Not on the road

I’ve been on a vacation of sorts this past week.  While just staying home I served on a jury for he second time in my life.  This was a criminal case and while I’m not allowed to discuss it I can tell you that the dynamics of the jury deliberation, just like the one in Newark, NJ many years ago was not at all unlike that in “Twelve Angry Men.”  Also, the performance by the court appointed defense attorney and the junior district attorney were both so poor that it was troubling.  If this is the calibre of legal professionals that our system is being entrusted to we are in bad shape.  

Followed my own advice I completely unplugged from work.  I did read and have started implementing some organizational tools from a book called “Getting Things Done.”  What attracted me to it were some of the Zen concepts suggested here:

• “If your mind is empty, it is always open for anything; it is open to everything.”  Shunryu Suzuki

• Clearing the mind and being flexible are key.

• Anything that causes you to overreact or under-react can control you and often does.
• Responding inappropriately to your e-mail, our staff, your projects, your unread magazines, your thoughts about what you need to do, your children or your boss will lead to less effective results than you’d like.

• You’ll need to get in the habit of keeping nothing on your mind.
• The real issue is how to make appropriate choices about what to do at any point in time.  

I have already started my re-organization program and now need to re-program myself to have it work for me.  But, given that my mind never seems to rest, I’m open to this approach as a way to find some peace and use my time efficiently.  One of the best quotes in the book is from Will Rogers:  “When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”

Yesterday would have been my mother’s 87th birthday.  Her name was Lorna Rene Silverman Felix.  She was a woman who was ahead of her time.  Very ambitious and entrepreneurial.  I guess my brother and I get our entrepreneurial spirit from her although Jay has had his own law practice for many years while I’ve only dabbled in being an entrepreneur but that doesn’t dim the spirit part of it.  My mother was the artistic one in the family; she loved Broadway shows and was responsible for there being a piano in our apartment from early on.  She owned her own travel agency for many years and traveled the world.  I’m sure that my wanderlust comes directly from her.  She died at 68 from brain cancer.  She and I had a strained relationship for many years but near and at the end not only did I do the right thing but she knew I was there for her.  Sometimes, perhaps many times, we have only one opportunity to make the right choice and if we don’t we may not ever be able to forgive ourselves. At least that’s how I feel about it.  It was too bad we didn’t get more time, just to be friends.

Pinetop Perkins died this week at 97.  He was among the last surviving members of the first generation of Delta bluesmen and lived in Austin, Texas.  A pianist, I had known Pinetop’s name for years but until about three years ago I had not seen him perform.  It was that night in Austin, on a business trip with two colleagues that we wandered in the back door of a club off an alley.  There was a band on stage which had a pretty old pianist/vocalist front and center.  He played and sang no more than a handful of songs.  I must admit, I had to ask who he was but you knew he was someone special.  After he finished, he set himself up sitting behind a little table near the restrooms and while smoking cigarette after cigarette, and sold his own CD’s.  A sideman for most of his career, Mr. Perkins did not release an album under his own name until his 75th year. From then until his death he made more than a dozen records on which he was the leader. “I grew up hard,” he said in a 2008 interview. “I picked cotton and plowed with the mule and fixed the cars and played with the guitar and the piano.”  Originally a guitarist, Mr. Perkins concentrated exclusively on the piano after an incident, in 1943, in which a dancer at a juke joint attacked him with a knife, severing the tendons in his left arm. The injury left him unable to hold a guitar or manage its fretboard.  Like he said, he grew up hard.  He was an original. (Portions of this are taken from the New York Times obituary).

A friend of mine sent me an email about a property for sale in the town I live in.  Last Friday, I contacted the broker saying I would sign the non-disclosure and would like to see the package.  He wrote back saying his ‘assistant’ would get it to me on this past Monday.  I haven’t heard a thing.  I wonder if the seller of that property (btw, it’s a pretty substantial retail property) knows that this is how their broker is responding to an interested party.  Probably not.

