Real Estate Equity Securities Analysis

REITs have existed as a legal form for over 55 years, but the modern REIT era can be traced to the early 1990’s. Since that time, the sector has grown from approximately $5.0 billion in assets to over $1.0 trillion. More importantly, the migration of assets and talent into the public markets has helped make REITs one of the primary drivers of value creation in the real estate industry as well as a repository of operating expertise. By some estimates REITs today comprise 15.0% - 20.0% of the investible commercial real estate market; given significant competitive advantages, that share is growing. The net result has been irrevocable structural change and increased stability across the real estate industry. The REIT sector has evolved into a very viable and credible investment class; the group now comprises a significant weighting in the major stock indices with its own industry classification. Real Estate Equity Securities Analysis will serve as a substantive introduction to the companies that comprise the REIT and real estate securities sectors, conceptually and as an investment. The course will provide the requisite analytical tools to value real estate stocks; we will utilize conventional securities analysis tools, on an applied basis. It will also look holistically at the REITs as operating entities, specifically how these companies work and what they are worth. We will incorporate qualitative, strategic and technical considerations into the quantitative valuation analyses – to reach more rigorous and successful investment conclusions. Rhetorically, the course will utilize a combination of lectures and case studies, interactive group exercises and discussion. Notably, guest speakers will include senior executives from issuing REITs as well as buy-side securities investors – both hedge fund and global portfolio managers. The final project will group students into teams to select a specific REIT security and prepare a stock recommendation for presentation to an investment committee. Real Estate Equity Securities Analysis will provide the actionable skills and broad analytical insight to participate successfully -– as an investor or as a partner – in a sector that has emerged as one of the most important drivers of the real estate industry globally. Student Profiles: Real Estate Equity Securities is designed to be a second year, upper-level finance course. The pre-requisites below highlight the need for a working knowledge of fundamental real estate concepts, corporate finance, and capital markets tools – including how to model and value a specific asset and underwrite a real estate market. Those tools and concepts will be applied at the entity and on a macro level in order to understand the value of a company in the securities markets. Additionally, our guest speakers will be REIT CEOs and senior securities investment executives. As such, the course material will be extremely worthwhile for real estate concentrators; students with a general interest in real estate, corporate strategy or liquid securities / portfolio management will also find the content relevant.