The road back / NAREIM / INREV / Asheville / Brooklyn

This was a very exciting week for three reasons.  I was in Chicago to attend the NAREIM Executive Officers Fall Meeting and I attended the INREV seminar in New York City.  The third special occurrence was that many of you wrote and spoke with me about the future of this column.  The encouragement I received was heart-warming to say the least.  One long-time reader told me how the pieces I wrote in 2009, when my Dad was dying, were very meaningful to him – having lost his Dad a couple of years before.  This is truly special.

I have been struggling with whether to continue publishing On The Road. After almost 15 years I started to feel that I didn’t want to be part of the excess ‘noise’.   There has been so much clutter created by blogs, LinkedIn posts and Twitter feeds that I didn’t want to be contributing to the overload.  But, your support and feedback has convinced me that I should continue publishing.

Thanks again.

Steve

NAREIM Executive Officers Meeting

Patricia Gibson, President of Hunt Realty in Dallas, was ushered in as Chair of the NAREIM (National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers) organization for the next two years.  Congratulations to Pat and to NAREIM. Just as Lynn Thurber, Chairman of LaSalle Investment Management, has been the Chairman of ULI for the past year, Pat Gibson’s appointment might be another giant leap for womenkind in the industry.  There is undoubtedly a need for more women to be in senior positions in the institutional real estate world.

At last week’s Executive Officers meeting, Ed Casal, Global CIO of Aviva Investors Real Estate Multi-manager platform, conducted a mock investment committee workshop that produced interesting discussion and results.   Many investment options were presented to 9 ‘committees’ who were each asked to reach consensus on the 3 best and 3 worst acquisition choices. Real Estate is an art – not a science - and as you might imagine, the debate on where to invest one’s money was a lively one.  But, it will only be from the perspective of hindsight that we will know which asset did in fact provide the best risk-adjusted returns.  Interestingly enough, some of the same choices presented to the investment committees appeared on both the best and worst lists!

NAREIM offers a number of educational meetings throughout the year.  I encourage you to explore those opportunities for you and members of your team.  Thank you to NAREIM CEO Gunnar Branson for inviting my partner Liz Weiner and I to attend the Executive Officers event.

INREV US Seminar

INREV is the European real estate trade association for investment in non-listed real estate.  I was a member for many years and found the organization to be hugely valuable in staying connected with my institutional real estate industry peers across Europe.  The second INREV US seminar was held in NYC this week.  I attended and ran into a number of my European (and American) friends.

I offer you a few takeaways:

• “Never seen more capital to be invested in real estate.”  Panelist
• Huge interest of US capital in Spain – Spanish office looks extremely cheap in a European context

• Most liquid European cities: London, Paris, Berlin (especially apartments)

• Investors are increasingly seeking value in recovering regions (Ireland, The Netherlands, S. Europe). 

Thank you to INREV CEO Matthias Thomas for the invitation.

Over the summer…

I drove from New York City to Asheville, NC (+/- 12 hours).  Quite a bit of the trip took me through the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains including hundreds of miles with no billboards on the highway!  Two of my four grandchildren live in Asheville - Sean is 5 and Gavy turned 3 during my visit.  We did another round of Geocaching together, a real-world treasure hunt.  If you’re not familiar with this phenomenon please check it out – it’s great family fun.

This week, my Brooklyn-based twin grandchildren, Edie and Ben, turn 3.

It’s a beautiful thing to see my sons as parents.  

But, where did the time go?

Congratulations to these friends on their new positions...

Matt Holberton - AXA Real Estate Investment Managers

Gena Cheng - USAA Real Estate Company

Andrew Dietz - Morgan Stanley

Dietrich Heidtmann - GTIS

George Ahl - Forum Partners

Max von Below - USAA Real Estate Company

Felicity Ambler - MaxCap Group

Philip Hy - JC Penney

Debbie Davis - Starwood Retail Partners

Barry Ziering - Guggenheim Partners

Asieh Mansour - The Townsend Group

Alessadro Bronda - Zurich Insurance Company

Sophie Mathieu - ReedMidem (MIPIM & MAPIC) now based in NYC

Nicole Waldorf - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Larissa Belova - Thor Equities

Emily Von Kohorn - The Hisar School 

Charise Wong - eBay

Damien Isabella - TVO Groupe

Phil Greenberg - Cornell University

On The Road…

Sept. 30 – Oct. 2:  Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) 24^th Annual Institutional Real Estate Investor Conference, Los Angeles, CA

