Hines
Good evening everyone,
Does anyone have any feedback or insight on Hines or their investment platform? I know they are a premier global private real estate investment firm, and from their website one can see they have a number of investment and development funds with different strategies and geographic focus.
Would anyone be able to provide some deeper color on:
1. Culture - company mission and direction, reputation, work/life balance, comp for analysts/associates
2. Recruiting practices - do they recruit undergrads, MBA/Masers students (target or non target?) or working professionals with some experience?
3. Interviews - I know it's a long shot, but if anyone knows anything about their interview process I figured I might as well ask.
4. Firm structure - is the company organized into deal teams/fund teams/etc.? are those that deserve promotion able to move up? is there a lot of turnover? is it a stay for two years and then go to b-school or jump to other firms or do employees tend to stick around?
5. Anything else anyone can think of?
If anyone has worked for/with them or know anybody that has your opinions, thoughts and inside knowledge of the firm and its' practices would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Hines is such a large company, and yet there is very little information on them out there. It seems so odd to me.
1). Rep is good and pay is good. 2). They hire high caliber people out of undergrad and MBA (ivy league common). 3). not sure on this one. 4). Organized by fund / strategy.
I agree with J. Madden. There is very little "inside information" available about Hines, which is strange for a company of its size. I know they put an emphasis on green and sustainability initiatives. Their La Jolla Commons property is the first carbon neutral property of its kind. The articles about that specific asset are pretty fascinating.
Working in development I know quite a few people at Hines and thus a lot about what goes on there (if you want more insight feel free to PM me). Note that I'm speaking from a development/acquisitions perspective, not the securities or other teams. I'll try to give some detail on all your questions below, but take everything with a grain of salt since this is all from third party sources and research.
From what I've gathered and seen the culture is great (caveat - for the most part). Everyone I've met (on development/acquisitions teams) is super well-educated, down to earth, fun, and easy to work with. No BS but not hard-asses either. Obviously there are a few people who are tougher than others (really depends on the office, since they're all so small/lean) but overall everyone I've worked with has been outstanding.
Generally it appears Hines recruits MBAs from top-tier schools, i.e. Harvard, Stanford, Tuck, Kellogg, Columbia, etc. Not a lot of undergraduate recruiting is done, although all analysts (that I know of) do not have MBAs. From what I've heard/seen it's tough to be promoted to associate from analyst as most associates/directors come in post-MBA. Keep checking LinkedIn and SelectLeaders for job postings - seen Hines on there before. Compensation isn't quite as good as REPE shops like Oaktree, Blackstone, etc, but the higher you go the more you participate in deals so you can make a ton. Analysts I believe (depending on city) start anywhere from $65-$75K (from what I've read on WSO and elsewhere) with bonus I think around 15-20%. Associates are likely higher, around $110-$130K with the chance to maybe get some equity in deals, but not positive. Senior guys can make millions at the end of big development projects apparently (can't say that's not a reason why I'm in development...)
I believe the interview process is a few round-robin interviews with increasingly senior team members as you progress. Haven't heard there is an Excel/case study but could depend on the office/region/candidate's experience.
The firm structure at Hines is interesting and overlapping. Generally the acquisition and development teams are regional, i.e. you look at buying and developing projects in the city/metropolitan area in which you work. Obviously for smaller cities in small states this might include a larger area but you get what I mean. Hines also has funds just like other REPE shops. It seems that the domestic funds have designated teams but deals are usually sourced by the regional teams which feed back to the funds. Same goes for international funds. Hines is also known for doing JVs with capital partners so for those usually the regional team will run the deal and help find capital via their personal/regional/firm-wide connections. Teams are also really light, most regional offices, unless huge, have just a couple or one analyst, few associates, and director/senior director. As for turnover, most people I know at Hines have been there for YEARS; we're talking 10, 15, even 25-30 years. Very low turnover and they very much value their employees - plus as you move up comp gets better and better and participation in deals only increases. Heard senior guys there make a ton of money (obviously when things go well). I think there is a little higher turnover amongst analysts just because it's often expected/encouraged for them to go to business school (heard they don't generally promote analysts to associates, although I know of a few exceptions if you're there 2-3 years and kill it). Most analysts who go to business school do so somewhat reluctantly I think.
Hines also has other business segments including property management and construction management. They're not quite a one-stop shop but they are definitely a world-class firm with bright people. Some of their funds haven't performed so well but I chalk that up them being first and foremost a developer with the investment management stuff still ramping up. From what I've heard from other senior guys at other firms is that what Hines builds is usually of excellent quality.
You looking at positions there? Feel free to PM me if you have other questions.
