PERE America Forum NYC / Cornell-Hodes Weill Survey / Steinway Concert Grand / Pizza_Drink Thing / Job Opportunities

PERE America Forum - NYC

About 200 people converged in NYC this week for the PERE America Forum.  Having had a relationship with PERE since 2008 it was exciting to see them able to re-launch in person events.  The PERE folks did a great job!  

One of the wonderful byproducts of attending events, as I’ve shared with you before, is the opportunity to see people you know and also meet people you had not met before. I met and talked with about 20 people who I had not yet met – all passionate about the real estate industry.  PERE gave me the opportunity to facilitate a closed-door breakfast conversation with LP’s (Limited Partners – pension funds, family offices, etc.) as well as moderate a panel.  The event was also streamed live.

Here are a few of my observations: 

• Attendance was about 50/50 female / male
• Quite a few people were mid-level rising stars
• A number are emerging managers (or at least managers who have already emerged but I had not met them before)
• Prominent family offices in attendance
• Single Family Rental (SFR) mentioned almost too many times to count!

Some comments from panelists:

• U.S. investors have pretty much stayed in the U.S. during the past couple of years
• There’s lots of opportunity 
• Don’t need to go offshore
• Interested in Logistics in Europe
• Life Sciences in Europe will attract more U.S. investors 
• European investors
• Pent-up demand for U.S. Investments
• Core/ Core + / Value add
• Fixed income returns have been low in Europe
• Asian investors
• Like liquidity that U.S. offers
• Residential Build to Rent - headline news / lots of $$$ going towards it
• Easy for institutional sponsors to invest in this
• Industrial: The customer (tenant) is in the lead’ - “All boats rise on a rising ocean”
• 80,000 shortage of delivery drivers in U.S.
• Goods need to be closer to the customer
• “The customer always wants things faster”
• e-Commerce 
• U.S. +/- mid-teens of retail sales
• Other developed countries around the world +/- 30%
• Supply chain interruption - more manufacturing being done in U.S.
• ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)
• “Kids are pushing for sustainable everything”
• Investors expect managers have a process, substance and commitment to an ESG policy
• Across their business
• Not just ‘checking the box’
• Not just a piece of paper anymore
• ESG Important in EuropeStarting to get more important in U.S.
• “Net Zero” - will continue to come more to U.S.; big in Europe
• Net lease industrial buildings
• They will operate more energy efficient going forward
• ‘Impact Investing’ - onshore manufacturers creating jobs
• Use of Technology
• Valuable for first meetings with potential investors
• Investor can get a broader view of the team from various disciplines / offices
• Helps keep the conversation going
• Due diligence / underwriting assets
• ‘Technology offers better way to do it than with a stack of paper’

Cornell University / Hodes Weill Survey

There was a presentation of results of the Institutional Real Estate Allocations Monitor conducted by Cornell University’s Baker Program in Real Estate and Hodes Weill and Associates. 

From the Hodes Weill Website:

The 2021 Allocations Monitor focuses on the role of real estate in institutional portfolios, and the impact of institutional allocation trends on the investment management industry. The 2021 Allocations Monitor includes research collected on a blind basis from 224 institutional investors in 37 countries.  The 2021 participants hold total assets under management (“AUM”) exceeding US$13.4 trillion and have portfolio investments in real estate totaling approximately US$1.2 trillion.  

Key Findings of Survey 

• Institutions remain significantly under-invested relative to target allocations and capital flow to the real estate sector are accelerating
• While growth in target allocations remind moderate year-over-year, institutions expect to increase allocations at a faster pace over the next 12 months (add when survey was conducted)
• Institutional portfolios are under-allocated in real estate by the widest margin over the past 7 years, resulting in an acceleration of capital flows to the sectors
• Portfolio investment returns under-performed long-term targets in 2020; but investors remain optimistic for 2021 as valuation metrics climb to all-time highs
• Investor sentiment increased to a 9=year high, and investors remain bullish about the opportunity to deploy capital
• Higher return value-add and opportunistic strategies remain the strong preference coming out of COVID-19 pandemic, with US-based institutions showing the greatest appetite for risk
• Cross border capital flows remain strong and the percentage of institutions investing outside of their domestic region is on the rise

Thanks again to my friends at PERE for inviting me to attend and participate as facilitator of the Closed-door LP (Limited Partner) breakfast and moderate a panel on How Investors Are Diversifying Their Real Estate Portfolios. 

