Transition from Acquisitions to AM or Development
I am a second year analyst at development firm and am looking for a new opportunity. My responsibility now is mostly acquisitions, but I don’t like it or think I am good at it.
I also provide some assistance to the asset management team now. I like AM because I like being directly involved with the properties and investors, but don’t have an accounting background, which I feel is my disadvantage.
AM seems easier to transition to, but in an ideal world, i would love to do development. I did Urban Studies in undergrad but don’t have an architecture background. However, I really enjoy things like reviewing regulations, design, and working with people. I’ve talked to people about getting into development, and it seems like I’d really thrive there if I can manage to get my foot in.
So, if you were me, would you choose to focus the search on asset management or development? How can I train myself to be ready for these roles? Is it possible to get an associate role directly or should I expect to be an analyst for another year? Thanks for the advice in advance!
What don’t you like about acquisitions and why do you not think you’re good at it? Perfectly normal to have those thoughts but wondering the reasoning. Your post reads like you intend to look for opportunities outside of your current company. What’s preventing you from moving internally given you’re already working at a Dev shop?
Moving into AM wouldn’t be hard at all. Dev wouldn’t be hard but might take some time to make the move and Dev job postings will probably become fewer and fewer as ground up construction becomes less accretive.
I think this is the best advice. If you've been there 2 years already, I think you have enough of a general idea about the possibility to move internally. It happens often enough, and in my experience more people are trying to switch from AM to acquisitions, so I would think this should be fairly easy to do.
I am looking for an opportunity in a different city because I just hate living here. I work for a mid sized shop and we don't have a big pipeline. I've underwritten mostly hotels and one or two MF. It feels like if I wanted to "make it" in acquisitions I would need to do something dramatically different to "catch up" with guys who have underwritten so many deals that they know various markets like the back of their hands. Also, finding new deals surprisingly doesn't excite me that much - most of them aren't going to happen anyway.
What am I missing here? Why do so many people want to go from AM to acquisitions, but not the other way around?
I moved cities a couple years ago and am glad I did. Definitely support that.
People generally want to move from AM to Acq for the money and prestige. AM salaries are in line with Acq but Acq typically comes with larger amounts of performance based and/or equity compensation (sourcing deals) at the senior levels.
This is really helpful, thank you so much.
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