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: June 2026

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

Released: Jan 2026

This Global Workforce Survey provides a clear view of workforce demographics and people practices across commercial real estate. The Survey was formerly known as the Global Real Estate DEI Survey.

The Survey is conducted in collaboration with Ferguson Partners and supported by 19 global commercial real estate associations including: AFIRE, AIA, APREA, AREF, BOMA, BPF, CFMA, CoreNet Global, CREW Network, EPRA, NAIOP, NAREIM, NCREIF, OSCRE, PFA, PREA, RICS, REALPAC and ULI.

This survey provides a data-backed snapshot of where the industry stands today and highlights key trends in workforce demographics, policies, and workplace practices and 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 2026.

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.

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Technology, Data & AI Survey

Released: March 2025

In partnership with Juniper Square, this survey delivers an aggregated, anonymized view of industry practices designed to support peer benchmarking, identify emerging best practices, and guide more informed technology and data decisions across the NAREIM community.

The report:

Examines that gap and where firms need to focus: data governance, technology partnerships, and how they re-imagine the role of their people. Success going forward will belong to the firms that reorganize around AI, not just the ones that purchase it.

All members participating in the Survey can access results.

Click here to access the Executive Summary released in 2026.

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

Technology, Data & AI Survey

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