• What do you expect the Fed to do with interest rates over the next 3, 6, 12 months and how are you navigating this as a business?
• Post-election, what are the biggest impending implications for CRE?
• Impact of the election result on housing regulation, infrastructure spending and other legislation critical for various CRE asset classes
• What is the latest regional bank activity with regards to their CRE loan portfolios?
• How are you seeing the relationship between interest rates and property valuations unfolding?
• Migration, employment and population demographics impacting market demand
• Which regulatory developments will make the biggest waves for CRE?
• Labor and supply chain challenges – how do you see the election result impacting these?
• Climate change – how to plan/risk assess for rapidly increasing and intensifying natural disasters in the US
• What to do with insurance given the soaring costs?

• How much dry powder is currently on the sidelines?
• What is going to make the market more liquid?
• Has the recent interest rate activity stimulated significant investment?  From who?  In which sectors?
• Do lower interest rates mean that NOI growth will be lower?
• Are investors altering their portfolio compositions across asset classes?
• What is the current demand for equity and where is it coming from?
• Are REITs becoming more active in the market again?
• Which market drivers are of most importance to you as you assess your business plans?
• Which asset classes and markets will face the biggest headwinds in 2025 and which are primed for significant growth?  Are you seeing any asset bubbles?
• Which regional markets are you most bullish on?  Are you exiting any markets?  Why?
• How do you expect valuations to compare to last year?  More distress?
• How is your deal flow pipeline developing in the light of interest rate changes?
• What is the latest with financing availability and cost of capital?

• Is the time just right for real estate private credit strategies?
• Investing opportunistically through debt platforms
• What is the latest in fund finance availability and utilization?
• Are lenders adjusting their strategies to identify opportunities for yield?
• How are debt and equity providers viewing the risk/rewards balance in the current market?
• What types of deals are getting done?  Is there any capital availability for certain projects?
• Any significant bank lending activity?
• Refinancings, modifications, workouts and extensions
• How are distressed deals getting financed?
• Key differences in financing construction completion vs. a repositioning?
• Lessons learned from past downturns – how is this one different?
• What else, globally and nationally, could impact liquidity and the US debt markets this year?

• How are you managing your existing portfolio?
• Is the time just right for real estate private credit strategies?
• What goes into your decision making process re hold vs. sell at the moment?
• How has deal flow changed in the past 6 months?
• What is investment pace like across CRE right now?
• Core, value-add & opportunistic investment strategies – which strategies are you focusing on and how do you see this changing over the coming year?
• What are realistic returns?
• Are you seeing opportunities to target market dislocation?
• What is the capital raising environment for core/value added/opportunistic/debt funds?
• How are fund managers adding value to assets? How can LPs effectively evaluate value-added investment strategies?
• How have your risk assessment and due diligence criteria/processes changed in the past year?
• What are your asset underwriting strategies?

• Current structures and strategies sought by LPs, including preferred equity and rescue capital
• Open-end vs closed-end funds (adding Adviser-Led Secondary/continuation fund rights)
• Discretionary funds vs investor approvals in opt-in funds and programmatic JVs
• What’s the latest with waterfalls: IRR and MOIC hurdles, catch-ups and promote (carried interest)
• Blocker structure/REIT subsidiary alternatives for foreign investors and UBTI-sensitive investors
• GP alternative structures: investor co-investment rights & investor participations in GP promote
• Key principal/employees promote participation grants

• What does the fundraising landscape look like in 2025 after a difficult 2024?
• Where is the capital coming from?
• Who has more negotiating power today – LPs or GPs?
• The rising requirements for co-investments
• How are investors adjusting to LPs new demands and requirements?
• Large institutions investing in different asset classes vs. smaller targeted vehicles
• Has there been a change in the typical investment criteria and return expectations from different types of LPs at a property level? At a fund/partner level?
• Are some LPs favoring direct deals rather than funds? Platforms vs. deals?
• What are US real estate funds doing to attract more foreign investment?
• What are now the main sources of foreign capital being invested in US CRE? Any notable new investors? Which sources have pulled back?
• Are ESG considerations becoming more and more prevalent with investors?

