I recently attended two meetings — the Pension Real Estate Association’s Annual Institutional Investor Conference in Chicago, and the Alternative & Direct Investment Securities Association’s Annual Conference and Trade Show in Las Vegas.

One of the biggest issues facing the folks in ADISA land is the entry of what ADISA participants characterise as “institutional” investment managers into the retail distribution space (ie, the space devoted to serving the interests of individual investors, high-net-worth investors and smaller family offices).

Some traditional players serving this market have been serving institutional clients, as well as distributing products to individual investors through the private wealth advisory channel, for some time now. What’s garnering attention is the relatively-recent arrival of old-line institutional real estate investment management firms from PREA land. Equally concerning to folks in ADISA land, more are coming.

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