Oct. 21 – Oct. 23:  ULI Fall Meeting, New York, NY (t)

Oct. 26 – Oct. 29:  CoreNet Global, North American Summit, National Harbor, MD (t)

Week of October 27:  Careers in Real Estate / Interview Skills, Drills & Thrills workshop, Edward St. John Real Estate Program, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, DC (t)

Dec. 3 – Dec. 4:  NAREIM Capital Raising / Investor Relations meeting, Chicago, IL

Mar. 10 – 13, 2015:  MIPIM (The World’s Property Market), Cannes, France (t)

Disclaimer 

All content in this blog is created for informational purposes only. Content, which includes all text, photos, video and graphics is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual.  Steve Felix makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or other information as a result of following any featured link to or from this site.  The intention of this blog is to do no harm in regards to injury, defamation or libel. What is written or shown is not to be taken as fact or absolute.  Steve Felix will hold himself harmless for any errors or omissions in this blog’s information; including but not limited to external link information, translation or interpretation of content or incorrect grammar or punctuation. 

National Association of Real Estate Companies, Charleston, SC

NAREC (National Association of Real Estate Companies)

Charleston, South Carolina was the site of NAREC’s recent annual conference.  The National Association of Real Estate Companies is a commercial real estate trade association dedicated to education and community building for the real estate finance and tax professional.

Liz and I were included in the program and conducted a two-hour general session focused on improving presentation and communication skills – for business, and for life in general.  Our program also included smaller breakout workshops where attendees received more individual attention.  It was a very enthusiastic and collaborative group who shared positive feedback with us.  

Attending this conference gave me the opportunity to visit Charleston for the first time in many years and enjoy some authentic Southern hospitality.  Before heading to the airport, we took an impromptu bike-taxi ride - to beat the heat - past the lovely historic homes we had just seen portrayed in original oil paintings being sold by the artist himself at the Charleston City Market. Although our bike ‘driver’ mentioned we were technically NOT allowed to tour while with her, she did share some noteworthy non-tour information about the area.  These website references come pretty close:

“These neighborhoods possess the unique visual appeal of old Charleston, a picturesqueness created by the close proximity of buildings, in a wide variety of architectural styles.  There is general harmony in terms of height, scale, proportion, materials, textures, colors and characteristic forms, such as the side piazzas.”

(Source:  http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/charleston/S10817710004). 

“Walk throughout the Charleston peninsula, and you’re sure to see that iconic side piazza. This open-air porch often runs the length of a home and has multiple doorways leading indoors. Originally designed to beat the South Carolina heat by capturing the cool cross breezes from the water, piazzas are now integral parts of the city’s lifestyle.”

(Source:  http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/decorating/charleston-home-porch). 

Being driven through these neighborhoods felt like being part of a moving-picture postcard. 

But not all is idyllic - Our ‘driver’ said that some who dream of living in a historic home find, after moving in, that a number of the things they thought they could live with (i.e. poor heating/ventilating systems, old windows, etc.) are not so livable….and are very expensive to fix.  There were ‘For Sale’ signs everywhere!  Have you seen the movie “The Money Pit”?

Charleston truly is a beautiful city to explore.  Sauntering along random streets we came upon a theatre - apparently the oldest theatre in America is located in Charleston. Who knew?   The Dock Street Theatre held its first performance on February 12, 1736 and is still going strong.  Once inside we noticed a 9-foot grand piano on the stage below.  With only a few other tourists in attendance, and the temptation too great, I found my way around the circular mezzanine and down the far staircase. I walked out onstage, sat myself down at the magnificent ebony concert piano, paused to take in the moment and began to play a few tunes  - original melodies, plus The Beatle’s ‘Something.’  I heard totally unexpected, but appreciated, applause from the ‘audience’… that is, until getting thrown out.  Actually, we were politely asked to leave by a theatre employee.  But, seizing that brief moment on the stage of that theatre is something I’ll always remember.

Thanks again to NAREC for bringing us to Charleston. If you are a commercial real estate finance or tax professional - at any stage in your career - I encourage you to check out NAREC membership (www.narec.org).  The knowledge, experience and camaraderie found in this group will bring value to both your company and yourself as your career evolves.

