What are the main differences between Real Estate Investment Banks and Real Estate Investment Firms?

I know that REIBs do not deal at the property level, but are there more distinctions? From what I am reading, they seem to do very similar work (m&a advisory, capital raising, etc.) 

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

so, first.... there is no rule that says REIB desk can't or don't work on property level. Some can/do, especially if a 'portfolio' or complex single asset. Still, you are right in that the classic REIB desk at a traditional bank will send such loans to a real estate desk in the commercial ban (property level lending is generally a commercial banking activity), BUT some CMBS loans could be done in the I-bank or a specialized unit.

To the main question REIB vs REIM..

REIB = sellside service (fee for service in the examples of M&A advisory and cap raising.. essentially glorified broker work), REIBs can also use balance sheet as "underwriters" when issuing (fancy way of saying selling) stocks/bonds or other securities. 

REIM = buyside service, they actually manage funds of third parties (and the firm/owners potentially), thus they are the "clients" of the REIB types. They earn fees from acquisition/disposition fees, asset management fees, and incentive fees (promotes/carry) based on deal/fund performance (not level of investment). 

What can confuse people is that many large BB banks have both REIB operations and REIM (usually called Asset Management or something like that), and some even have large, integrated "real estate teams" that share people and resources (not as common as it used to be). 

So the TL:DR... REIB=Sellside, REIM=Buyside 

 

Non deleniti animi sed laboriosam cupiditate dolorem doloribus molestiae. Ab sunt dolorum voluptatem. Eveniet aut optio sed culpa voluptatem ipsam. Dignissimos qui eum quas non pariatur molestiae velit consectetur.

Non officia rerum eos quaerat qui sint neque. Quae non ipsa ducimus non atque eveniet ut odio. Velit ut aperiam ut aut alias nulla. Quia dolor et assumenda quam cum expedita.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 04 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (17) $409
  • Associates (58) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”