Learn more about upcoming PERE and their upcoming events here 

Steinway 9-foot Concert Grand Piano 

While I was in Asheville, NC for the Thanksgiving weekend my son Brian took me to his school, University of North Carolina – Asheville, where he is the chair of the music department.  I had a chance to play an amazing instrument:  Steinway 9-foot Concert Grand Piano!  It was an incredible experience.  I played a couple of tunes including a song that was written and recorded many, many years ago by my songwriting partner John and me called “Paradise Plainly.”  Just writing this now brings up a special feeling.  Here’s a photo of me and my new favorite piano!

Steve’s Almost Annual Pizza/Drink Thing

When: Monday, December 13

Where: Joe G’s Restaurant, 244 W. 56th St (bet. B’way and 8th Ave. and downstairs from the DaVinci Hotel)

Time: 6ish to 9ish pm

What: A holiday get together of commercial real estate folks. I don’t ask for RSVPs so don’t know who or how many people will be show up…but I can tell you (as would others who have attended) that big or small it’s always an interesting group – business relationships have been launched there and it’s generally been a very eclectic mix of professionals from all facets of our great industry.

The Deal: You buy your own drinks and I provide the fabulous Joe G pizza (with various toppings of course!) This will be a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, make new ones and share what’s going on in the industry.

Note: NYC COVID guidelines require proof of vaccinations and your ID to attend. I hope you can join me.

Yardi is looking for people

Conversations at industry events result in learning about things like who is looking to hire people.  This happened at the PERE America Conference this week.Yardi has a number of openings they’re looking to fill…in various geographic regions.  Ideal candidates are people who know both technology and real estate. 

Yardi’s theme:  Do more with innovative property management software and services for any size business in every real estate market.   If you’re considering your next adventure, take a look at their website.  If you’re interested, please email me your resume Steve@FelixWeiner.com and I’ll pass it along to the right person at Yardi. 

Goldman Sachs is looking for people.

Just had coffee with a friend of mine who told me that there are a bunch of jobs posted on the Goldman Sachs website.

Steve Felix & Friends CD

Some folks have asked me where they can hear my original music.  There are two 'albums' posted here.

Note: To listen you don't have to purchase or donate.  Thanks for listening!

Thanksgiving / The REview / The Beatles - Let it be / PERE America Forum / Pizza-Drink Thing / Dans le Noir? / Sharon Ellison Felix

Thanksgiving

Those of us in the United States celebrated our Thanksgiving Day yesterday. I received a number of good wishes from friends around the world as well as in the U.S. It feels like we have come together, again, fighting a common enemy (COVID). I know we all hope that we are past the worst and that things will not do downhill again over the coming winter. Perhaps this past 18 months has given us time to step back and appreciate and be mindful of the really important things in life: our health and our families and to be grateful for all the little things that bring us peace and happiness. I went into my office for the first time last week and it felt very good…I have always loved getting up early and going into the office, or going to an airport, and it felt almost normal. My most sincere best wishes to you and your families for a happy, healthy and peaceful rest of 2021. 

```

The REview

Talking with RentTV founder Steve Bloom the other day he told me about The REview which is a free video sharing website for the commercial real estate industry now online with over 1,100 videos already in the platform! Steve’s goal with the new website is to increase viewers to all types of real estate videos (about Properties, Architecture, Development, Financing, Technology, Construction, Events, Charities, ESG. etc.) by making it easy for viewers to find relevant videos. Poke around on it when you get a chance.