I have heard nothing but great things about Hines as well. Worked with people who have gone on to take positions there and seem to be very happy. I have also heard they favor the ivy league and MBA education when hiring.
Career growth can be limited by the team above you. I had a friend that left for this reason, but IMO it's a great company if you definitely want to do real estate.
And you don't get fired if you lose a few billion http://www.amazon.com/Other-Peoples-Money-Housing-Greatest/dp/0142180718
That's Tishman and BlackRock... not Hines
Heard its a good company but every deal I work with them on is a disaster because they cant get their stuff together
Is there a chance that this is more of a regional issue?
Thank you everyone for the great responses. WSO never disappoints.
I am looking into applying for an analyst position (pre-mba, which I know might be a stretch), however openings in cities I'm interested in come along once in a blue moon. For now I guess I will sit tight.
Thanks again for all the great info.
@"kmzz" Curious as to what deals you work on with them. Financing? JV acquisitions? Development?
Financings primarily and Equity Sales SDRE: thinking about it, you may be right but I'd rather not call out a specific office on here!
1) Culture of great. The grandson of Weingarten Realty's founder has been with Hines for 8 yrs after graduating Yale.
2) Easiest way to get in is via internship. Full recruiting opens the door to people that have experience. There's so many fund and development groups. They all recruit differently. Most group do their own thing, recruiting wise. There are lots of people from target school, but there are also a lot of people from non target schools. Pay will vary based on your prior job and what region your in. It's not standard across all location like banking.
All Office of investments job opening will be advertise to those currently work in the office of investments first before being advertise to the rest of Hines and the outside.
3) Most groups don't ask too much technical questions during interviews.
4)Office of investments has around 42 different funds. Some teams will work on multiple funds. The biggest team works on Hines Global REIT, Hines REIT, Hines Global REIT II & Hines US Core Office. They have 13 analysts. This is the only team at Hines that has public funds.
The other private funds has teams ranging from 2-20 with only a handful of analyst. Some of them don't even have analyst.
5) Training, conferences, and networking at Hines is awesome. Hines employees love to network with other Hines employees and Hines provides a lot of fun networking events. They will host a few conferences a year where Hines employees around the world will come together to network and share experience. They have senior managing directors teach different real estate courses using the case method.
1) Culture of great. The grandson of Weingarten Realty's founder has been with Hines for 8 yrs after graduating Yale.
2) Easiest way to get in is via internship. Full recruiting opens the door to people that have experience. There's so many fund and development groups. They all recruit differently. Most group do their own thing, recruiting wise. There are lots of people from target school, but there are also a lot of people from non target schools. Pay will vary based on your prior job and what region your in. It's not standard across all location like banking.
All Office of investments job opening will be advertise to those currently work in the office of investments first before being advertise to the rest of Hines and the outside.
3) Most groups don't ask too much technical questions during interviews.
4)Office of investments has around 42 different funds. Some teams will work on multiple funds. The biggest team works on Hines Global REIT, Hines REIT, Hines Global REIT II & Hines US Core Office. They have 13 analysts. This is the only team at Hines that has public funds.
The other private funds has teams ranging from 2-20 with only a handful of analyst. Some of them don't even have analyst.
5) Training, conferences, and networking at Hines is awesome. Hines employees love to network with other Hines employees and Hines provides a lot of fun networking events. They will host a few conferences a year where Hines employees around the world will come together to network and share experience. They have senior managing directors teach different real estate courses using the case method.
Thanks I2010. Can you expand at all about their interviews? I know you mentioned they don't ask technical questions. Is there a modeling test? Or do they mostly ask about prior work experience? Thanks again for the insight.
There is no modeling test. A few people are very strong at modeling and they like to take on all the complicated modeling projects so there won't be complicated modeling as a brand new employee.
They mostly ask for prior work experience.
One thing you can study up on that will help out a lot is understand how REIT/PE/BDC work, their metrics and what drives them. Most people that apply only know asset level metrics.
There is a modeling test for the Analyst position. Take home
Does Hines offer undergrad internships?
Yes, they do offer undergrad internships. That's by far the easiest way to get into Hines without experience. When full time position up, it's usually someone that has similar experience at a smaller firm that will win the position.
Thanks again, I2010. Do you, or anyone else, mind elaborating on "One thing you can study up on that will help out a lot is understand how REIT/PE/BDC work, their metrics and what drives them. Most people that apply only know asset level metrics."
Interviews tend to focus on background, experience, and interest in real estate. Some minor technical questions as well but nothing major - probably depends on your background.
Not sure about internships, but I just learned Hines is hiring for an analyst in San Francisco if anyone's interested...
I
Location?
bump
Is Hines considered as real estate private equity?
No they are a developer. Also, who cares.
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