Financial Analyst (FP&amp;A) moving into CRE
Hi CRE sub,

I am 3 years out of college and currently working in the financial industry in FP&amp;A. I do have some FP&amp;A experience working in a real estate corporation, so perhaps that experience can be helpful. 
I would like to make a transition into CRE and was wondering if any of you had a similar transition from a finance based role into a CRE role. I am interested in any advice or any helpful information or to see which branch of CRE would be easiest to transition into (AM, Debt finance, acquisition). I began to network with people in the industry, because I realized how important a good network is specifically to this industry.

Thank you in advance.
[{"id": "fbxb6dd", "text": "I was  Financial Analyst for a year right out of college at a Multifamily company but I basically did Asset Management related work. Now I'm currently an Asset Manager at a different, much smaller, Multifamily company.", "replies": [{"id": "fbxcqeh", "text": "I\u2019m actually very interested in AM type work. Can you please tell me a bit more about the finance side of AM and what your average week looks like?  I feel like I have decent Excel skills from my current role, but want to be especially confident since this should be my strong suit coming into interviews.", "replies": [{"id": "fbxocwf", "text": "Not OP but I can as I\u2019ve done it. The job of AM is to manage the asset, which sounds pedantic, but really means executing the business plan. It means, depending on the shop, negotiating service contracts (sometimes that\u2019s the property manager), insurance, leasing (loi, lease document), managing all third party consultants (brokers, contractors). From a financial perspective, you need to make decisions based on financing/no-refi, sale, reporting, etc. As a financial analyst on that side of the business, your going to be running a lot of Argus and exel models with sensitivity and what if analysis, and putting together reports.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fbxntfy", "text": "I transitioned from civil engineering (both construction management and design) into CRE, which is a similar transition to yours based on ancillary industry within the CRE process utilizing applicable concepts. \n\nFor you, I\u2019d say the easiest transition would be into a Bank on the balance sheet lending side. However, that\u2019s not what I would recommend. Those jobs are always there and will, for the most part, always take you (outside of big four). If your interested in acquisitions or development, I\u2019d suggest you try to move to a lateral role of financial analyst at the best shop that will take you. You should have a leg up on the competition a bit with your background. \n\nMost acquisition or development shops run lean and promote from within with the typical hierarchy being analyst, acquisition/development manager (aka glorified analysis), acquisition/development director (moving into a more forward role), then either VP or Managing Director depending on the size and layers of management in the shop. It\u2019s very difficult to get into these companies anywhere outside of an analyst. \n\nAlso, you should know, the product type matters. If you spent 10 years acquiring MFR, no one will consider you for an office acquisition job. Now, you may not consider that fair, but that\u2019s the way it is. So, pick your product type and role (developer, acquisition, broker) wisely, because it\u2019s very hard to switch lanes later.\n\nFinally, as I mentioned before, banks will typically take a competent able body at any point in your career. The exception is the big four (Wells, BOA, JPMC, Citi). They like to promote from within similar to big acq/dev shops so, if you think you want to go banking, take a job at one of these, be good and personable, and just wait, you will move up eventually. \n\nThis has gotten long. Happy to provide more info.", "replies": [{"id": "fbxq9kl", "text": "Thank you for such a comprehensive response :) \nI truly appreciate it. I did research into acquisition roles and it sounds like something that I would really like to get into. What barriers do you see for someone transitioning into CRE from a different role? What training/course topics do you think are essential for an acquisition analyst role? I am planning on doing a detailed real estate financial modeling course (from BIWS). I also do understand that industry specific knowledge is essential, do you have any recommendations on where and how to learn it\nmost efficiently?\n\nThank you again for such detailed responses!", "replies": [{"id": "fbxrrc4", "text": "Sure. From a core skills standpoint, for an acquisition role, you will need to know how to 1) do market research to determine competitive set, rents, amenities, etc via costar and other resources, 2) model property and portfolio cash flows in Argus, export them to excel, then 3) model the capital stack of debt and equity, with a private equity waterfall. To familiarize yourself with these skills I\u2019d suggest you 1) watch tutorials or sign up for demos in costar, 2) get a copy of Argus Enterprise, learn it, and take the certification test ($169), 3) learn waterfall PE structures. There are plenty of resources online for this and some in-class resources from ULI and others. Then, I\u2019d put it all together with a couple examples for the product type your interested in. \n\nI\u2019ve worked at shops that just take your word for it and ones that give you a test. I interviewed at one shop that gave me a bunch of lease abstracts, some assumptions and asked for a  property portfolio cash flow modeled in Argus, then financed via debt and equity waterfall in excel, with resulting recommendations of return, hold period and sale/no-sale decision. \n\nIf you can do that, you can interview and literally tell the hiring manager \u201cI\u2019m good for it. Put