Two senior leaders from Nareit, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, visited the Wisconsin School of Business on Oct. 15 to show students how institutional investors use real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Ed Pierzak, senior vice president of research, leads Nareit’s real estate and macroeconomic research. David Sullivan, senior vice president of investment affairs, leads its outreach to pension plans, foundations, and endowments worldwide. Their guest lecture, “Institutional Investors and REITs Today,” was part of REAL EST 640, taught by Jacques Gordon.
They walked students through four institutional investor case studies, two of which pair REITs with private equity, compared REIT returns with other real estate investments, and discussed the “denial” factor in private real estate valuations. They also explained how Nareit makes the case for real estate to 401(k) and 457(b) plan sponsors.
“Ed and David showed our students how pension funds and endowments put REITs to work alongside private real estate. We are grateful they shared that real-world view with our class,” said Gordon.
After the visit, the speakers shared Nareit research for students to explore, including CEM Benchmarking studies on listed REIT performance and active management, and Nareit’s institutional investor case studies.
Thank you to Ed Pierzak and David Sullivan for sharing their time and expertise with Wisconsin Real Estate students.
Media contact: Brian Becker, associate director of outreach, Graaskamp Center, bbecker25@wisc.edu
About the Graaskamp Center
The James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the Wisconsin School of Business connects students, faculty, alumni, and industry partners through applied real estate education, research, and outreach. Wisconsin Real Estate’s undergraduate program has been ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report for five consecutive years, and its master’s program ranks #3 nationally.