Promotional mention of the week:  On March 30 in New York, the conference producers, IMN are holding it’s (and to my knowledge the industry’s) first Consultant Congress.  It’s a one day affair and they’ve assembled a strong cast of characters from both tier one and tier two consulting firms.  I’ve been asked to moderate a panel which will discuss real estate allocations.  I mention event because it may be an opportunity for you to meet some consultants who you haven’t yet met and also hear about how they’re viewing the real estate world and the kind of advice they’re giving their clients.  Some of the consulting firms who will be represented there include Hewitt EnnisKnupp, Segal Advisors, NEPC, Russell, Mercer, Rogers & Casey, PCA, Courtland, Evaluation Associates, Hamilton Lane.  Kudos to  IMN for thinking ‘outside the box’ and trying new conference ideas.

Special Opportunity:  Many of you who have followed me on the road for a number of years may remember my trip to Liberia in the winter of 2006/2007.  I went with The MacDella Cooper Foundation which helps orphans.  Based on a plan which she developed that year, The MacDella Cooper Academy opened in December 2010.  It has 55 boarding students between the ages of 5 and 10 years old.  Many of these children are sponsored as they do not have funds of their own.  The Academy is looking to fill an important position at the Academy.  MacDella sent me the following job description:
You are a hard working person with a heart to serve others,
especially children. You have several years of solid teaching
experience (primary) and are a careful administrator with strong
interpersonal and management skills. You are passionate and
pioneering and you are interested in giving back to a region in
tremendous need. You are inspired by the responsibility of managing
a campus of 55 students and 10 adult staff members as your team.
If this sounds like you... we have your perfect mission!  This position is responsible for supervising kindergarten and primary
school operations, delivering professional development programs,
and improving student achievement. This role includes collaborating
with staff and management teams. Candidates must have strong
problem-solving skills and be flexible, adaptable to the West African
environment.
This will be a one-year assignment and includes:
A monthly stipend
On campus housing
A vehicle
Three meals per day
I believe there is some flexibility about the teaching credentials.  If my life was not so complicated these days I would do this.  My experience with the children of Liberia was life-changing.  This is a chance to really make a difference.  If you are interested, please send your resume with full contact information and three references to:  macdella@macdellacooper.org

Winery of the week:  Kitchak Cellars (http://www.kitchakcellars.com), Napa, CA.  One of the cool things about hanging around Napa is that once in a while you randomly meet someone in the wine industry.   Just the other night, eating dinner at the bar in one of my favorite Napa bistros, the couple next to me offered me a glass of the wine they had brought.  I accepted a small taste.  It was really good.  I got into a conversation with Patricia and Peter Kitchak of Minneapolis and Napa. In addition to winemaking, Peter, get this, has been in the commercial real estate industry for about the same number of years as me. We knew some people in common.  Because the most I know about wine is whether I like it or not, Peter and I talked real estate.  Anyway, they make about 1,000 cases per year and it’s good stuff.  

On the road....

Mar. 27-29:  Austin, Texas to attend the TEXPERS (Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems) conference.

Mar. 30: New York to attend and moderate a panel at IMN's inaugural Real Estate Investment & Search Consultants Congress.

Apr. 7-8:  Villanova, PA to serve as a judge for the DiLella Center for Real Estate, Villanova Real Estate Challenge.

Apr. 13-15: Venice, Italy to attend the INREV Annual General Meeting.

May 12-14: North Palm Beach, FL for the annual meeting of the Homer Hoyt Fellows.

May 16-20:  New York

June 6-10: London to moderate a panel at the PERE Forum-Europe and have some other meetings.

These are my views and not that of my employer. 

Don't confront me with my failures as I had not forgotten them.

This past Monday IPD (Investment Property Databank) held their US Quarterly Results (2010Q4) event in New York at one of the coolest and most functional venues I've been at in a long time-NASDAQ MarketSite overlooking Times Square (see photo below).

Steve Cochrane of Moody' Analytics, mentioned some of their findings:

·      Job growth will both accelerate and expand over a wider range of industries.

·      Businesses are much more upbeat-sentiment seems to be improving.

·      De-leveraging is in full swing.

o   Household liabilities have fallen by $930Mn since peaking two years ago.

o   Credit spigot is opening for both households and small businesses.

o   No major markets, other than Las Vegas, Phoenix and possibly Miami, are in recession.

o   The only states still in recession are Nevada and Mississippi.

o   The strongest markets now are: Boston, Washington, Dallas, Seattle, San Jose.

o   The market is improving but not pulling along as many properties.

