NAREIM’s annual Data & Information Management Meeting in Chicago opened with attendees choosing from a dozen topics for discussion during the morning Windy City Chat.
Overwhelmingly, the room gravitated toward artificial intelligence, dedicating the entire hour to the topic before revisiting it in subsequent sessions throughout the day.
The overarching takeaway? Data and IT professionals within real estate investment management firms are grappling with how to leverage generative AI to deliver measurable business value while controlling costs, managing risk and encouraging employees to embrace new ways of working.
“There’s AI for the masses, which is a general productivity tool, and then there is AI to help turbocharge the real estate investment management business.”
Read More
NAREIM celebrates the next generation of commercial real estate leaders through the NAREIM Jeff Barclay Fellows program.
Named after the late Jeff Barclay, former NAREIM Chairman, Managing Director and Head of Acquisitions at Clarion Partners, and Head of Goldman Sachs’ Real Estate Group, the NAREIM Jeff Barclay Fellows award is given to outstanding graduate students with the goal to provide insights into the future of real estate investment management.
Read More
NAREIM’s Architecture, Engineering & Development meeting brought industry leaders to Boston to examine how technology, data and technical expertise are changing the way real estate teams evaluate risk, manage assets and plan for the future.
From artificial intelligence and due diligence technology to building envelopes, data centers and one of Boston’s largest waterfront developments, the focus kept returning to something more fundamental: making better decisions.
Read More
Walburger brings more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience cultivating executive relationships and facilitating high-level peer exchange. Prior to joining NAREIM, he held senior commercial roles across leading real estate data, analytics, and technology platforms, including Green Street, Juniper Square, and Ten-X.
His work has consistently focused on partnering with institutional investment managers and supporting their strategic and operational priorities.
“Throughout his career, Andy has been dedicated to serving institutional real estate investment managers and creating opportunities for senior leaders to learn from one another,” said Kristin Renaudin, Chair of the NAREIM Board of Directors and Chief Financial Officer of Stockbridge. “His experience across the industry, combined with his success building executive peer networks, makes him uniquely well suited to lead NAREIM.”
Read More
Artificial intelligence may be changing how work gets done, but throughout NAREIM’s Talent Management Meeting, held in Chicago this week, one message remained remarkably consistent: the future of work is still fundamentally about people.
Across discussions on executive coaching, total rewards, AI transformation, and leadership development, attendees explored how organizations are adapting to an increasingly complex workplace. While every organization is on a different path, the conversations revealed a common priority: preparing leaders, employees, and workplace cultures to navigate rapid change.
The discussions made clear that while technology continues to accelerate transformation, lasting success will depend on organizations that invest in the human side of work.
Read More
“AI-native firms” built around generative AI technology from day one could gain an advantage over competitors trying to adapt legacy processes, attendees heard last week during NAREIM’s Virtual Exchange Series: Technology, Data & AI Survey Analysis.
Yet established firms possess something newcomers will struggle to replicate: the trust of their investors, which they have spent years nurturing.
“AI-native firms that will compete the best will be those that pull people together from legacy firms, so they have that incumbent trust that’s there, but they are going to be rebuilding that factory from scratch.”
Read More
Now in its 18th year, the GMS draws on responses from 79 firms spanning a wide range of strategies, sizes, and geographies, providing industry leaders with benchmarks across capital raising, financial performance, organizational structure, staffing, and governance.
Read More
The modern portfolio manager remains responsible for setting investment strategy and serving as a “steady pair of hands” in difficult moments, attendees heard at NAREIM’s Portfolio Management meeting held in New York City last week.
But the role is expanding, encompassing more client interaction, reporting responsibilities, knowledge transfer, and significantly more travel than in years past.
“Part of the role is also therapist. It’s explaining that real estate is a cycle and talking folks off the ledge, both colleagues who are less seasoned and investors.”
Read More
The role of asset management is expanding well beyond traditional oversight responsibilities. Today’s asset managers are increasingly expected to act as strategists, operators, capital allocators, data stewards, technology advocates, and organizational connectors, as heard during NAREIM’s Asset Management Meeting held last week in New York City.
Whether the topic was expense optimization, acquisitions alignment, portfolio strategy, team structure, or technology adoption, the conversations consistently pointed to a profession that is becoming more central to investment performance than ever before.
Read More
A new benchmarking report from NAREIM industry partner PwC looks at how GPs are structuring management fees, incentive economics, and expense governance in today’s competitive capital-raising environment.
Read More