Experienced Analyst --> ?

Experienced Analysts and above - is your current position the one you see yourself having a career in? Or are you still trying to gain experience and leverage that into another role down the line?

For example, I personally have three years full-time experience, with one at JLL. I am a production analyst there and they want us to sit in the seat for about three years before going full producer/originator. I don't know if I want to be a producer, I'm only in my mid 20's and still would be when that three years in the seat is up. And I'm not sure I want to commit to the debt side at this age anyways. I do want to see how the principal side operates since that has been a goal of mine for awhile, and I think it would be possible after the time at JLL.

So basically wondering a couple things now.

1) if I continue my time at JLL and spend the next two years there, will I be able to effectively 45 degree lateral to a principal-focused firm at the associate/senior associate level? I really would not want to be that 28-30 year old analyst at a fund/owner/operator, plus I would have a ton live deal experience and more than likely experience with their firm (as in, exiting from JLL to a client).

2) When are you expected to settle down and pick a home for awhile in this industry? I have had my eyes on a few firms over the years where I would love to build a nest and stay long-term, but obviously I am not there yet in my career, so wondering what the older guys' take on this is? 

Appreciate it guys!

 

Don’t have the answer for you, but I’m in the same boat. It seems harder to move to buyside after 4+ years of experience, but not impossible.

Looking at most buyside firms I’m targeting, most of their employees came straight out of school, from other buyside firms, or had 1-2 years of sellside experience

And no, I don’t see myself moving up on the sell-side. It seems very hard to differentiate yourself as a lender or broker. Could argue this is the same on the equity side, but I don’t think it is to the same extent.

 

Have you thought about grad degree at all? That would be my last ditch option if I couldn't find anything relevant when searching.

I'm hoping they would see my prior experience (which was middle office operations) as kind of irrelevant and would hopefully just focus on the time at JLL, which would fit that frame you mention but who knows. That is far out in the future for me. Best of luck with your search though

 

It depends on your situation. MSRD or MSRE don’t really help in my situation bc I already have a solid job. So I’d have to do a 2 year MBA, but I don’t want to spend a quarter mil and forego $500k of income. 
 

If you make less than $100k, the math on MBA looks better. If you want to do development or work at an owner operator and/or move markets, the MSRE can also make a lot of sense.

I think you’re right that firms may ignore your first two years. 

 
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It's very firm dependent. If you are aiming for a MF, or a PERE 50 then you probably won't get very far. The best thing about working for these big brokers are the connections you typically make with buyside firms. If you want to move to the principal side you should look to leverage every person you make on a deal. 

In terms of title, I typically see people coming in at analyst/Sr analyst levels from brokers. I think part of that has to do with the fact that you would be bringing strong modeling skills, but still need to learn more about how the firm thinks of investments. As an associate, at least at my firm, you are running deals, lead contact for all aspects of an acquisition and have explain to investors and clients the investment thesis. Firms may not be comfortable giving that responsibility to someone without principal experience.

Again, this is a firm-by-firm basis, but that has been my experience. Do you have to stay for 3 years though? What's stopping you from doing 1 or 1.5 years and then trying to lateral?

 

Thanks for the reply. Not aiming for MF at all and maybe one in PERE 50 that is a target firm (connections there I could try to maneuver). I definitely am trying to stay in touch with certain clients on deals we've executed with.

I've also seen guys come from brokerage go to the principal side at the senior analyst level and that would make sense based on your description. And nothing is stopping me from leaving at anytime, it's that I left my last job after a little over a year so I want to make sure I stay with JLL for at least two before I start looking again. 

 

I will say that I transitioned from banking and an MBA to the principal side as an analyst, and am now an associate at a different firm. My advice is to make sure you have 2-3 years of experience to get in as an analyst/sr. analyst at a reputable firm. I've done the recruiting with firms and headhunters, used my connections, and it's pretty tough to break into the principal side if you only have one year of experience and that's at the analyst level. I wouldn't necessarily care about the title so much, getting into a firm that matches what you want out of your career is the thing that will make you happiest, or at least that's what I've found.

 

I think you're seeing annecdotal evidence that people don't move from the sell side to buy side in real estate after a few years. In reality, this is likely because people start to gains some traction and hit their stride at this point, and leaving just doesn't make a lot of sense. However, I think it is entirely possible to move from the sell side to buy side after moving into production for a few years... Example being one of the power brokers for office in our region who absolutely crushed moved into a vp role on a development team recently. Not sure the reason, but it happens so I wouldn't get tangled up in moving into production and limiting yourself. If you want to give production a try, then do it.

 

I think you're fine. I made the switch from a commercial lender to a mixed-use developer (granted I got picked up by a recruiter). I often see "buyside" job postings for analysts or senior analysts at developers / asset managers / private equity-style firms / etc., where really they're just looking for someone who is familiar with the business overall (CRE in XYZ market(s)), and has that financial / quantitative experience (modeling transactions). Your story makes sense as well that you don't want to pursue becoming a broker/originator because you want to experience the principal side of the business.

That being said, 5 years in a single analyst role is quite a bit of time for you to make up your mind about general direction you want to go in.

Also, if you don't want to be a 28-30 yr old analyst, what do you want to be at that age?

 

Thank you for the reply, I've had lender contacts make that switch too so thankful there's more evidence.

For clarity, I have only been with JLL for one year. The other two years experience were in middle office operations so my path has not been standard and the general direction I want to go in is investments. Whether that is a debt fund or owner/operator is to be decided, hence why I'd like to move after I learn more about the debt side. 

And at 28-30 I'd like to be associate level but understand you may need to pay your dues on the buyside since the deal process is different. Part of that is seeing my other finance buddies already be at the associate or VP level at 25-26 and ideally I'd like to catch up but with CRE titles being so fickle I realize it's not that important in the long run.

 

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