Greystar: culture, comp, exit opps?

Hi all,

Wanted to see if anyone had feedback on this firm at the analyst level on the investments side.

1. Culture
2. Comp
3. Exit opps
4. Other info

Any help would be greatly appreciated ! I know they are a decent sized real estate firm; not sure if they focus on private equity investments or real estate finance (or if those are interchangeable in RE)

Thanks so much in advance, will give out a SB for great info :)

 
Best Response

They are an owner / operator, focused strictly multifamily properties and have grown a lot over the last 10 years or so. Their recruiting model for the investment side of the business has been similar to the old Trammell Crow model where they recruit smart MBA's, teach them for a short period, and then send them out into the world to start sourcing deals. When I met them 7 or 8 years ago, they had a very palpable entrepreneurial feel. I'm not sure how much they have institutionalized with the rapid growth but they appear to recruit the same types of people for that side of the business. I knew a couple of guys (MBAs) who spent a year in Charleston (headquarters) learning the operational side of the business and then got sent to open offices in new cities with mandates to put $100 mm to work.

They invest with different capital partners - GE Capital, Goldman, etc. They recently teamed up with Goldman to buy about $100 mm worth of assets in AZ from EQR. Aside from investing, they also manage properties for other institutional investors. Can't speak to compensation or culture now. The people I've known that have worked there have all been bright and pleasant. I think working there would open up a lot of exit opportunities given their connections with a lot of different capital partners. Not sure what the upside is now that they have grown so much and have built out a lot of infrastructure. The upside and/or downside is the focus on one asset class - multifamily. You'd really learn how to manage those properties and have a lot of in house knowledge at your disposal. I don't think it would limit you going forward, though.

 
sbguy:
They are an owner / operator, focused strictly multifamily properties and have grown a lot over the last 10 years or so. Their recruiting model for the investment side of the business has been similar to the old Trammell Crow model where they recruit smart MBA's, teach them for a short period, and then send them out into the world to start sourcing deals. When I met them 7 or 8 years ago, they had a very palpable entrepreneurial feel. I'm not sure how much they have institutionalized with the rapid growth but they appear to recruit the same types of people for that side of the business. I knew a couple of guys (MBAs) who spent a year in Charleston (headquarters) learning the operational side of the business and then got sent to open offices in new cities with mandates to put $100 mm to work.

They invest with different capital partners - GE Capital, Goldman, etc. They recently teamed up with Goldman to buy about $100 mm worth of assets in AZ from EQR. Aside from investing, they also manage properties for other institutional investors. Can't speak to compensation or culture now. The people I've known that have worked there have all been bright and pleasant. I think working there would open up a lot of exit opportunities given their connections with a lot of different capital partners. Not sure what the upside is now that they have grown so much and have built out a lot of infrastructure. The upside and/or downside is the focus on one asset class - multifamily. You'd really learn how to manage those properties and have a lot of in house knowledge at your disposal. I don't think it would limit you going forward, though.

+1 Thanks so much for the info, they seem pretty chill :) The multi-family focus is not that big of a deal. Right now I'm just look at the comp structure and culture as a dealbreaker.

 
DaisukiDaYo:
+1 Thanks so much for the info, they seem pretty chill :) The multi-family focus is not that big of a deal. Right now I'm just look at the comp structure and culture as a dealbreaker.

Smart and nice goes a long way in my book. How much you think about comp structure (not comp 'level') probably depends on your experience. To my knowledge, they don't operate in too many areas that have a high cost of living aside from Northern Va and Southern CA. If you're an experienced hire / MBA, you're probably not going to offend them by asking about co-investment opportunities in interviews or discussing the offer. If you're an undergrad, the structure of an offer is probably going to be quite simple. I saw some negative feedback on them on one of the jobs websites but it appeared to be primarily from property-level operations people. Not that their views aren't important, but working for any company after being acquired usually isn't a pleasant experience. (They've been on a torrid acquisition / growth streak that would put pressure on the culture of any company.)

Not trying to promote them or anything. Just trying to convey my view is that they are well respected in the industry as a company and the few people that I've known or met (including some of their MD's) on the investment / corporate side all seemed like good people. But I'm certainly not claiming to have any insider's perspective. Best of luck.

 

Hey,

Greystar is a vertically integrated real estate investment firm focusing on multifamily. That being said, they are a property management firm first and an investment firm second. 3rd party property management is the revenue driver. As a result, there are some inherent conflicts of interest that exist.

-Good people/culture -Average money. Not 'PE' money. -exit ops: It's not going to feed you into something else. Most RE PE jobs aren't going to feed you into something else. Lateral hiring is rare. If you want to work for a mega fund join out of school or after 1-2 years of banking. Otherwise, find a firm with discretionary capital and deal flow. It's all about building a deal sheet. Once you are VP level, that's all anyone cares about.

On the plus side, they are not allocators so it could be a good opportunity to get some operational experience.

Hope this helps.

DaisukiDaYo:
Hi all,

Wanted to see if anyone had feedback on this firm at the analyst level on the investments side.

  1. Culture
  2. Comp
  3. Exit opps
  4. Other info

Any help would be greatly appreciated ! I know they are a decent sized real estate firm; not sure if they focus on private equity investments or real estate finance (or if those are interchangeable in RE)

Thanks so much in advance, will give out a SB for great info :)

 
The Duke of Wall Street:

Also, does anyone have insight regarding exit opps? I see it was briefly mentioned in this thread. However, that was 2013. I'm sure it has changed a decent amount in the last 1-2 years considering the torrid pace of growth.

exit opps have not changed and would have no reason to. it's a multifamily acquisitions job, stop overanalyzing it.
 

Greystar is def been on the rise and raising a lot of institutional capital. They're expanding quite rapidly here in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Great shop if you want to do multifamily long-term.

Robert Clayton Dean: What is happening? Brill: I blew up the building. Robert Clayton Dean: Why? Brill: Because you made a phone call.
 

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