In the investment management (IM) world – specifically real estate, it is easy to get confused between investment management as a strategy, the role of an investment manager, and investment management technology to support all the above. Leveraging technology can be a slippery slope without the necessary information to make informed decisions. In this blog we’ll take you through each aspect of IM so you’ll be equipped with the clarity to navigate this path.
What is Investment Management?
Within the real estate industry, investment management is the managing of real estate portfolios and/or individual investments to reach specific financial objectives. From understanding market risks to portfolio optimization and more, investment management is a critical component to achieving your overall strategy.
Key Takeaways:
- Investment management is the management of assets and investments by a professional with the intent to reach specific investment return goals.
- Within the real estate industry, investment management works the same way in other sectors, the only difference being that the assets are typically tangible real estate properties.
- By leveraging the right technology, investment management decisions can be made efficiently.
Investment Management: The Basics
Regardless of the industry, investment management is executing a strategy to achieve planned financial objectives. In general, the process includes identifying investment options, selecting growth opportunities, and examining performance over time. Investment management is more than simply managing investments. Its purpose is to establish and maintain a portfolio of growing assets aligned with a client’s specific goals.
It is important to note that investment managers such as fund accountants, controllers, and CFOs, tend to focus on managing specific types of investments based on their strategy. Investment managers also use varying tools and techniques with the intent to maximize the return of the clients’ investments while minimizing the downside risk. Different tools and techniques are used depending on the type of investment management you specialize in. For example, at Saxony Partners, we specialize in supporting investment management by helping our clients optimize Yardi’s Investment Management Suite for their unique portfolio and investment objectives. By providing the right investment managers with the best tools for your needs, you set yourself and your investments up for success.
Investment Management in Real Estate
Real estate investment management works similarly to investment management in various other sectors. Investment managers in the real estate space help investors identify quality opportunities within the industry. If you work as an investment manager, you are also carrying responsibility for managing investments over a specific time period while providing transparency on the investment’s performance.
The fundamental practices of investment management remain the same within the real estate industry. Although that’s the case, it’s not as straightforward as investing in other areas such as stocks or bonds. The potential risks and rewards of investing in the real estate industry depend on multiple variables. Property types, locations of properties, as well as the ever-fluctuating real estate market conditions are all variables you must consider. Therefore, you are combining your real estate expertise with investment management expertise to help clients navigate the complex landscape of investing within the real estate industry.
Once an investment is made, the assistance that you’re providing does not end. Another crucial role of an investment manager is to continue playing a major part in managing your investment portfolio over time. Managing investments is a fluid process. Transactions must be made to best optimize the portfolio and mitigate risk for your investors.
Investment managers make adjustments to reach long-term goals such as buying or selling assets. You may have to adjust allocation, balance risk and reward by changing portfolio percentages, or implement hedging strategies to reduce overall risk. All of these tasks require great attention to detail and efficiency with data.
Yardi for Real Estate Investment Management
As mentioned above, there are tools that investment managers can leverage to optimize the management of their investments. One leading tool in the real estate industry is Yardi’s Investment Suite. Yardi’s investment Suite is popular in the industry due to its ability to automate tasks that are otherwise time-consuming. By bringing in automation to manage your real estate investments, your team efficiency increases and access to necessary data at the right time is streamlined.
While working in investment management, you handle a lot of data on a daily basis. It is important that you can easily access the information you need while ensuring its accuracy to mitigate risks. Between quarterly reports and end of year reports, your investors require access to transparent and precise data. Yardi Investment Suite organizes and consolidates your needed information. By automating key, time-consuming tasks, you put yourself ahead of your investors’ questions. If you leverage the right technology for real estate investment management, you set yourself and your investors up for success.
Looking for Yardi investment management support?
At Saxony Partners, we’re no stranger to the complexities involved with implementing Yardi for real estate investment management. Although it is a very rewarding tool, implementing Yardi can be challenging. Our team of consultants combine real estate industry knowledge with Yardi technical expertise to ensure that your implementation is optimized specifically for your unique needs. If you’re looking to either get involved in investment management within the real estate industry, or to leverage technology to gain an advantage in the industry, we’re here to help.
To learn more about how we support, our expertise, and other services we provide, please check out more of our blog posts or by following us on LinkedIn.