• Top concerns and pain points of launching a managing first and subsequent funds
• Fee structures and economics.  Do fund managers have more leverage in a subsequent fund launches?
• Changes in capital raising strategies
• Managing existing and finding new relationships with investors, sponsors, borrowers and other vendors
• Compliance considerations – register or not?
• Reporting requirements and their evolution.  Transparency to investors

• Evaluating different investment models: Deal-by-deal vs. fund vs. hybrid investment models
• How do your investment strategy and target asset classes factor into the decision?
• Costs, fees, timeframes and return potentials
• Fund structure and tax considerations
• Fundraising and financing in today’s environment
• Compliance/governance/fund administration
• Deal-by-deal: an interim strategy or primary investment model?
• Targeting distressed real estate – why now?
• Having well-designed exit strategies

• Traditional industrial sub-sectors vs. more nascent or niche segments
• How strong are current demand drivers for the different industrial sub-products?
• Large warehouse vs. last mile vs. Class A/B/C vs. Mixed-Use/Flex Space vs. cold storage vs. manufacturing, single tenant vs. multi tenant – why do you like these niches?
• How is innovative technology shaping industrial demand and design?
• Assessing economies of scale and efficiencies in new developments across products
• Which features are necessary for each property sub-sector?
• What are typical capital requirements across these sub-segments and property types?
• Case Studies on conversions into industrial (eg. Shopping centers, office etc.)

• What are you expecting with regards to interest rates over the next 6-12 months?
• Who is providing senior debt for to the CRE market in this environment?  Updates on banks, CMBS lenders, life companies vs. senior debt lenders
• When do you expect origination to pick up again?
• Which deal types are you considering and actively financing in the current environment?
• How are you approaching distressed opportunities?
• Any changes to the type of borrower/deal you prefer? What equity must borrowers put in?

• Ways to raise capital in real estate – institutional vs private wealth
• Trends towards private wealth - the $84 trillion wealth shift
• How to connect with the private wealth network
• Utilizing fund structures
• Types of REITs and benefits/detriments
• DSTs – structuring, tax benefits and section 1031, and UPREITs
• Generational wealth estate tax planning opportunities

• What is the capital raising environment like?  What do you expect this year and how does it compare to 2024?
• How do you identify and approach LPs?  How does this differ when looking for lead investors?
• What do different LPs look for?  What questions are they asking you?
• Pitfalls to avoid when approaching LPs
• Early investor incentives - reduced fees, carried interest, participation in GP
• What’s the latest with fees and promotes?
• Fee waivers to satisfy operator capital requirements and align interests – contingent profits interests and incentive fees
• Construction, acquisition and property management fee benchmarks
• Disclosure standardization and transparency - templates, terminologies and metrics

• How is your approach as a real estate fund manager unique?
• How is capital responding to your approach in today’s environment?
• What are bulge bracket and mid-market allocator funds doing to compete with the largest private funds as they keep getting bigger and bigger?
• CO-GP: what is unique about this model and how do you form relationships with top operating partners in your target sectors?
• Attracting private capital as a sector-specific investment manager with considerable expertise in owning and operating certain property types
• How do each of these investment models provide strong access to deal flow?
• How are LPs viewing the world and these various access points to private real estate?
• What do LPs like about each of these models and how close do they want to be to the operator?

• What are the latest advancements in AI and automation?
• How can these be harnessed by real estate fund managers and operators?
• Which areas of business operations are best suited for automation and AI supplementation?
• Implementing AI solutions and getting buy-in from employees and clients
• Using AI to best utilize data and make investment decisions
• Creating new revenue streams

• Which services are best outsourced to a fund administrator?
• How do fund administrators and GPs utilize technology to make administrative functions and reporting more efficient?
• Best practices for communicating financial performance and investment updates to investors
• What reporting capabilities are investors demanding?
• Who bears the brunt of responsibility for transparency: the fund administrator, or the investment committee, risk, compliance or operations functions?
• How have you been utilizing technology to optimize these capabilities?
• How are you using technology and process adaptations to effectively communicate with your investors?
• What degree of transparency are institutional investors looking for as they increasingly seek out value-add and development opportunities, and how do you manage those demands?
• What opportunities exist to improve budgeting and reforecasting? Which systems, processes, teams and best practices do you have in place now, and how do you expect those will change?

• Is JV equity becoming more accessible in the current market?
• Identifying the optimal structure for your JV
• Comparing deal-based vs. portfolio JVs and multi-property agreements
• How are you mitigating risk within your agreements?
• Addressing governance, control and dispute resolution issues
• Assessing legal and financial responsibilities
• Managing capital contributions and capital calls
• Handling distributions, allocations and other tax considerations
• Navigating JVs with cross-border, non-US partners
• What are the most frequently negotiated issues and challenges?
• Developing and implementing exit strategies

• Which major metros will see the most change in 2025?
• What is the outlook for leasing and acquisitions/dispositions across various property types and geographies?
• What to do with ‘Zombie’ properties?  Are these distorting statistics around vacancy rates etc.?
• Where are the key buying opportunities?
• Is the flight to quality continuing?
• What is the fate of Class B/C office buildings in certain markets?
• Are repositionings/conversions to other asset classes realistic?  Time, cost etc.
• Where are the opportunities to lend and invest for desirable returns?
• What does the data say about occupancy levels in different geographies and different property classes/types/vintages?
• How are landlords and tenants attracting workers back to the office?
• What are tenants demanding from landlords in the new working environment?
• How are landlords embracing PropTech and innovation to improve occupancy levels and profitability?
• How are landlords and corporate tenants addressing energy costs and consumption?

