Institutional Real Estate, Inc. Podcast

Geoffrey Dohrmann, founder and CEO of Institutional Real Estate Inc., talks about the company's first-ever editorial advisory board meeting for Real Assets Adviser magazine, the company's most recent of its nine publications. The board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 9-10 at The Peninsula Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

There are industry observers who say that hotel fundamentals have never been better, that we are living in a golden age of hoteling. If that is the case, what are the forces that have driven the hotel market to new heights? How has the hotel business managed to do this in the midst of the Airbnb onslaught? What is the No. 1 complaint from hotel guests? And how big a role do hospitality sites such as TripAdvisor play in a hotel’s reputation? For answers to those questions, we turn to Tyler Morse, CEO and managing partner of MCR Development, an organization that owns and operates 82 U.S. hotels in 21 states, totaling about $2 billion in hotel assets under management.

There are industry observers who say that hotel fundamentals have never been better, that we are living in a golden age of hoteling. If that is the case, what are the forces that have driven the hotel market to new heights? How has the hotel business managed to do this in the midst of the Airbnb onslaught? What is the No. 1 complaint from hotel guests? And how big a role do hospitality sites such as TripAdvisor play in a hotel’s reputation? For answers to those questions, we turn to Tyler Morse, CEO and managing partner of MCR Development, an organization that owns and operates 82 U.S. hotels in 21 states, totaling about $2 billion in hotel assets under management.

Federal regulatory changes combined with an unprecedented flood of financial tools, technologies, products and applications are rapidly changing the finance and investing industries. The implications and opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs of even very modest financial means appear staggering. Since the advent of fintech, Dara Albright of Dara Albright Media has been chronicling its evolution and serving as a resource for crowdfinance education and industry connections by publishing content and producing conferences on the subject. She joins us to share her insights.

Why are so many wealth advisers reticent to move beyond the two-dimensional stock and bond portfolio model and into real assets — specifically real estate? Why is there such widespread aversion to illiquidity, despite the prospects of reaping the so-called illiquidity premium? What are the advantages to direct ownership of real estate versus the strict use of listed REITs? And where are the sweet spots in the real estate market at this stage? We ask Bill Passo, founder and CEO of the Passco Companies, a real estate operating company that has acquired, managed and developed more than $3 billion in real estate investments with properties in 21 states.

This is an edited version of a cover profile interview conducted by Real Assets Adviser editor Mike Consol with David Perkins, founder and CEO of Hatteras Funds. Perkins' cover profile appears in the November 2016 edition of the magazine.

With many observers expecting a market correction in 12 to 24 months, real estate investors and managers indicate they are moving their portfolios to a defensive posture. But how do managers and investors effectively play defense? What property types and markets are most durable and most vulnerable? To discuss those and related questions, we turn to Scott Darling, president of American Realty Advisors and the person in charge of investment strategy for the firm’s largest commingled fund.

Real estate investors are currently juggling two industry absolutes: New buildings must be built, and the real estate cycle must eventually turn. What makes development so risky at any point in the cycle? Does development risk differ across property types? What methods are available for mitigating risk? And what role do advancements in technology play in driving new construction? We talk with contributing reporter Reg Clodfelter, who recently authored a feature story on the topic, about the answers to those questions.

In a dramatic turning point for U.S. farmer, the seeds have been planted for a global agricultural war between the United States and China that will likely stress U.S. farmers while sending food commodities prices spiraling downward. According to a new analysis by a Washington, D.C., think tank, even though the United States is the largest agriculture exporter in the world, it relies heavily on the Chinese market, but China has agricultural plans of its own connected to the fertile lands of Africa. Serge Pustelnik, a strategic adviser to the nonprofit, called New Markets Lab, joins us to explain the coming conflict’s flashpoint and timeline.

Rajeev Kotyan — a principal at Innovative Advisory Group, which helps wealth advisory firms innovate — discusses his organization's decision in 2008 to make IAG a virtual firm with regard to its use of technology. He tells us about the key question he and his fellow principals asked themselves before moving forward, and about the essentials of making a virtual office operate successfully.

Geoffrey Dohrmann, founder and CEO of Institutional Real Estate Inc., reports on the organization's recent editorial advisory board meeting among investors, managers and consultants, as well as several other economic and investment-related topics of the day.

What current city is most emblematic of the future of urban life? What do cities from past civilizations have to teach us about the cities of today and tomorrow? What is the next great shift urban planning and what is driving that change? Urban planner and developer Jonathan Rose, author of The Well-Tempered City, joins us to answer those and other questions.

What current city is most emblematic of the future of urban life? What do cities from past civilizations have to teach us about the cities of today and tomorrow? What is the next great shift urban planning and what is driving that change? Urban planner and developer Jonathan Rose, author of The Well-Tempered City, joins us to answer those and other questions.

This is an edited version of a cover profile interview conducted by Real Assets Adviser editor Mike Consol with Kevin O’Leary, chief executive of O’Leary Financial Group and “Mr. Wonderful” on the hit television program Shark Tank. O’Leary’s cover profile appears in the September 2016 edition of the magazine.

Rapid advances in technology are calling into question how much work will be left to human beings in the years to come, which has major implications for real estate investors. Loretta Clodfelter, editor of Institutional Real Estate Americas, reports on that story and a few other highlights in the September 2016 edition.