a possibility.
Don't let the fact that most of your superiors have been in agency lending forever discourage you. A lot of people stay in that line of work because it's low stress for solid pay on the underwriting side, and the good originators can still pull in 1-2 mil plus easily - just do the math.
There are plenty of exit ops out of that line of work (especially if it's your first job out of college), and it's still very valuable experience provided you're proactive and try to soak up as much information as possible. I did a year in agency lending before moving on to greener pastures, and you'll likely do the same. Don't want to name-drop any companies and out myself, but I interviewed at some fairly name brand places (buy side and sell side) from an agency lending shop. PM if you want specifics on that.
Some things you can do to make the transition easier (in no particular order):
1) Keep your LinkedIn up to date. Don't just have your title as "Analyst at JLL" cause that could be 10 different jobs. Make it clear that you're on a loan originations / underwriting team covering mutifamily. Once you hit a years worth of experience, better jobs will come your way through LinkedIn. Recruiters search on LinkedIn and they'll filter by 1+ years of experience and keywords like "Loan Originations", "Real Estate Lending" so don't make yourself hard to find.
2) Get Argus Certified. If you're looking to move to a bank and lend on office, retail, industrial etc. properties, you'll be at a disadvantage to any other applicants who currently use Argus at their job. It's not a deal breaker - I definitely got interviews at places where Argus was part of the job description, but if you're nervous about being pigeon holed this will help.
3) Take online modeling courses. GetREFM, BIWS are two well known ones and I think there's a free one that people use as well. I had two bullet points describing the things I learned to do through modeling courses (calculating JV waterfalls, building 10 year proformas, building office rent rolls)
4) Do well at your job for a year. I'll admit I started looking pretty early too, but I stopped and went back to focusing on my job until the 11 month mark. A year just isn't that long of a time. If you do a mediocre job for 7-8 months and leave for something slightly better, people might be annoyed with you and you may be in an awkward position if you still aren't happy at the new job. If you bust your butt for a year and leave for something clearly better / more in-line with your career goals, the exit will be less awkward and your boss will probably serve as a good reference for you in the future. I've heard some 2nd hand stories where people regret leaving their job on a bad note. Your potential new boss and old boss might have worked on a deal together, and your old boss may share his opinion of you as a person. I don't care what anyone says about that being illegal - it 100% happens.
5) Make your resume pretty. I must've run through 50 iterations of my resume to make it look as impressive as possible without lying. If you work on big deals or deals with brand-name sponsors, include a list of transactions you worked on under your position description. But don't include too much specific info if the sponsor you list is secretive about their properties or they specified that your team couldn't do a press release. That can get you in trouble.
Let me know if you have any questions about this stuff in general. I was in the exact same position when I graduated
Thanks for your response. Definitely helps shed light on a number of things. Couldn't agree more on working hard and learning from the opportunity I currently had. Definitely going to make the most of it.
Honestly there is big money to make if you do well in agency lending I’ve seen many many 1-3 billion dollar deals in past 2-3 years done by Fannie and Freddie, imagine if you can score just one of those deals Only GSE has the money to fund the largest multifamily acuiqistions, Starwood/Blackstone all come to GSE on their billion dollar+ deals
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