```

The Beatles - Get Back

Just released yesterday on Disney+. It's an amazing documentary covering the making of the Beatles' 1970 album 'Let it Be.'  I watched the first episode last night.  It's incredible.  

Photo: Foote Park, Morristown, NJ - Let it Be rock.  Sent to me by a friend.

```

PERE America Forum (Nov 30 – Dec 1), NYC PERE (Private Equity Real Estate) has invited me to moderate a panel at their America Forum next week. The topic: How Investors Are Diversifying Their Portfolios. My panelists: Mike Acton, AEW; Alan Snoddy, Church Pension Group; Simon Lauzier, Ivanhoe Cambridge.

I truly feel back in the swing having attended the PREA and NCREIF conferences and now a PERE event! Learn more about the event here

```

Steve’s Almost Annual Pizza/Drink Thing

When: Monday, December 13

Where: Joe G’s Restaurant, 244 W. 56th St (bet. B’way and 8th Ave. and downstairs from the DaVinci Hotel)

Time: 6ish to 9ish pm

What: A holiday get together of commercial real estate folks. I don’t ask for RSVPs so don’t know who or how many people will be show up…but I can tell you (as would others who have attended) that big or small it’s always an interesting group – business relationships have been launched there and it’s generally been a very eclectic mix of professionals from all facets of our great industry.

The Deal: You buy your own drinks and I provide the fabulous Joe G pizza (with various toppings of course!) This will be a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, make new ones and share what’s going on in the industry.

Note: NYC COVID guidelines require proof of vaccinations and your ID to attend. I hope you can join me.

```

You never know…Dans le Noir?

On Wednesday I took a 5am flight from Newark to Charlotte, North Carolina (NC) – where I took a connection to Greenville Spartanburg, South Carolina where I rented a car and drove to Asheville, North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with my son and his family. On the 5am flight, after all the announcements (including one by a very thoughtful pilot who said he was going to keep his announcements to a minimum because he figured a lot of folks were going to be sleeping) and that they would be turning the lights off in the cabin. As sometime happens (maybe you’ve experienced this) the flight landed and is taxiing to the gate and you talk with someone sitting next to you – even though you hadn’t said a word to each other during the flight. As I mentioned The plane had been virtually completely dark, like totally dark, during the flight. I mentioned to the woman next to me that it was an experience, me unwrapping a sandwich and eating it – in the dark (only dropped one little piece of turkey!). She opened my eyes to a restaurant chain called Dans Le Noir. It’s very cool…take a look.

From Wikipedia: Dans Le Noir? (French for "in the dark") is a chain of restaurants where guests are served in total darkness, a concept called dark dining or blind dining. Dans Le Noir was founded in 2004 in Paris by Edouard de Broglie, a French entrepreneur. Subsequent locations were opened in London, Barcelona, New York, St. Petersburg, New Zealand, Melbourne Australia, and Nairobi. The London location is featured in a key scene in the 2013 movie About Time. The New York location closed in 2012. "Dans Le Noir ?" claims that through limiting the sense of sight, other senses are intensified, including relations between people. Diners at "Dans Le Noir ?" have little knowledge of the entrées, appetizers, desserts, and wine choice of their meal, which is primarily inspired by French cuisine. Diners are served by either blind or visually impaired waitstaff. A percentage of the profits support charities in different countries. Has anybody been to one? When you click this link you may need to hit the ‘English’ button to translate from French to English.

```

Sharon Felix

Tomorrow would have been the birthday of Sharon Ellison Felix, my first wife and mother of my two sons’. Unfortunately, Sharon was taken by a terrible cancer (is there any other kind?) 7 years ago. And, while she and I didn’t have much of a relationship after we got divorced many years ago, we always had one thing in common: support and love for our sons. Sharon was a great mom and a talented artist and, yes, I was ‘on the road’ a lot way back then as well. On this Thanksgiving weekend, I wanted to pay tribute to her and express my gratitude – I have a feeling she’s able to see or feel this, wherever she is now.