The 2009 Editorial Advisory Board of the Institutional Real Estate Letter – North America convened in mid-April to discuss the challenges and opportunities in today’s institutional real estate investment marketplace. “The money” at this year’s meeting — the institutional investor members of the board who collectively represent $95.1 billion in real estate assets — spoke frankly about portfolio write-downs, strategic planning and the future of real estate investing in the long and short term.

Facing trillions of dollars of maturing commercial real estate loans during the next several years, a zombie-like mortgage market and a deepening financial crisis, the U.S. government has stepped up its regulatory efforts to try to put an end to the downward spiral. But it won’t go at it alone.

There’s a tendency in a recession for investors to duck and cover. But the market punishes the timid as surely as it punishes the overly optimistic. Opportunities and challenges travel together. The trick is in knowing what to look for and where to look. That is particularly true right now when it comes to investing in “lifestyle”-related real estate assets.