CRE Investment Management Careers & Career Paths
Commercial real estate investment managers drive the data behind the buying, selling, and investment decisions regarding commercial properties. This is a general responsibility within CRE, so what are some other job titles and related positions that commercial real estate investment managers might hold?
- Investment manager
- Investment analyst
- Property administrator
- Asset management analyst/associate
- Organizations associate
- Portfolio manager
- Portfolio analyst
- Chief financial officer
Commercial Real Estate Investment Manager Education
- Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, real estate, business administration, or a related field
- Master's degree (MBA or M.S. in real estate/finance) preferred
- Certifications: CIMA (Certified Investment Management Analyst), CIM (Certified Investment Manager)
Career Fields for Investment Managers
What fields do commercial real estate investment managers work in? What types of businesses hire investment managers in CRE besides private equity firms? These are examples of companies that employ CRE investment managers:
- Private equity firms
- Bridge lenders
- Real estate agencies and brokers
- Management corporations
- Real estate development companies
- Equity capital
- Development firms
- Corporations with real estate portfolios
Keywords That Employers Look For
To stand out among other investment management applicants, you’ll need to use a few keywords that are commonly associated with investment managers. Focus not only on hard skills, such as financial modeling and market analysis, but also soft skills such as negotiation, leadership, and strategic thinking.
Hard skills for CRE investment management
- Property transactions: Acquisitions, sales, lease terminations, and managing any other property activity.
- Account tasks: Overseeing full accounting lifecycle and assisting with property and investment transactions.
- Financial reporting: Creating financial reports for lenders, partners, stakeholders, and investors.
- Deal structuring: Knowledge of structuring deals, including debt and equity financing.
- Forecasting and budgeting: Performing property analyses to identify opportunities and drive strategy.
- Real estate portfolio management: Asset identification, lease renewals, property acquisitions, and other management responsibilities.
- Underwriting: Evaluating the risk of commercial properties and delivering reports to stakeholders.
Soft skills for CRE investment management
- Communication: Ability to effectively communicate with vendors, investors, and internal team members.
- Presentation skills: Expertise in ad hoc presentations and pitching.
- Organization: Attention to detail and expertise in multitasking.
- Leadership: Ability to lead teams and projects, and make informed decisions.
- Analytical thinking: Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate and research investment opportunities.
- Time management: Capability to manage multiple priorities and meet hard deadlines.
- Strategic mindset: Able to formulate investment strategies and drive key decisions.
- Professional presence: Maintain professionalism and encourage the team’s positive work effort.
Software tools and apps that CRE investment managers use
- Financial modeling and analysis: Microsoft Excel, Argus Enterprise, Tableau
- Customer relationship management (CRM): Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Affinity, Pipedrive
- Property management software: Yardi, AppFolio, Entrata, Property Matrix, MRI Software, Intapp
- Data and market research: Biscred, CoStar, Real Capital Analytics, REIS, SNL Real Estate, Capital IQ, Orbis, Crunchbase, FactSet, Bloomberg Terminal
- Presentation and visualization: Microsoft PowerPoint, ThinkCell, Tableau, Qlik
- Document management and collaboration: Microsoft SharePoint, iDeals, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive
- Financial management: Personal Capital, Wealthfront, Quicken, Bloomberg Terminal
- Startup and private company data: Biscred, Crunchbase, Tracxn, Preqin
- Project management: Asana, Trello, Monday, Wrike, Zoho Projects, Teamwork, Jira, Basecamp, Clarizen
Commercial real estate investment manager: industry outlook
- Median salary U.S.: Ranges between $103,522 and $247,000 per year or $50 to $118.75 per hour
- Projected job growth: 17% per year through 2033
- Employment 2023: 837,100
- Employment projected 2033: 975,400
- Top 5 states for financial manager jobs (number of jobs, annual mean wage):
- California (97,400, $196,670)
- Texas (63,800, $170,970)
- New York (62,800, $241, 150)
- Illinois (48,810, $173,210)
- Florida (42,740, $162,180)
- Top industries (percentage of industry employment):
- Other investment pools and funds (6.28%)
- Securities, commodity contracts (5.65%)
- Credit intermediation(5.21%)
- Monetary authorities (4.47%)
- Non-depository credit intermediation (4.39%)
CRE investment management licensure, certification, and professional associations
- CFA: Chartered Financial Analyst Institute
- CCIM: Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute
- CIMA: Certified Investment Management Analyst
- CIM: Certified Investment Manager
- CMCP: Certified Manager of Commercial Properties