me in front of a deal and let me show you what I can do\u201d. Guaranteed to get the job. Most other people are talk. This business is all about results. \n\nP.S. for PE, your going to need to know not only the IRR splits but be prepared to model a cumulative preferred return and catch up.", "replies": [{"id": "fbxthnz", "text": "Holy crap this is amazing! Thank you again! I will get started on this asap. \nHow do you decide what product type you\u2019re interested in/is most suitable for you?", "replies": [{"id": "fbxtwpl", "text": "That\u2019s a personal preference but the four major food groups are 1) office 2) retail 3) mfr 4) industrial. Recently,  more capital is being allocated to hotels and self storage as well. I\u2019d suggest MFR as there\u2019s a systemic demand driver there that\u2019s requiring a lot of new development and acquisitions, leading to a lot of demand for warm bodies.", "replies": [{"id": "fbxwlcn", "text": "Are there any differences during the interview process/questions for any of the categories? What about compensation?", "replies": [{"id": "fby2uwl", "text": "I don\u2019t know about different questions. When your just getting into the business, beyond the core skill set we discussed, they will ask you typical interview questions: why commercial real estate? Why our company? What are your goals, etc?\n\nIn terms of comp, where you\u2019re located is the biggest factor. Are we talking about a major market?", "replies": [{"id": "fby73rt", "text": "I am currently residing in NYC, but am willing to\nmove for the right opportunity.", "replies": [{"id": "fbyayc2", "text": "Well that\u2019s the best comp wise. I\u2019m on the west coast but have seen comp on financial analysts run from $70k for smaller shops up to $120k for institutional", "replies": [{"id": "fbydl2h", "text": "That sounds pretty good for entry level roles! Thank you again for your responses and the help! It has been extremely helpful.", "replies": [{"id": "fbyphon", "text": "Just so you know, I\u2019m in the industry and everything this guy says is 100% correct - it\u2019s all great advice. The only thing I\u2019d add on is that while you do need to pick a *property type* lane early on, I do see more movement between development/acquisitions/brokerage, especially as you\u2019re ready to go up a level (ie maybe you\u2019re a brokerage analyst for a few years then move up and laterally to acquisitions as a senior analyst/VP). So, at least for your first CRE gig, don\u2019t be terrified to shoot for a really reputable acquisitions role even if you think you\u2019d rather ultimately be in brokerage, etc etc.", "replies": [{"id": "fbytuqr", "text": "That\u2019s fair. I think this is true for brokerage from what I\u2019ve seen because the network is so valuable in real estate. People will pay for that.", "replies": [], "depth": 12}], "depth": 11}], "depth": 10}], "depth": 9}], "depth": 8}], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fbxq8pw", "text": "Why are you looking to look for the easiest role to transition to? With only 3 years of work experience you should be able to pivot into any of those fields.", "replies": [{"id": "fbxqryv", "text": "Mostly because from my previous research, I realized that it can be very competitive getting into a CRE role and I just wanted to get my foot into the door into the industry. It seems like that approach may not be correct. Do you feel like previous finance industry experience should give me a decent chance to get into a CRE role that I prefer the most but may be more competitive?", "replies": [{"id": "fbyrwkw", "text": "Yes.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "fc7azol", "text": "What would be a hard role to transition into? I was under the assumption that acquisitions and AM roles were the most sought after roles in CRE. I\u2019m new to this though, so correct me if I\u2019m wrong.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fby6him", "text": "Wall Street oasis might be able to help more", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fc8vz72", "text": "Don\u2019t worry necessarily about the role. If you\u2019re just starting out, find yourself an analyst training program at one of the larger shops. There you will get the opportunity to jump to different departments within the company over the 2+ years you are there.", "replies": [{"id": "fc9e40h", "text": "Thats very interesting. Any particular programs that you know of that are popular?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fc9qlkv", "text": "Bulge bracket banks and insurance companies usually have the more established programs.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fcmyfri", "text": "A lot of others have given great input but another idea to consider is becoming a financial analyst at brokerage firm. The CRE big firms - CBRE, Cushman &amp; Wakefield, and JLL are almost always hiring those positions. The work can very from asset management to capital markets (sales/leasing). It\u2019s work looking into and I have had a number of friends take this route and it\u2019s helped them in this path.", "replies": [{"id": "fcmzdpy", "text": "Do you mean a financial analyst role that can be more of a back office role at the firm but it can aid in getting a full on CRE role?", "replies": [{"id": "fcmzr0z", "text": "Some are back office some are high profile, but though those companies they get you in the door and it\u2019s a solid learning experience to gain the skills you need. Also lots of room for growth and opportunity to see which path you decide to take.", "replies": [{"id": "fcncwlp", "text": "That does sound like a good route to go because ill be within the industry and making connections with the right people. Thank you!", "replies": [{"id": "fco6k11", "text": " No problem! And if you have any questions feel free to PM me!", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]