Career in Asset Management
Hey Guys,

I have just completed my MBA, and have taken a few courses in real estate and development, and just fell in love with valuation and asset management.

I have a background in accounting and corporate finance mostly in construction companies (10+ years of experience), and want to transition my career into CRE, specifically asset management.

I have now done the Argus enterprise certification, and I will be starting the post graduate certificate in valuation (fast track to the appraiser designation in Canada).

Technically, I have no issues with financial modeling, doing proformas, calculating IRRs for real estate investments, NOI calculations, hell I can even do waterfall calculations for limited partnerships, and understand the different asset classes really well.

Given that my experience is not in CRE with zero leasing experience, my resume has not been getting a lot of traction. Networking is a big thing, and is first on my list of things I'm doing.

What else do you guys think I can do to get like an analyst position? just to to get my foot in the door.

&amp;#x200B;
[{"id": "ej4m95z", "text": "Where do you live?\n", "replies": [{"id": "ej4sdg4", "text": "Toronto.", "replies": [{"id": "ej597ml", "text": "https://toronto.uli.org/events/\n\n\nYou should check out some ULI events. They are a great opportunity to network with developers, brokers, Private Equity guys.", "replies": [{"id": "ej5bwmo", "text": "Yes I'm familiar with ULI. It's a fantastic platform. Been to a couple of their events. ", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ej4nuib", "text": "You need to apply to large RE management companies. But you're going to be doing a lot dumber stuff first to get your foot in the door. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ej4olg7", "text": "We\u2019re looking for someone with this background. PM me. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ej5e178", "text": "I came from the exact same background as you and got into asset management at a large shop. It\u2019s all about networking. Go to uli, ICSC, bring a sample model with you and just hustle. ", "replies": [{"id": "ej5idin", "text": "Yep.... That's what I'm doing.... Thanks for the tip", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ejavkkn", "text": "Go find CBRE Toronto, find a guy called David Ho from Vancouver. He is senior VP from Vancouver and he has a big team in Vancouver. He does everything from hotel to development to investment and he is well connected. I know he is in Toronto now and setting up a team. I heard he is desperate for new blood. That might be a good starting point. Ask him for a coffee and maybe he will come out, he likes to talk a lot lol. ", "replies": [{"id": "ejgmcwn", "text": "Thanks for the tip.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ejhxgo5", "text": "I'm an asset manager...absolutely love the job as it has allowed me to branch out into development and investing as well.  My advice, find a local \"home office\" or \"family office.\"  These are small businesses set up to manage assets of a few families that have a real estate and investment portfolio.  Most of them still have family involved, but heavily rely on in-house professionals.  It's best to look for one that is about to transition from the 1st generation (the ones that made most of the money).  Family offices are typically only formed when the families desire to keep the assets as a going concern to provide for future generations.  To me, this is what is at the core of being an asset manager.  On a 5-year hold, you're just babysitting the asset...but to set up an investment and reserve strategy that is intended to be for 20+ years...it's just incredibly rewarding to watch the results and have plenty of time to reassess and refine your projections and positioning strategy.\n\nArgus enterprise has been great to help me play with projections, but at the end of the day, it's really all about creating a steady cash flow for the owners; one that is reliable and predictable.  Don't focus solely on valuation and IRR, because that makes you define an exit strategy.  When I was hired, I spend my first 3-6 months pouring over the past 10-years of operating statements from the various properties and how much or little they contributed to owner distributions, compared to how much capital they took to maintain.  It's amazing how much information you will find and how many bizarre decisions you have to ask someone to explain to you why they were made.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]