·      Top performers by property type:

1.   Retail: Super-regional centers

2.   Office: CBD

3.   Apartment: Garden

4.   Industrial: Warehouse and Flex space.     

Bob White (RCA): “Competition will heat up for leasing space in class B & C buildings bought at discount”.

David Brooks, Op-Ed Columnist for the New York Times, was the opening keynote speaker at the PREA Conference this week in Washington, DC.  I’m hardly political and don’t even know on which side of the fence Brooks resides but I like him. 

 Here are a few of my takeaways:

·      65% of Americans say that America is in decline.

·      People want change but they can’t find the type of change they’re willing to accept.

·      In 80 years, Obama will be the unit of measurement for self-confidence.

·      The Tea Party came in and used Abbey Hoffman means to achieve Norman Rockwell ends. (Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American social and political activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies").  Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States, where Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine for more than four decades.

·      One way to induce humility is to write a column for the New York Times

·      We live in an overconfident society

·      Most things are about character and values and not about legislative shifts.

·      Humility:  You have to admit how much you don’t know.

·      Beware of your own weaknesses.

On the last item.  I’ve been aware of my own weaknesses for many years.   As Jackson Browne says in one of my favorite of his songs, These Days,  “Don’t confront me with my failures for I had not forgotten them.” With each chapter in my career I learn about new weaknesses but then again I take with me some strengths that I’ve previously developed.  It’s all about evolving as a person isn’t it?

I work in an industry craving improvement.  A sign? There were 850 people at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC this past week for the PREA Conference.  850!  I believe that is a record.  Another record, although I didn’t officially take attendance was the number of placement agents that were there.  Is that a direct indicator that things are normalizing to what they were?  On that subject, over the past 18 months there has been a lot of talk about “Lesson’s Learned.”  I have heard that mentioned by panelists almost as much as I’ve heard the dreaded “Extend and Pretend.”  From what I saw and heard this week, combined with what I’m seeing and hearing in general, a number of the “Lessons Learned” have already been forgotten like some formulas that you had to memorize in school just to be able to pass an exam.

I was standing around chatting with some true industry veterans.  They read this column and know who they are so I don’t want to give them a swellhead by referring to them as anything more….but they are.   There was consensus that one of the biggest lessons ‘not learned’ is the idea of following the crowd.  Sure, one of the alignments that fund managers pursue is to align their strategy with the wants and needs of investors (and consultants).  I guess that’s the simplest rule for a successful business:  give the customer what they want and keep them satisfied.  Of course, the key alignment is the alignment of financial interests between investors and managers (and amongst investors and then we get into the subject of club deals but I'll leave that for another day).  

But isn’t one of the key lessons that we’re supposed to have learned discipline?  Remember the kitten that jumped up on the stove and burned its paw:  it never, ever did that again.  I think, one of the things that we should have learned, and this holds true for all things in life, is that if something seems too good to be true, it probably, or at least may not, be true.  We won’t know whether the investment decisions being today are good ones until a few years down the road and my crystal ball is as cloudy as yours.  But, distress cannot be cured overnight and maybe the fact that some prime properties in prime cities are getting 35 bids should be a orange or amber alert (The United States government' national threat level is Elevated, or Yellow and for all domestic and international flights, the U.S. threat level is High, or Orange [which it’s been since November 26, 2008]).  Another topic for a discussion at cocktail time.

Things are not back to the way they were in 2006/7 (and part of ’08) but it’s sure interesting to see into what strategies investors are putting their money. How much of it is ‘betting with the house.”   And, who is really behind those recommendations? Regardless, I believe that when we look back 2011 is going to be seen as an historic year in the commercial/institutional real estate world. 

So, that’s my commentary.  Here is some real information from Real Capital Analytics

·      Commercial property sales in February increased by 45% from one year earlier, slightly slower than the 56% year-over-year gain recorded in January.

·      In the first two months of the year, sales volume has topped $17.6 billion, with the office and retail sectors recording the greatest increases in activity.

·      Across all property types, cap rates remained relatively unchanged from January to February. Alongside of these results, other metrics presage a continuation of the improving trends in the investment markets.

·      New property offerings exceeding $18.0 billion in February reached their highest monthly level since October 2008.

·      Asking prices of these new offerings appear to be roughly in line with recent sales trends, indicating sellers are both motivated and realistic.