Restaurant of the week: 

Brasserie Gigi

102 N Market St.

Charleston, SC 29401

(843) 722-6393

A relatively new addition to the city, housed in a beautiful space reminiscent of a true French bistro.  Consider the oysters, the Beets, Beef and Blue salad, and the Duck Confit at lunchtime (although all the dishes looked delish!).

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!

On The Road...

July 8 -10:  Client meetings, Chicago, IL

Sept. 14 - 15:  National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM), Executive Officers Fall Meeting, Chicago, IL

Sept. 30 – Oct. 2:  Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) Fall Meeting, Los Angeles, CA

Oct. 9 – 10:  Cornell University Real Estate Conference, New York, NY

Disclaimer 

All content in this blog is created for informational purposes only. Content, which includes all text, photos, video and graphics is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual.  Steve Felix makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or other information as a result of following any featured link to or from this site.  The intention of this blog is to do no harm in regards to injury, defamation or libel. What is written or shown is not to be taken as fact or absolute.  Steve Felix will hold himself harmless for any errors or omissions in this blog’s information; including but not limited to external link information, translation or interpretation of content or incorrect grammar or punctuation. 

Father's Day / IMN Conference NYC

Father’s Day

On Sunday I will remember my late father, Manney Felix, and think about all he did to help my brothers and me get a good start in life. Before he moved to Florida, we would make sure to see each other on that special Sunday in June, as Father’s Day became more important to both of us as time went on. I’ll also remember those times growing up that I probably wasn’t the best son in the world and the patience and constant support my Dad showed me during those challenging times.  Thanks Dad.

Much of the world will celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, June 15^th.  As a father myself, it’s nice to have this day.  But it also brings me back to the time when I separated from the mother of my two sons, Brian and Kevin (both now fathers themselves), and the ‘spontaneous parenting’ opportunities that disappeared - those times when nurturing moments just happened….and were very special.  When I was home and my kids were upstairs in their rooms doing homework (they were always so much more diligent than I ever was!) and I heard one of them call down, “Hey Dad, can you come up here for a minute??”  And I would go, excited that they reached out to me for help. I would sit on the bed and help them work through a math or grammar problem and then hear “Thanks Dad.”  And it felt really good.  When you don’t live with your children, that spur-of-the-moment opportunity generally doesn’t exist.  And it’s just not the same experience over the phone.  

Fathers and children sometimes end up living in different places, making it physically difficult to be together to celebrate.  While it would be nice to see my sons and their families on Father’s day, this year we’ll wish the others ‘Happy Father’s Day’ by phone, or maybe SKYPE. 

It’s an amazing phenomenon to see your children grow up to be parents.  When did that happen?  How is it possible?  It’s a marvelous sight to behold. 

On Sunday I’ll also be thinking about those children in Liberia - whom I’ve met on my two trips with the MacDella Cooper Foundation - who don’t have fathers, don’t know who their fathers are or don’t know where they are.  Many of these children are orphans, or have been abandoned by their families.  As I write this, I’m thinking about these visits to Liberia and how some of the boys would walk next to me and discreetly slip their hand into mine.  It was a sweet gesture but also very sad.  These boys had never had a father present in their lives and, while I was a white man in a black man’s world, color didn’t matter…. I represented something that gave these kids the opportunity to connect, instinctively, for a rare time in their young lives with an adult male with whom they felt safe.  It is a truly beautiful yet heartbreaking memory.

If - for whatever the reason - you can’t be with your father on Sunday, give a call, send a card, or just pause, or stand outside for a minute and look up to heaven and say, “Thanks Dad.”  I truly believe all of these messages will get through to the intended recipient and will be appreciated.  

Happy Father’s Day!

Brian & Kevin Felix (circa 1981)

IMN (Information Management Network) 

“Specialization sells”

“Longer than you think”

“Show what you know”

“If I get an invitation, do I really want to go??”

“Bigger is not always better”

Where did I hear these statements this week?  At IMN’s Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing Forum in New York City.  As real estate continues to be the asset class of choice for many domestic and offshore investors, the mood at this well-attended event was entirely upbeat.  

Thought-provoking capital raising challenges for new funds were openly vetted at a ‘Vegas-rules’ closed-door 7:30am workshop - facilitated by yours truly.  The subject?  How do new funds raise both institutional and non-institutional capital; how long does it take to raise a fund today; is a commingled fund the best vehicle; and what are some of the lessons that the early-rising industry professionals have learned along the way.  While billed as a session for new funds, the presence of some very experienced industry friends added considerable value to the conversation.  The rewarding experience for me was the openness with which participants shared behind closed doors.  Kudos to IMN for arranging this type of session.