• Which property types are best suited to a repositioning or conversion?
• When would one consider a conversion?
• What challenges are there with repositioning a property to serve a different asset class?
• Creative financing solutions for adaptive reuse
• Timeframe necessary for repositioning
• Case studies – pitfalls to avoid, opportunities etc.

• Are distressed opportunities picking up?
• Which property types and situations are bringing the most opportunities to market?
• Are there any geographical markets in which you see/expect most distressed deal flow this year?
• Distressed debt, rescue capital, joint venture equity and loan purchasing opportunities
• CMBS, CRE CLOs and B Pieces – what is the latest?
• How have valuations changed in the past 6 months?  Do you see them as realistic?
• Are LPs taking a closer look at specific distressed deals?

• Are we seeing a normalization in the sector after years of growth?
• Outlook for new supply and construction starts with demand still high
• What is the availability of capital like for development, acquisitions etc?
• What do cap rates and exit cap rates look like?
• What returns are you underwriting to?
• Mixed-use and mixed-income developments performance
• Have your LPs changed their investment parameters? 
• Where are the deals today? What value-adds/amenities are key for multifamily developments?
• Impact of the election results on housing regulation and other legislation critical for multifamily housing
•  What does this mean for value add investors/developers? Are there incentives for multifamily developers to expand into affordable and workforce housing?

• Implementation of smart technologies and IoT devices to enhance the tenant experience and reduce operational costs
• Innovations in energy management
• What approach are you taking to NOI strategy?
• How can investing in technology help improve and sustain NOI?
• Utilizing property management technology and automation to communicate with tenants, handle maintenance issues and track leasing
• What new sources of ancillary revenue are you finding to improve cash flow?
• Case studies of revenue generation and gaining operational efficiencies

• Are Open-ended Funds and Private REITs attractive investment vehicles today?
• What is the latest on prorating withdrawals and redemption requests?
• Have there been any changes to structures and fees?
• Raising capital for PCVs – who is still allocating to these?
• What strategies are PCVs employing after aggressive buying and last year’s wave of redemptions?
• How do these vehicles fit into the managers’ wider strategies?
• What implications does fundraising for these vehicles have on the broader CRE market and fundraising environment?

• What retail property types are attracting investment – acquisitions, distressed, new construction?
• Update on malls, grocery anchored, mixed-use etc.
• What do deals look like now?  How are you approaching valuations for retail properties?
• Where are today’s opportunities in retail?  Malls, lifestyle, grocery-anchored/necessity-based, power, community/strip, outlets, mixed-use, etc.
• Urban vs. suburban – which demographic and macro trends do you analyze most closely?
• Where do you source your data and how do you manage it? 
• Are you using any AI tools in your investment/acquisitions function?
• Are net lease properties attractive investments?
• How will technology continue to impact the retail supply chain (warehouse technology, AI, automation, driverless cars, etc.)?  What do owner/operators now need to be considering?

• How can real estate companies make the most of tax efficient structures to increase returns?
• Analyzing recent legislation to identify the latest tax benefits and strategies
• SEC and new disclosure regulations
• 1031 Exchange and Capital Gains: how are you approaching this?
• Timeframes and essential criteria involved in a 1031 exchange
• Managing those K-1s: what is the key to efficiency and meeting deadlines?
• Infrastructure and build back plans: what do RE investors and fund managers need to know?
• How are innovations in regulatory technology aiding real estate companies with the demand of regulatory compliance?
• How is AI simplifying compliance workflow?
• Which tax law changes are poised to have the strongest impact on real estate?

• What is the outlook for origination for this part of the capital stack?
• What are the main questions you’re fielding from your borrowers?
• Are you seeing new business from people needing to complete the capital stack that would historically do that elsewhere?
• Have you adjusted your lending strategy in the past year?
• Any changes to intercreditor and mezz debt agreements?
• Update on CMBS and CLOs - where’s this heading in 2025?
• Construction lending – who is getting this done?
• Which property types are best suited to PACE financing?
• How are commercial owners and developers using C-PACE financing as a long-term financing option to lower energy costs, reduce carbon footprints, increase property values and meet ESG goals?

• How much capital is still actively being raised for QOZ funds and how much has been deployed?
• What kind of capital is being invested? Are LPs now more comfortable with QOZ investing? How to determine if a fund manager has the sufficient experience?
• What are QOZ funds investing in and where? How are fund managers underwriting deals? What are their due diligence processes?
• How do QOZ tax incentives compare to other forms of alternative financing, e.g. affordable housing tax incentives, foreign mezzanine finance and EB-5?
• How are lenders viewing such investments? What are typical terms/conditions?
• Are there distressed QOZ plays? What’s going on across property types in the current climate
• Which markets are primed to bounce back quickest and strongest?  Why?