·      The closing of the pricing gap between buyers and sellers is reflected in rising sales volumes and a surge in pending transactions.

·      At the end of February, at least $22.5 billion of transactions were reported in contract in addition to Blackstone's pending $9.4 billion acquisition of Centro Properties' US shopping center portfolio and the even larger merger between AMB and Prologis.

Internships/Jobs:  Like many of you, I’ve always made time to talk with people who are looking to get into the real estate industry, get back into it or are simply looking for their next job.  Most of us have been there before.  I’ve met some very talented people in the past couple of months.  Some are in real estate MBA programs and are looking for a summer internship.  If your company has any openings for summer interns or are looking to fill a position, please let me know, as I may be able to steer a good candidate your way.  There is no fee involved in this.  However, if something works out you can buy me a nice glass of wine from the Napa Valley somewhere on the road.  Thanks.  We’re all in this together.

Congratulations to my friend, Jim Valente who recently joined IPD as Director of Performance and Risk Analysis.

Word of the week: Trifercation

On the road....

Mar. 27-29:  Austin to attend the TEXPERS conference.

Mar. 30: New York to attend IMN's inaugural Real Estate Investment & Search Consultants Congress and moderate a panel called “REAL ESTATE ASSET ALLOCATION: WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT VIEW? IS IT TIME TO INCREASE OR DECREASE ALLOCATION? Esteemed panelists: Catherine Polleys, Principal, HEWITT ENNISKNUPP, INC.; Justin C. Mallis, Senior Research Analyst, SEGAL ADVISORS, INC; Martha S. Peyton, Managing Director - Global Real Estate, TIAA – CREF; Peter Lewis, Real Estate Resource Group.

Apr. 7-8:  Villanova, PA to serve as a judge for the DiLella Center for Real Estate, Villanova Real Estate Challenge.

Apr. 13-15: Venice, Italy to attend the INREV Annual General Meeting.

May 12-14: North Palm Beach, FL for the annual meeting of the Homer Hoyt Fellows.

May 16-20:  New York

June 6-10: London to moderate a panel at the PERE Forum-Europe and have some other meetings.

Photo: Taken from the IPD event at NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square, New York.

These are my views and not that of my employer.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves

Thanks to the gracious invitation of David Funk, Director, Program in Real Estate, Cornell University, last night I attended one of their Real Estate Council events at the, you guessed it, Cornell Club in Manhattan. The first guy I met getting off the elevator was Pike Oliver, Senior Lecturer and person responsible for industry outreach for the Cornell Program in Real Estate. Pike and I had not met before but, as he said, “I feel like I know you as I’ve been reading your column for a number of years.” I recognized his name immediately as he had written me a few times over the years about something I had published. Both he and David are very passionate about the industry and great advocates of their students.


Of the 140 people there my guess is that about half were either current students in the program or alum. The balance comprised a diverse group of New York area commercial real estate professionals. As three of the four panelists work for public companies no media was invited. But I don’t consider myself or OTR media so here are some of the things I heard:

• New York City office rents increased by 5% in the last month.

• “New York is a world-class city in every sense except the age of its office stock.

• New jobs in New York are coming from non-traditional sources (i.e. Li & Fund, a Hong Kong based group managing supply chains for major brands and retailers worldwide who just leased 500,000 square feet in the Empire State Building).

• Bloomberg is the fastest growing company in New York.

• Construction lenders are simply not going to start giving construction loans for spec development.

• The recapitalization of capital stacks of assets is a process that could take as much as seven years to clear.

• People are waiting for a wave of distress but it may not happen.

• Transparency of financial information is more important than ever.


Well, his week I finally figured out what’s up with the commercial/institutional real estate industry: we’re going through a serious identity crisis or perhaps a mid-life crisis (although I’m measuring that by the chronology of my own mid-life). Why do I feel that? Well, in recent weeks, I’ve been listening to people who represent a diverse swath of our industry and, well, it sounds to me like there is a lot of uncertainty.

• The deal marketplace is still in flux regardless of the ‘core’ deals being transacted at dangerously low cap rates and dangerously high prices.

• The flow of capital back into the real estate asset class by pension funds, endowments and foundations is herky-jerky and not anywhere near reliable.

• Some people are talking as if we’re out of the woods. But we’re not.

• Many real estate investment management firms are trying to figure out whether to hire people back or wait a little longer.

