Real Estate Round-Up Causes Stampede of Interest

Monday, August 9, 2010

Borrowing from the long-standing real estate adage, July's CAIA Canada Real Estate Round-Up was made for members, members, members. Our sixth event of the year was the third to feature CAIA Briefing Notes (which you can download from the event page) and are designed to give attendees a heads-up on the subject discussed, data points showing the topical trends of the area and areas of current interest and discussion. Also included (and I say this not only because they were authored by yours truly), the research highlighted (with links to the actual papers, where available) provide ample food for thought so that attendees can take it to the next level of both understanding and questioning of the speakers.

The topic was private and public real estate. The speakers were Taler DeCosta from Investco in Atlanta, JT Straub of ING Clarion in Philadelphia and, from Toronto, Standard Life’s Peter Cuthbert. Taler focuses on US privates, JT on global (especially US) REITS (via a long-short fund) and Peter on the Canadian private market—but all had a good deal of knowledge in each other’s spheres as well as the global scene. It was quite interesting to see, during the Q&A session, a good deal of dialogue not only with attendees, but between the speakers as they discussed where their particular sops and specialties saw real estate sectors and securities headed.

As with many Toronto sessions, this one was held at the Cambridge Club and included hors d'oeuvres and liquid refreshments and libations to help everyone stave off hunger pangs after 5pm. The turnout was rather surprising, given the short (9-day) notice for RSVPs, at 35 people—half of whom were not CAIA members or candidates. Guests were given ample information on the designation and three attested they'd take the next or following exams, which is fantastic not only for CAIA but also for their careers and knowledge base. Of vital importance for many in the industry is relevance of the letters and—as we've learned over the years—events such as this not only adds to one's stock of intelligence, but also provides fertile ground for industry relations and friendships.

Stay tuned for other contemplated events on catastrophe bonds/weather derivatives and tail-risk hedging.

James Burron
CAIA Canada Chapter Executive

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