Morgan Stanley Phone Interview (RE)
Have a phone interview with MSREI upcoming. Any insights on what to expect? Should I prepared for a lot of valuation-related questions? This is for Europe.
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I only know what their phone interviews were like in the US a few years back. Basic behavioral questions you'd expect during a real estate interview (why real estate, why this location, tell me about yourself, etc). There were also a few technical questions focused on valuation, inflation and weighted averages.
No idea what the European phone interview will be like. Good luck though
Ok so sth like income method, cap rate, NOI, LTV, coverage ratio...? Did you have to calculate? Anything unexpectedly difficult? How many rounds followed after the phone interview?
Appreciate your insights!
Hi，
I think with private equity real estate teams，first rounds will for sure consists some basic competency and motivation based questions，and will definitely involve basic technical questions，real estate valuations or the even basic dcf.
Hope this helps. Have you had to your interview yet？If so，how was it？If not yet，do drop a reply here when u ve done it，interested in finding out more about this.
Best zcfaczh
if you don't mind can I ask what your current or past positions were?
It was pretty much what was mentioned before: accounting, valuation and explanation of motivation. In the end a few calculations (what is the square root of...).
Past internships were in the field of RE at BB and Big 4.
.
Hi McLovin1,
I have also completed the telephone interview for this particular division. It would be great to know how did you find the interview and whether you have heard back from the firm. I personally find the interview questions alright as they are what candidates should expect from a private equity real estate shop. Willing to discuss.
Look forward to hearing from you.
ZCR
Hi ZCR,
yes I also think they were fair, I fucked it up on the accounting stuff though... Got negative response - have you heard back? I had expected it to be mostly about RE valuation, but it was much more about general accounting. I could have definitely done better, but at least for my upcoming interviews I prepared this stuff more thoroughly.
Hi McLovin,
Yes the interview did have a focus on accounting, I actually managed to handle them well I think. I haven't heard back from the firm regarding the 2nd round yet. Have you?
However, I have asked the HR, and they said there were delays in finishing up all the 1st round interviews, so notifications for the second round should be out soon. But I still haven't got an exact date confirmed at all...so it is quite a wait..
Best
Hey there McLovin,
I know it's been years since this interview, but I'm having it in a couple of days. Any chance you could remember what questions you had?
what kind of questions did they ask?
Yeah as I said, I got a negative response, I didn't proceed into the next round :/
Best
Dont worry too much. You can always try again for this division next time! Best of luck on your future applications and job hunting!
Is it Private equity real estate you are most interested in? Happy to chat over PMs or here if you would like to. Dont mind.
Best
Hi McLovin,
I have saw your PM..but I think this is my first day joining WSO so I can only reply PMs after two days of registration....such a pain, but I guess we can chat here anyways. Sorry about this.
Yes my focus will primarily be REPE or AM firms with REIM business, I am interested in this field as I have gained experience with RE during previous internships including M&A boutique, direct investment in real estate debt at an Large Insurance firm, and senior loan CRE financing/lending at a International bank, as well as pure real estate advisory. Plus I am currently doing an Master in Real Estate at the LSE. So purely from a background/fit perspective, I guess RE Investing is the way to go for me...
LevFin experience will definitely be great if thinking going into PEs later on, very well done on that! I dont think REPE will be more technical for sure, really depends on what kind of deals they do, corporate level or just asset level, it is definitely more specific knowledge that is required, and if not fully interested in the field, it could be quite a pigeon hole.
I guess that will be a placement kind of program?? Never knew there are programs between undergrad and postgrad haha. How did you find the recruitment process for LevFin? Very technical? What sort of questions do they ask apart from the usual competency/fit type of Qs. Other firms I am looking at includes Aberdeen, JPMAM, LaSalle IM.
Best
Don't worry, thanks for the reply!
Thats interesting, I am also considering the LSE Master in RE - do you have any clue how it compares to Cambridge Master in Real Estate Finance? How did you like it so far?
No, its actually a normal off cycle internship (4 months), I am aiming to do 2-3 more between Bachelors and Masters. Recruitment was alright (via Alumn), I read the S&P Leveraged Loan Primers which were quite helpful. No special questions, two case studies, one specific to a refinancing and the other more general.
I don't know how much I can comment about the REF course at Cambridge since I haven't experienced it. And I have chosen the LSE mainly because of the location, being in London is very important for me haha. In terms of careers options, both unis and course have great name, ranking, and reputation, so I guess they all fit the employers requirements, wont be a huge difference.
From what I heard is that the LSE course is much more focused on real estate and urban economics than the cambridge one, so if you are not a fun about econometrics, you probably wont like the LSE course, even though I am not a fun of econometric, but I am coping alright. And also, the Cambridge course is much more assessment and project intensive throughout the year, but the LSE one is more intensive during the end of the academic year. All in all, I accumulated most of the industry related knowledge from outside readings rather from the classes at uni.
Ok thats good to know, thanks for the extensive reply. Wouldn't have expected it to have an econometrics component.
And in terms of recruiting, you probably see all the big REPE shops and JLLs visiting? Do you also have e.g. RE IB groups coming? How is your degree perceived if you attend more general IB or PE recruiting events?
In general, LSE tends to have very good careers resources and many events where employers will show up, yes many large shops do show up, but of course not all of them. But the program itself can arrange many career events and invite alumnis to drop by, most of them are working in real estate finance/investment, so obviously there will be opportunities presented.
I am not sure about how are the two courses perceived in the eyes of an employers, I guess as long as the uni has good ranking and reputation, and the candidates can show interest in the field, it would be an advantage. But again, this is a specific course, and it probably doesnt work that well if one wants to go straight into general IB or PE rather than REIB or REPE.
Just to add, I don't think any REIB groups specifically visit LSE for this course, mostly just general firmwide visit...but I could be wrong..
Good to know, thanks! Did you hear from MS?
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