Real Estate Private Equity Acquisitions vs. MM Investment Banking
What's up WSO. Long time lurker here, but I've recently been put in a pretty conflicting position and wanted some advice or reassurance to talk me off the ledge.
Basically, I've always wanted to work in Real Estate Investing. Earlier this year I managed to grab a really solid FT Offer for a Real Estate Private Equity fund doing Acquisitions. Pay should be around $85,000 increasing to $105,000 by the time I'm a third-year analyst.
The thing is, as much as I've always wanted to work in Real Estate investing, I feel like I'm developing grass-is-greener symptoms already. This has lead me to send out some other apps recently and I have a final round interview at a lower MM Investment Bank that works on really cool deals within the biotech and tech fields. It's a niche bank without a large brand name, but they're very, very solid at what they do. Pay would be around $120,000.
I just worry with Real Estate that one day I'll get bored of working on the same old Acquisitions models and wont be able to parlay my experience into anything else meaningful. I know in Investment Banking I could eventually work for a PE Firm or HF that invests in biotech or tech, or bail into Corporate Development or Consulting. There's also something that feels more significant about working with entire corporations instead of just buying buildings for a portfolio.
Any other Real Estate guys out there ever get this feeling? Anyone regret going into RE? It's always been what I've wanted but I'm just afraid I'll get bored with it.
Biotech would be cool as hell man, and honestly what industry to do you see having more opportunity and growth in the next 10-15 years?
I mean, it's hard to compare because Real Estate is cyclical and all, but there's always going to be development. Industrial RE right now is probably looking at another solid 10-15 years of above average growth too.
The thing about IB is that I know for a fact, when I'm a few months into the job and I'm on the 70th hour of a 90 hour work week I'm going to hate myself, so I'll probably just avoid that crisis preemptively.
Never thought I'd be reconsidering the job I got in the first place. I feel like a guy that's about to marry his HS Sweet Heart but can't stop thinking about those other side-pieces I'll never get to bone.
I get it - I probably have my own personal bias in my answer as I would love to work in biotech in some capacity.
I feel like it would be easier to get a REPE job from IB then it would be the other way around.
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/regrets-about-not-going-to-corpo…
Ignore OP in the posted thread cause he’s a troll, but there are some good responses there. I think about this too. If you’re conflicted, REIB could be a good middle ground. Might take you a year to lateral into something like that though
Yeah, I feel like REIB is sort of just pussyfooting into the territory of going into RE. The ultimate exit-opp of REIB is REPE anyway, and it's sort like the worser end of both worlds. From what I hear it's basically IB hours without the aspect of working on the more exciting deals in Corporate Finance. I think I'm just gonna go with my instinct, take the RE job and not second guess myself.
If you are saying this now, think of what you'll be thinking in 9 months.
You can always go from IB->RE, but not the other way around (in terms of level of ease). I see plenty of ex-bankers in industry. I would probably take the MM job so that I could have the comfort of knowing that I had an opportunity, took it, didn't like it, and then switched. As opposed to having it linger on the back of my mind.
Just my two cents. It sounds like you have a great RE job lined up, though. ($85k for a first-year analyst job is very good). I'd imagine you will be working on some really cool deals. Can I ask what asset-type and markets?
Industrial. I'd be on the opportunistic fund that does a lot of turn-around projects on shitty, beat up or vacant facilities in good locations and then redevelops them to be state-of-the-art (which I'd imagine isn't incredibly difficult for a freight processing center where the primary utility is to be full of empty space and not have a leaking roof).
The more I consider the IB job the less I want to deal with those hours. Think I got my mind made up.
Just based on this, you sound more interested in the banking route. Nothing wrong with that. I think you're selling the real estate route short though when it comes to exit ops or eventual possibilities. The key word here is "work for." In real estate, you should never really be aiming to work for anyone other than yourself. If you kick ass at a REPE fund as a Acquisitions guy, eventually you should have enough money to do Acq on your own. Maybe you partner with a lady who has deep pockets or a guy who has Asset Management/Ops experience and start your own full fledged company.
There is so much more to real estate than "the model." Models get boring pretty quickly - they're a tool of the job, not the job itself.
Nope. I like being defined by my capabilities and successes and not my "prestige," GPA, or amount of hours I'm in the office on weekends. I also genuinely like Real Estate, which is why I'm in it.
SB for the PC inclusion.
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