Jobs in Commercial Real Estate | PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

CRE Portfolio Management Careers & Career Paths

Commercial real estate portfolio managers are responsible for making informed investment decisions related to a firm’s real estate portfolio. What are some other job titles and related positions that commercial real estate portfolio managers might hold?

1. CRE investment analyst
2. Asset manager
3. Investment manager
4. Portfolio manager
5. Portfolio management associate
6. Analyst — portfolio management
7. Junior analyst
8. Property administrator
9. Investment analyst
10. Chief financial officer

Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Manager Education

1. Bachelor's degree in finance, real estate, business administration, economics, or a related field
2. Master's degree (MBA or MFin) preferred
3. Certifications: PfMP (Portfolio Management Professional), CPM (Certified Portfolio Manager), FINRA certification (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst).

Career Fields for Portfolio Managers

In what types of firms or organizations do portfolio manager work? What types of industries typically hire portfolio managers? These are examples of companies that specifically employ CRE portfolio managers:

1. Commercial banks
2. Investment firms
3. Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
4. Private equity firms
5. Real estate investment companies
6. CRE brokerage firms
7. Hedge funds
8. Real estate developers

Keywords That Employers Look For

To make your application stand out to employers, you want to add keywords commonly desired for CRE portfolio managers. Focus not only on hard skills, such as compiling asset reports and business budgets, but also soft skills such as professional relationship building, leadership, and analytical thinking. The best place to find keywords is within the real estate portfolio manager job description itself, but here are some suggestions:

Hard skills for CRE portfolio managers:

1. Financial reporting: Proficiency in creating and presenting financial reports to stakeholders.
2. Quarterly reporting: Summarizing financial statements and comparing the company’s finances to previous quarters.
3. Investment strategy: Making informed decisions on investment strategy for a firm or individual investor portfolio.
4. Risk management: Identifying and interpreting risks to the firm’s portfolio and developing mitigation strategies.
5. Monitoring market/properties: Monitoring property and market conditions to track a property’s performance.
6. Property transactions: Processing property transactions such as new acquisitions and sales, as well as lease renewals and terminations.

Soft skills for CRE portfolio managers:

1. Communication: Ability to effectively communicate financial reports to stakeholders.
2. Negotiation: Experience negotiating favorable terms for lease agreements, property sales, and maintenance contracts.
3. Leadership: Leading a team of property or portfolio managers and setting policy based on long-term planning.
4. Analytical thinking: Experience with performing multiple financial analyses and compiling reports for invested stakeholders.
5. Presentation skills: Aptitude for presenting quarterly reports and portfolio performance.
6. Organization and project management: Experience tackling multiple projects at once in time-sensitive settings.
7. Integrity and honesty: Proven track record of representing clients and stakeholders while maintaining ethical behavior.

Software tools and apps that CRE portfolio managers use

1. Financial modeling and analysis: Microsoft Excel, Argus Enterprise, Tableau
2. Portfolio management: Empower, Mint, Simplifi, Morningstar, Kubera
3. Data and market research: Biscred, CoStar, Real Capital Analytics, REIS, SNL Real Estate, Capital IQ, Orbis, Crunchbase, FactSet, Bloomberg Terminal
4. Presentation and visualization: Microsoft PowerPoint, ThinkCell, Tableau, Qlik
5. Document management and collaboration: Microsoft SharePoint, iDeals, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive
6. Investment management: Yardi Investment Manager, AppFolio Investment Manager, MRI Software, Intapp
7. Risk management and compliance: Intapp Conflicts, Intapp Employee Compliance, Compliance.ai, ComplySci
8. Startup and private company data: Biscred, Crunchbase, Tracxn, Preqin
9. Project management: Asana, Trello, Monday, Wrike, Zoho Projects, Teamwork, Jira, Basecamp, Clarizen

Commercial real estate portfolio management: industry outlook*

1. Median salary U.S.: Ranges between $102,000 and $187,000 per year or $50 to $90 per hour
2. Projected job growth: 17% per year through 2033
3. Employment 2023: 837,100
4. Employment projected 2033: 975,400
5. Top 5 states for CRE portfolio management-related jobs (number of jobs, annual mean wage):
6. California (97,400, $196,670)
7. Texas (63,800, $170,970)
8. New York (62,800, $241,150)
9. Illinois (48,810, $173,210)
10. Florida (42,740, $162,180)
11. Top industries (percentage of industry employment):
12. Investment pools/funds (6.28%)
13. Securities, commodity contracts, financial investments (5.65%)
14. Credit intermediation (5.21%)
15. Monetary authorities (4.47%)
16. Nondepository credit intermediation (4.39%)

CRE portfolio management licensure, certification, and professional associations

1. PfMP (Portfolio Management Professional)
2. CPM (Finra Certified Portfolio Manager)
3. CPM (Finra Chartered Portfolio Manager)
4. CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)

*Industry outlook is based on a variety of factors and could change any time. We pull our data from a variety of sources to give a general idea of employment and salary. It should also be noted that job titles and job descriptions vary, based on company, industry and geography, and much of our data is pulled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. To understand how the BLS codifies jobs and updates its Occupational Outlook Handbook, read their FAQs.

¹ Appfolio, How to choose the right software partner for commercial real estate investment managers, 2022-06-28, accessed 2024-12-13

² SmartAsset, 8 Best Portfolio Management Software, 2023-05-30, accessed 2024-12-13

³ Westwood Net Lease Advisors, Top 10 Software Tools For Commercial Real Estate Investors, 2017-11-01, accessed 2024-12-13

⁴ Capterra, Investment Management Software, accessed 2024-12-13

⁵ Capterra, Commercial Real Estate Software, accessed 2024-12-13

⁶ Glassdoor, How much does a Portfolio Manager make? 2024-06-06, accessed 2024-12-13

⁷ Zip Recruiter, Portfolio Manager Salary in Los Angeles, CA, accessed 2024-12-13

⁸ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Financial Managers, accessed 2024-12-13

⁹ The BLS doesn’t track data specifically for “commercial real estate portfolio managers”. We used the broader category of financial managers, which includes portfolio managers. Also see U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Financial Analysts, accessed 2024-12-13

¹⁰ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment of financial managers, by state, May 2023, accessed 2024-12-13

¹¹ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023, 11-3031 Financial Managers, accessed 2024-12-13