Principal - Real Estate Advisory

Position Overview

The Principal of StepStone Real Estate (SRE) will play a critical role in building and servicing discretionary and advisory client relationships in a highly collaborative, team-oriented, technology-forward environment. The role sits within our Manager Research team, which is responsible for covering primary fund investments, client service for discretionary accounts that are wholistic or primaries oriented, and the firm’s outstanding advisory practice The candidate must have training and experience in top-down construction of real estate portfolios, including consideration of client goals and constraints as well as tactical market opportunities and the ability to effectively discuss strategies.    

The role is principally oriented towards commingled fund investments and will involve manager coverage and oversight of investment evaluations including Fund Summaries, Investment Committee memos and other ad hoc materials as needed. The candidate will also hold a senior role on client accounts that will involve making portfolio construction and investment recommendations to clients and SRE’s internal committees.

Essential Job Functions:

Client coverage manager, where success includes earning the role of trusted advisor and executing well. This involves application of both top-down portfolio construction and bottom-up investment selection with the goal of delivering portfolios that meet client goals and deliver outperformance. There is a formal portfolio planning framework, and the candidate is welcome to assist in improving this process over time.  Responsibilities include delivering highly responsive, prompt and accurate client service, guiding and educating clients effectively, client onboarding, leveraging specialty skills across StepStone as needed, and managing supporting resources and team.

• New business development – The primary role is to work with the client prospect to build the relationship, develop confidence in SRE and convert opportunities. 
• This will include:
  • discussion of investment approach and tailoring a client-oriented strategy, often in considerable detail with models, as needed, in a client-centered process.  
  • effective verbal communication both formal and informal,
  • delivering a range of written materials from tight presentation decks to winning rfps.
  • working with the SRE and StepStone business development teams and coordinating responses and deliverables across the SRE team including senior management, specialists and support team.
  • converting networks and market presence into sourcing opportunities. This is a growth area, not a requirement and would supplement the efforts of a dedicated business development (BD) team, SRE partners and others. 

• Team building
  • Key role in building and maintaining a collaborative, connected and vibrant culture in the NY research team, with good connectivity across shared functions within the global Manager Research team
  • Training, managing and motivating junior team members across multiple levels
  • Building and maintaining positive relationships across support groups outside of the research team, including the secondaries and co-investments (‘Active’) team, SRE BD (marketing, rfp support), firm level BD, systems and reporting teams, etc

Other functions

• Many of these activities will leverage SPI: StepStone Private Intelligence, which is proprietary software. The candidate is expected to become proficient with SPI and other firm technology as well as any other technology needed to perform the job, and the role includes ensuring fund materials, notes and other relevant materials are regularly input to SPI.
• In collaboration with a data gathering systems, team and processes, the candidate will support gathering, verification and use of a growing asset-level performance database. The candidate has the opportunity to shape the uses of this exciting new source of information as it builds over time. 
• Contribute to House Views, including reporting trends observed from client and GP interaction. Over time, a person successful in this role will increasingly be involved in broader top down exposure recommendations including the generic recommendations in the House Views. 
• Source co-investments, secondaries and other tactical investment opportunities

Education and/or Work Experience Requirements:

• BA/BS in Business, Finance, Economics or Accounting, or equivalent relevant experience;
• 15+ years of experience in a manager and/or investment underwriting role in real estate

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Top-down portfolio construction experience
• Developed investment judgment with demonstrable understanding of risk/reward
• Strong client communication and relationship-building skills and experience
• Exceptional business writing
• Detail-oriented
• Financial modeling skills (pacing models, track record analysis, portfolio construction, etc)

Other Attributes: 

• Commitment to learning and continuous improvement of tools and practices
• Ability to thrive in a deadline-oriented environment, emphasizing timely and accurate client deliverables
• Willingness to work a flexible schedule
• Willingness to travel
• High level of confidentiality
• Commitment to learning
• Possess an accreditation like a CFA, MBA, CPA, or CAIA
• Minimum Required 3 days a week in office presence

Salary Range - $170,000 - $180,000

The salary range is an estimate of pay for this position.  Actual pay may vary depending on job-related factors that can include location, education, skill, and experience.  The salary range does not include any benefits or other forms of possible compensation that may be available to employees.

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