The 2021 Global Management Survey, published by NAREIM, INREV and Ferguson Partners, paints a varied picture of real estate investment managers’ recovery from COVID-19. In terms of 2020 financial performance, 38 percent of respondents recorded a 10 percent increase in EBITDA, while 32 percent reported a 10 percent drop.
The median firm in the survey recorded net assets under management (AUM) growth of 6 percent. While still positive, this reflects the first year of slowing growth since 2016. The survey reports 29 percent of respondents recording a year-on-year fall in AUM, up from 21 percent respondents in 2019.
Unsurprisingly, employee numbers were impacted during the pandemic. In 2020, headcount either fell or stayed the same for 42 percent of respondents, versus 26 percent in 2019; and the number of investment managers who decreased headcount grew from 17 percent to 27 percent over the same period.
However, in a sign of growing confidence, 77 percent of mar