Heitman & Harrison Street LDN
Hi everyone,
Does anybody have valuable info concerning either Heitman or Harrison Street (HS)? Ideally in London although any input would be much appreciated. Both are Real Estate Private Equity funds based in Chicago for those who don’t know the firms (AuM: $43bn Heitman; $32bn HS).
Many thanks in advance!
Both based in Chicago - Harrison St is generally regarded more highly from my perspective and is definitely a top firm here. Heitman has a good legacy but they're known for underpaying substantially and I anecdotally know that a lot of their juniors in Chicago are trying to get out right now. Harrison does alternative strategies (storage, seniors, student, etc.) whereas Heitman is more traditional (both in terms of culture and the subject of work) so keep that in mind.
Thanks for replying, lakeshow11. Any input is appreciated even if not focused on London.
Do you have any idea why so many workers are trying to leave Heitman in Chicago? Is it only because of the lower salary or is there anything else bad we should be aware of? Perhaps the more traditional culture - you mentioned - compared to Harrison St (and others) might be a cause?
I’m aware Harrison St - founded in 2005 by an ex-Heitman - has got an investment philosophy focused on alternatives real estate that distinguished the fund during the great financial crisis and beyond.
Doing some research, it seems like both funds are actually heavily focused on alternatives RE assets in London.
Obviously could be totally different in London. This is all anecdotal, but it seems like Heitman's culture is pretty 9-5 and not very entrepreneurial/exciting. Between that and low pay relative to market, junior people are trying to get out. Lots of job openings in Chicago right now so there is good opportunity for them.
Sidebar here but the Harrison street dev and acq storage models are embarrassingly bad
Hi there, I can't speak for Harrison Street but here are a few anecdotal points for Heitman London:
From what I know I can echo the pay point relative to market. Strategy wise as you mentioned, they have leaned strongly towards defensive/non-cyclical asset classes underpinned by secular growth trends for quite a few years (ie alternatives) which is pretty interesting + They also look at corporate/platform level acquisitions. I wouldn't expect crazy hours but it's definitely not 9-5 from what I know.
Be careful about how you interpret hearsay on this forum, as you never know the source/legitimacy of their comments. Heitman is very well respected here in the US, and have actually heard the opposite about juniors regarding their opinion of the firm. Most seem really happy to be there and have heard a lot of good about the firm taking care of their employees, especially during covid. As far as investing style, can echo what has been said about favoring defensive, non-cycical asset classes. Definitely a more core/core+ oriented shop but also deals with plenty of value-add, but wouldn't expect to be looking at anything opportunistic. Harrison Street is another very well respected shop and has been growing a lot the last few years. Specialize in senior/student housing and storage as you noted. Younger shop that is more likely to take on more risk.Either place would be a fantastic place to work and get experience if given the opportunity.
Hey there, thank you so much for your contribution as well as for pointing out that everything written in this forum needs to be interpreted carefully.
Nevertheless, I distributed silver bananas to every interesting comment/input provided by other users in the thread.
I know a buddy who worked at Harrison Street at the junior level and I cannot recommend going there. Over half of their analysts have left in the past 5 months due to working IB hours (80+ easily) and getting below market pay. Almost all of them landed offers within a year on the job and got better pay elsewhere by about 25%
Bump - any recent thoughts on both firms (London)?
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