Surveys

Research and Best Practices

NAREIM^™ (the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers^™) is proud to partner with leading organizations and CRE associations to produce benchmarking research into compensation, organizational and management metrics as well as best practices for real estate investment managers.

Each year, NAREIM produces four benchmarking surveys, including:

Real estate investment management’s only industry-specific Compensation Survey, covering base, bonus, LTIs, promote/carry, co-investment and benefits
A global management and organizational design benchmark, the Global Management Survey
The only corporate workforce demographics survey for the entire CRE industry, tracking inclusion strategies and employee demographics
A Defined Contribution capital raising, structuring, liquidity and organizational design benchmarking survey.

NAREIM benchmarking research is not for sale. Research is available to participating NAREIM members only.

To learn more about the research reports and NAREIM membership, contact Reesa Fischer ,CEO.

Member pulse surveys

One of the most distinctive benefits of membership is the ability to pitch an idea for a member survey on the issues most pressing to a member's business and the industry at large.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PULSE SURVEYS

Compensation Survey

Released: Sept 2025

Proprietary research providing compensation of real estate investment managers. The report covers more than 400 pages of individual position compensation reports.

Positions reported on include: Executive management, accounting (corporate, portfolio/fund, property), asset management, capital markets, corporate marketing and communications, due diligence, engineering, environmental, finance, human resources, investor relations, capital raising, leasing, legal and compliance, portfolio management, property management, risk management, technology, transactions, valuations, debt and REIT securities.

The Compensation Survey is produced in association with Ferguson Partners. NAREIM members can access the executive summary by contacting Reesa Fischer, CEO.

Global Management Survey

Released: May 2025

Proprietary research benchmarking the organizational, financial and capital raising metrics of real estate investment managers, providing a global perspective as well as North American and European regional analysis.

Produced by NAREIM and Ferguson Partners, the GMS Survey provides a global and regional overview of enterprise metrics.

The report covers more than 65 individual data points, including, but not limited to:

Revenue: Capital raising and net and gross AUM growth year-over-year, new commitment trends, investor concentration ratios, use of daily-valued private RE vehicles, dry powder and subs lines, leverage use, acquisition & disposition volumes and revenues.
Organizational Metrics: Headcount growth, employees per $1bn AUM, employee breakdowns per function, per function and seniority, including portfolio management, asset management and acquisitions. Span of controls, turnover and layoffs, valuation policies, functional group trends - ESG, Data Strategy, Asset Management and more.
Financial Metrics: YOY financial performance, EBITDA (pre- and post-bonus) margins, bonus pools, revenue and expense breakdowns, treatment of fund-level expenses.
Fund/Account T&Cs: Target returns, asset management fees, acquisition & disposition fees, fee prevalence, promote/carried interest trends, promote catch-ups, GP co-investments, fund employees.
Governance: Composition of executive committees, board of directors, management committees and investment committees; IC deal flow, voting and decision trends; SEC registration and audit frequency.

The Global Management Survey is produced in association with Ferguson Partners. NAREIM members can access the executive summary by contacting Reesa Fischer, CEO.

Global workforce survey

Next issue released: Jan 2026

The Global Workforce Survey is the only corporate benchmark for workforce demographics and inclusion practices for the whole of the CRE.

The Survey, which is conducted on a biannual schedule, is produced in partnership with: AFIRE, AIA, APREA, AREF, BOMA, BPF, CFMA, CoreNet Global, CREW, EPRA, NAIOP, NAREIM, NCREIF, OSCRE, PFA, PREA, REALPAC, RICS and ULI. Ferguson Partners conducts the survey on behalf of the organizations.

The Survey provides corporate benchmarking across seniority and job functions in the US as well as gender in Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe.

The Survey covers data points, including, but not limited to:

Employee Demographics: including gender and representation, as well as year-over-year trends in hiring, promotion, and departures.
Best Practice Metrics: Related to recruitment, retention, promotion, inclusive workplace culture, performance tracking and accountability, and pay equity.

Click here to access the Global Real Estate Workforce Survey released in 2024.

Please contact Reesa Fischer, CEO for more information.

Defined Contribution

Released: Oct 2025

In collaboration with the Defined Contribution Real Estate Council (DCREC), NCREIF and PREA, the Defined Contribution Survey focuses on defined contribution capital raising, organizational and best practice benchmarking.

The report includes but is not limited to:

Defined contribution capital raising volume and distribution strategies, enterprise metrics including staffing and organizational best practices, vehicle structuring and liquidity.

All members participating in the Survey can access results.

Click here to access the Defined Contribution released in 2025.

Please contact Reesa Fischer, CEO for more information.

Surveys

Research and Best Practices

Member pulse surveys

Compensation Survey

Global Management Survey

Global workforce survey

Defined Contribution

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