• Some of the strategies being offered to institutional investors resemble a ‘let’s throw it against the wall and see what sticks’ philosophy or ‘real estate strategy du jour.’

But beyond specifics, there’s just this feeling I have that the period we’re living through is one of monumental change: AREA selling a 35% interest to the National Australia Bank (which just last year bought global REIT manager Presima from Montreal-based Caisse de Depot); KKR has hired someone to move them into the real estate private equity investment space (given that they’re pretty smart guys, I guess this could be a sign that real estate is ‘back in vogue?’); a company I can’t name is getting ready to launch a seriously sized fund to buy trophy shopping malls in the U.S. And other stuff that just suggests a great uncertainty or perhaps evolution in many ways. I guess time will tell, eh?


Lastly, tomorrow night a friend got me a ticket (well, it’s going to cost me $160 but by today’s concert standards that’s not too bad) to see the Allman Brothers who are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their legendary album, “Live at Fillmore East.” I didn’t get to see that show although I did get to see a good number of shows in that great (and small…2700 seats) venue. As I think about this, here are some of the shows that I saw (I know there are more but I just don’t or can’t remember them right now): Procol Harum, Seals & Croft, Voices of East Harlem, Joe Cocker & The Grease Band, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Chambers Brothers, Lighthouse, The Grateful Dead, The Band, Jimi Hendrix, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends (with Eric Clapton), King Crimson (original band), Fleetwood Mac (original band), Sweetwater, Cold Blood, Brethren, Richie Havens, Livingston Taylor (James’ brother), Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Traffic, Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, Taj Mahal, Spencer Davis Group (w/Steve Winwood), Savoy Brown, Renaissance, Vanilla Fudge, Pacific Gas & Electric, Electric Flag, Quicksilver, Lee Michaels, Sea Train, Country Joe & The Fish, Ten Years After, Cat Mother & The All-Night News Boys, Poco, Mott the Hoople, The Byrds, Raven, Rhinoceros, Illinois Speed Press, Sons of Champlain.

It was a great time to have grown up. Every once in a while, I think about how lucky I've been to have grown up in an era where we had both The Beatles and The Internet.


Restaurant of the week: Spasso, 551 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 (212) 858-3838 ‎. This place has been only open a couple of months but has already hit its stride. It’s a place you’ll like the minute you walk in as the staff is friendly (even to those they’ve never met before), the design is cool and the food is really good.


On the road....

Mar. 11-15: New York
Mar. 16-17: Washington, DC for the PREA Spring Conference
Mar. 21-25: Northern California
Mar. 30: New York to attend IMN's inaugural Real Estate Investment & Search Consultants Congress and moderate a panel called “REAL ESTATE ASSET ALLOCATION: WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT VIEW? IS IT TIME TO INCREASE OR DECREASE ALLOCATION? Esteemed panelists: Catherine Polleys, Principal, HEWITT ENNISKNUPP, INC.; Justin C. Mallis, Senior Research Analyst, SEGAL ADVISORS, INC; Martha S. Peyton, Managing Director - Global Real Estate, TIAA - CREF
Apr. 13-15: Venice, Italy to attend the INREV Annual General Meeting
May 12-14: North Palm Beach, FL for the annual meeting of the Homer Hoyt Fellows.
June 9-10: London to moderate a panel at the PERE Forum-Europe.







These are my views and not that of my employer.

NAREIM, Stickball & Willie, Mickey & The Duke

This week I attended my first, but hopefully not my last, NAREIM Senior Executive Meeting. It’s a nice sized group and the interaction and openness of attendees was refreshing. Here, in no particular order, are some things I took away which I hope you will find interesting as well:

I. General comments

a. "Bid/Ask spread is reversed: bid is often greater than seller expects."

b. "Debt/Equity people are taking interest rate risk that they aren’t acknowledging."

c. "Everyone is either in the club format or wants to be in the club format or thinks they want to be in the club format."

d. "The capital markets are ahead of real estate fundamentals."