The popular conference - attracting almost 700 attendees - gave me the opportunity to say hello and introduce my partner, Liz Weiner, to a number of folks I hadn’t seen in a while.  

It was a very productive two days for us and, from all the feedback we received, for other attendees as well.  

On The Road...

June 18- 20:  Annual Conference of The National Association of Real Estate Companies (NAREC), Charleston, SC

July 8 -10:  Client meetings, Chicago, IL

Sept. 14 - 15:  National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM), Executive Officers Fall Meeting, Chicago, IL

Disclaimer 

All content in this blog is created for informational purposes only. Content, which includes all text, photos, video and graphics is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual.  Steve Felix makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or other information as a result of following any featured link to or from this site.  The intention of this blog is to do no harm in regards to injury, defamation or libel. What is written or shown is not to be taken as fact or absolute.  Steve Felix will hold himself harmless for any errors or omissions in this blog’s information; including but not limited to external link information, translation or interpretation of content or incorrect grammar or punctuation. 

Memorial Day 2014

When I was a kid, Memorial Day was known as Decoration Day, a time for the nation to decorate the graves of war dead with flowers.  Our country has been in numerous wars and millions of Americans have given their lives to protect our way of life.  The Felix extended family lost one member in WW II - my mother’s cousin, Sherwood Racey.  He was a land mine expert and while dis-arming a land mine in Europe the booby trap detonated.  In his honor, my parents gave me his name as my middle name, Steven Sherwood.  His name also lived on until last year when, at age 14, my dog Sherwood died. 

My father, Manney Felix, was a WWII veteran and lived to the ripe old age of 92.  When he was about 80, he finally opened up and told us moving stories of his experiences in the Army Air Corps, which were indelibly etched in his memory.

Manney Felix circa 1941 (age 24)

I was alone with my Dad when he first started sharing these reminiscences.  He seemed relieved to tell them to someone. I was honored that he chose me.  It was difficult, perhaps unfathomable, to even attempt to grasp what he must have felt while ‘over there’ – in some ways it was like understanding who he was for the first time in my life. 

For many years after he returned from overseas, my Dad would frequently wake up – in a sweat – the result of having a bad dream about the war.  And we all know, he was not alone. There are so many who deal with the psychological and physical repercussions of their valiant military experience…both the individuals themselves and the family and friends close to them. It remains a serious problem.  

This morning I heard about an organization called Canine Companions for Independence that provides assistance dogs to war veterans (and others).  Knowing how much my dogs have meant to me, it was great to read about this wonderful service. Here’s their website.

http://www.cci.org/site/c.cdKGIRNqEmG/b.4011033/k.D44E/Veterans.htm

I’m making a modest donation to this group - in memory of both Sherwoods - on this Memorial Day weekend.

On Monday, Americans will physically or spiritually decorate the graves of those military heroes who lost their lives and we will remember their quest to resolve conflict.  As busy as we are, it would be fitting to take a quiet moment on Monday to show our gratitude for the ultimate sacrifice made by so many on behalf of us, the citizens of the United States of America.  No matter how complicated the world and our lives have become, we still live under a flag of freedom and enjoy the protection provided by our women and men in uniform.  

Enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend and the freedom to choose how you wish to spend it.

Congratulations

Barry Ziering joined Guggenheim Partners as Managing Director

Paul Jones on announcing the formation of PL Jones Advisory Services

Ken O’Brien now with IPD as Executive Director and Head of the Americas

Laurie Romanek on the launch of Romanek Real Estate Investment Services


On The Road...

June 3 - 6:  Client meetings, Chicago, IL

June 12 - 13:  IMN's 15th Annual US Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing Forum, New York, NY  

June 18- 20:  Annual Conference of The National Association of Real Estate Companies, Charleston, SC

July 8 - 10:  Client meetings, Chicago, IL

Summer, 2014:  Tentative trip to London

Disclaimer 

All content in this blog is created for informational purposes only. Content, which includes all text, photos, video and graphics is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual.  Steve Felix makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or other information as a result of following any featured link to or from this site.  The intention of this blog is to do no harm in regards to injury, defamation or libel. What is written or shown is not to be taken as fact or absolute.  Steve Felix will hold himself harmless for any errors or omissions in this blog’s information; including but not limited to external link information, translation or interpretation of content or incorrect grammar or punctuation.