• What are all of the options for owners in default?
• Approaching extensions and refinancings 
• Communicating and having difficult conversations with your lender
• What is the de-leveraging plan? Are you selling winners to pay for losers?
• Selecting an advisory team – what expertise is needed?
• Options when you are in capital distress and the underlying performance is still good
• Sale/Leaseback as a restructuring solution
• Various loan workout/resolution paths: Process, timeline, costs, etc.

• Performance by property type: independents, brands, luxury, motels, resorts etc.
• How are more niche areas like outdoor lodging and extended stay performing?
• Where are we at with occupancy levels in core and secondary markets? 
• What strategies are investors and lenders employing to find value in this environment?
• Availability of equity and debt financing
• Conversions and repositioning underperforming properties
• Identifying and evaluating value-add opportunities in the hospitality sector

• Market fundamentals and increased demand with mortgage rates at high levels
• How are these sectors positioned for future growth?  What is the current supply-demand balance?
• Primary, secondary and tertiary market opportunities – which areas do you like?  Which are you avoiding?
• Where is private capital for these sectors coming from?
• Product types and differing investment strategies
• Industry trends: what are occupancy levels like right now across different property types and geographies?
• Comparing business strategies in the current market climate - finance vs. own/flip vs. hold-manage vs. own

• Update on transactional activity in the past 6 months across different property types and geographies
• What is the financing/fundraising climate like for industrial today?
• Which industrial investment strategies are attracting most private capital right now?
• Which markets remain strong and which are starting to show signs of (relative) weakness?
• How do you expect the fundamentals around this asset class to change in the coming year?
• How much supply is still coming online?  Which markets are underserved? 
• Has the re-shoring expected by many investors really materialized?
• Impact of the election result on infrastructure spending and other legislation key to industrial demand, development and operations

• When might a restructuring make sense?  Loan characteristics?  Lender/borrower profiles?
• What is the process for requesting/negotiating a restructuring?
• When does the conversation with your lender need to start?
• Parties and expertise required – costs and timelines
• What have we learned from past recessions with regards to properties in distress?  What is different now?
• Factoring in insurance caps

Equity providers and operating partners will provide their perspectives on joint ventures, covering topics like waterfalls, deal terms, preferred returns, control provisions and cost overruns.

• Outlook for data center demand and current supply
• Market fundamentals that make data centers an attractive investment
• Demand for smaller data centers in urban areas, close to customers
• Construction and operational costs and expertise
• How do valuation methodologies differ from industrial property types?
• Investing in data center REITs and operators

• How are you embedding ESG into your CRE investments?
• What quantifiable benefits have you been reaping as a result?
• Using data to tell your ESG story to investors
• Oversight, management and reporting
• PACE and other financing options for sustainable CRE projects - how do they compare? How to access them?
• What portion of LP allocations is now being dedicated to ESG/sustainability-focused investments?
• What sponsor-level and fund-level ESG/sustainability information are LPs requesting?
• What have been the challenges of establishing an ESG/sustainability focus within your organization? How are you addressing them?

• Managing the tech stack and data to improve investment performance and transparency
• ROI, costs and resources to implement new technologies
• Application of AI and machine learning in identifying investment opportunities, predicting market trends and optimizing portfolios
• Utilizing online marketplaces and crowdfunding platforms to access a wider range of investment opportunities
• What are the resource expectations and costs associated with implementing and effectively utilizing these systems?
• How do you successfully implement and integrate a new technology platform/product and ensure minimal disruption to day-to-day business functions? 
• Leveraging data analytics to inform investment strategies, property valuations and market trend analysis
• Using predictive analytics to forecast market conditions, tenant behavior and property performance
• How are you ensuring the data is the right data for your needs? What are the potential implications of using the wrong data?
• Implementing data management best practices to ensure data accuracy, consistency and accessibility
• Data risk management, governance and regulatory challenges

• How has your real estate investment strategy changed in recent years?  Have CRE funds delivered on return expectations?
• Are you seeing many distressed opportunities?  Actively pursuing them?
• Do you allocate to emerging and/or small-medium sized funds? What does it take to get on your radar and then to get a deal over the line?
• GP recap/continuation funds: views and best practices
• What can funds do to attract LPs and family offices to invest with them instead of investing in a direct deal?
• What are your first questions to fund managers when they are seeking your investment dollars?
• What matters most when identifying GPs to partner with?
• Keys to managing the relationship
• Are you actively investing in any specific sectors/deal types or keeping your powder dry? 
• Which asset classes are you most interested in?  Any niche opportunities?
• Any exits on the horizon?