II. Lessons Learned

a. Fund structure and investor rights issues

b. Replacement of GP

c. Control issues

d. Don’t be greedy

e. Leverage: good in good times; the devil in bad times

f. LP’s having to underwrite fellow LP’s in addition to the GP

g. Dealing with one LP in a fund trying to squeeze an extra pound of flesh out of a manager.

h. Importance of communication both between the LP and the GP and the LP within their own entity

i. Key man provisions

j. Extension of investment period (“GP says ‘look how prudent I was to not invest; I deserve an extension.”)

k. " The U.S. is still the best place to invest over the next five years."

l. Concern about ‘core herd mentality’ today

m. "Hard for us to find places to park long-term real estate equity capital."

i. “The way to get returns is to return something. You get in, you take the risk and you get the hell out.”

i. More capital to be deployed into debt going forward

n. “I’m torn on the club deal concept. Investors are only like-minded for a short period.”

o. “Club transactions make managers into brokers."

p. “This is a people business. It’s relationship driven. I like to invest with managers with whom there has been a ‘sustained confidence’ and who have exhibited the ability to work through challenges”

q. “I want to do as much business with the fewest number of managers possible.”

r. “A lot of good will can be generated by being candid.”

III. Notes from roundtable discussion on ‘Business Management Issues’ (we spent the whole time pretty much talking about compensation issues). There is hiring going on. Analysts, portfolio managers, asset managers, acquisition people. This is a very good sign for the industry. I think many of you can relate to some or all of these comments from around the table:

a. “We’re finding too many people who present themselves as asset management people don’t have real real estate experience

b. “Asset managers have to know how income producing real estate generates revenue.”

c. “Comp is going up; real estate is back in vogue.”

d. “The human component of our business is the most challenging; the real estate doesn’t talk back.”

e. “Succession planning is a big challenge for us.”

f. “The challenge: to be able to identify the right person in terms of experience/chemistry BEFORE you hire them”.

g. “In some cases, people represent themselves to us as a 747 pilot when in reality they’re really a bus driver.”

h. “We’ve learned that our people don’t like being asked to spend time on something that isn’t going to work.”


Duke Snider died this week. He was the center fielder for the Brooklyn, then Los Angeles Dodgers. When I was growing up there were three great centerfielders in New York: Snider, Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees. I was a Mantle fan. Actually, he was my (and millions of other kids) idol. Reading Duke’s obit got me thinking back to those days. When we played stickball and we knew all the players in the major leagues. We’d each pick a team to be and then emulated the batting and pitching characteristics of each player. We’d debate who the best centerfielder was. It was also a much simpler time. It was a great time to grow up. It was safe. All we did was play sports from morning ‘til night; whatever the season, that was the sport we played: baseball, basketball, football, and stickball. And some ‘city sports’ like boxball, stoopball, handball, Chinese handball (why it was called that I’ve never known), ball hockey, punchball and others that I can’t recall at this moment. Of the three, Willie Mays is the last one standing. As I look back on their careers, I will admit, here, for the first time, that I believe Willie was the greatest all around centerfielder of that time and perhaps of all history (I'm sorry I put the hurt on your Willie Mays doll Sande).

Anecdote of the week: Heard from a keynote speaker. “I'm always looking to improve my public speaking skills. I was reading the speaker feedback surveys from a conference. One respondent wrote a comment. "If I had one hour to live, I'd want to spend it listening to your presentation." Very touching. Then I read on: “Because sitting through your presentation is like an eternity!”

On the road....



Mar. 7-15: New York

Mar. 16-17: Washington, DC for the PREA Spring Conference

Mar. 21-25: Northern California

Mar. 30: New York to attend IMN's inaugural Real Estate Investment & Search Consultants Congress and moderate a panel called “REAL ESTATE ASSET ALLOCATION: WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT VIEW? IS IT TIME TO INCREASE OR DECREASE ALLOCATION? Esteemed panelists: Catherine Polleys, Principal, HEWITT ENNISKNUPP, INC.; Sean P. Ruhmann, Senior Consultant, Private Markets, NEPC, LLC; Justin C. Mallis, Senior Research Analyst, SEGAL ADVISORS, INC; Martha S. Peyton, Managing Director - Global Real Estate, TIAA - CREF

Apr. 13-15: Venice, Italy to attend the INREV Annual General Meeting

May 12-14: North Palm Beach, FL for the annual meeting of the Homer Hoyt Fellows.

June 9-10: London to moderate a panel at the PERE Forum-Europe.




These are my views and not that of my employer.

"The credit belongs to the man.....

I may have shared this with you a some point but I’ve read it again recently and it’s reminded me of something I may have forgotten:

“ The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena-whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood….who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion-and spends himself in a worthy cause…who at best, if he wins, knows the thrills of high achievement-and, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly-so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt

I can’t remember where or when I found this quote but it’s been at least twenty years as i have it scotch-taped to a business card from a job I had at that time.  It’s something I tried to never forget but, you know, things just happen that take us off the path that we dream of following onto a path that we need to follow.  But why?  What happens along the way?  It’s called responsibility or in other words obligation.  But that’s just part of it.  For many of us, life gets complicated, personally and financially.  And, we don’t know how to get out of it, even if we want to.  There are all kinds of sayings and clichés and advice about how to live your life-‘don’t forget to stop and smell the roses’, ‘don’t be afraid of failing’, ‘don’t be afraid of succeeding’.  They’re all good sayings but, you say, are they realistic in this day and age?  Well, my view is that this day and age is all we have and if we don’t grab onto it, at some point in our lives, and ride it for all it’s worth, we run a real risk, the risk of regret, the risk of being close to the natural end and saying, “I wish I had done that or I wish I had gone there or I just wish……”. And, if you and I continue to wait for just the right time to do something we really want to do, or go somewhere we want to go, well, there just may not be a time which is the right time….there may simply not be time.

This coming week I'll be attending my first NAREIM Executive Officers Meeting as a guest of Steve Renna, President of NAREIM.  When I took a look at the attendee list the other day I saw that I'll know a number of folks who will be there; some who were my consulting clients when I was at IREI; others who I have just known for years in the industry.  One thing that interested me was the list of topics for Group Discussion/Breakout sessions.  I think many of these are topics that you can kick around, right in your own office, early on a Friday morning when you bring in bagels and....With all the hustle and bustle of our work weeks, I'm thinking that we need to make sure that we don't overlook how important it is to get together as a team, debate timely topics and share ideas.  The beautiful thing is that you don't have to wait for a conference to do it, although the benefit of a conference is that you have voices from different firms contributing.  Anyway, here are some of those timely topics:

• How is your firm responding to the 'outlook' for the markets and the industry in 2011?
• How has your firm applied "Lessons Learned."
• Are we experiencing a structural change in the market?

One last item on conferences. A few of you have contacted me about IMN's Consultant Congress to be held in New York on March 30, 2011.  I'll be moderating one of the panel sessions and perhaps the calibre of people on that panel will give you an idea of why it may make sense for you to attend the event:

Sean Buhmann, NEPC

Cate Polleys, Hewitt EnnisKnupp

Justin Mallis, Segal Advisors

Martha Peyton, TIAA-CREF

And to throw in just a few of the other firms that will be attending (perhaps you've wanted to meet them but hadn't had a chance):

• Evaluation Associates
• Courtland Partners
• Mercer
• PCA 
• Rogers & Casey
• Callan
• Hamilton Lane

Sounds like I'm promoting the event, eh?  Well, probably but I salute IMN for creating something new instead of the SOSO and, given the role that consultants play in our community I just wanted to make sure that I put it out there for you to consider.

Ice cream of the week:  Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, Columbus, OH.  Simply unbelievable.  Her first creation, Queen City Cayenne, brings a fine wine like experience: "Rich chocolate reveals back-of-the-throat spice. Finish is tingly and complex".  This, my friends, is serious shit!

Music videos of the week:  Three of the great vocal performances of our time:

Bonnie Raitt “I Can’t Make You Love Me If You Don’t”

Rick Danko “It Makes No Difference” 

Joan Osborne “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted”

Photo:  Sean Felix, 19 months.

On the road....

Feb. 27-Mar.1: Santa Monica, CA to attend NAREIM's Senior Executive Officer's Meeting (National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers).

Mar. 7-15:  New York

Mar. 16-17: Washington, DC for the PREA Spring Conference

Mar. 30:  New York to attend IMN's inaugural Real Estate Investment & Search Consultants Congress

Apr. 13-15: Venice to attend the INREV Annual General Meeting

May 12-14: North Palm Beach, FL for the annual meeting of the Homer Hoyt Fellows.

June 9-10: London to moderate a panel at the PERE Forum-Europe.

These are my views and not that of my employer.