The PERE Podcast

Private equity firms are making bold moves in the logistics REIT sector, with Blackstone taking a lead in acquiring Warehouse REIT. The competitive landscape features bids from Sixth Street and Brookfield, highlighting a surge in private equity interest in underperforming assets. The discussion delves into the intricacies of unsolicited bids, such as Sixth Street's approach to Plymouth REIT. Insights on market trends and strategic shifts are shared, making it clear that the logistics space is becoming increasingly appealing for investment.

Join Charlotte D'Souza, an expert at PERE, and Joe Marsh from PEI Group, as they dive into the monumental £4.7 billion merger between Legal & General and Federated Hermes. They discuss the significant differences between defined contribution and defined benefit pension schemes and how they impact investment strategies. The conversation sheds light on the evolving landscape of UK pensions, the unique motivations for this rare merger, and the future ambitions for international expansion in the property fund market.

US fund managers have responded optimistically to president Donald Trump’s executive order last week aimed at allowing 401(k) and other defined-contribution retirement plans greater access to alternative investments, including private real estate. Carlyle Group is “super enthusiastic,” said its chief executive Harvey Schwartz, who also praised the move as “long overdue." Some managers, like Blue Owl Capital and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, have already been working to tap into this market with announcements in recent months of new initiatives aimed at including private assets in retirement plans. Despite the optimism, questions remain around the potential regulatory framework and guardrails, the overall appetite for private real estate equity and credit, where 401(k) capital might fit into real estate managers’ portfolios, and the types of products that will need to be created to capture it. This episode seeks to break down the possible answers, with perspectives from Samantha Rowan, editor of PERE Credit, and Bill Myers, Washington, DC correspondent for affiliate title Private Funds CFO. Later in the episode, we also hear from Hannah Schriner, managing principal at consultant Meketa Investment Group and head of the defined contribution practice group, for more on how real estate can fit into 401(k) plans and how fund managers can best position themselves to serve them. Also read: PE Hub: Apollo, Blackstone Carlyle, KKR enthusiastic about 401(k) plan executive order Private Funds CFO: In the Loop: Trump’s retail hard launch PERE Credit: Principal white paper makes the case for CRE debt A note from Meketa: The views and information discussed in this podcast are for informational and educational purposes only. They should not be considered, or relied upon, as financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Listeners should consult with their own professional advisors before making any financial decisions. The opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts or affiliated organizations.

Launching a real estate fund management business in a historic market downturn is bold. Doing so as a woman in the Asia-Pacific region, where female-founded and private real estate managers remain exceedingly rare, is even bolder. “I’ve found that, especially in Asia, women tend to basically step back from the table,” says Angel Li, a former real estate executive at CLSA and Macquarie who became founding partner in her own management business, Avatar Capital Partners. Li joined The PERE Podcast for an in-depth interview fresh off the closing of Avatar's debut property fund targeting Japanese multifamily assets. But much of the candid discussion with PEI real estate editor-in-chief Jonathan Brasse centered on Li’s experience as a female founder, including overcoming self-doubt and trying to support other future women leaders. “I’m still having a lot of moments of doubt as a female founder, questioning [whether] I’m fast enough, smart enough,” Li says. “I would say it’s been an emotional marathon, a lot of ups and downs." Listen as Li describes Avatar’s inaugural fundraising journey, including the critical validation she felt in the fund’s first close and the ultimate triumph when the vehicle saw a final close last month, a year after launch, above-target and with the backing of investors including The Townsend Group and its long-term client National Pension Service of Korea “At that moment it felt like stepping onto more solid ground, with everything becoming very real,” she says. “It wasn’t just about validation, it was about realization. I might be a soft, small, tepid Asian girl, right? But at that moment I felt like I’m grounded and unstoppable.” Li’s advice to other female founders: Be yourself, embrace your emotions, celebrate others’ successes, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. “Asking for help, I think isn’t a weakness, but a sign of self-awareness,” she says. “It shows you recognize what you don’t know and that you're committed to growth through learning and collaboration.” Also read: Former CLSA executives raise $105m for NPS-backed debut fund Where are the female founders in private real estate?

The podcast dives into the impact of new US tariffs on the real estate market, analyzing strategies and trends leading up to 2025. Experts discuss the potential upsides, like lower land costs and fresh financing opportunities, alongside challenges such as rising material expenses. Conversations highlight how developers are navigating supply chain issues amid economic uncertainty and shifting customer behaviors. The slowdown in construction lending is scrutinized, raising questions about how lenders can adapt to this evolving landscape.

Since Houston-based developer-turned-investment manager Hines started raising and deploying third-party capital, the majority has come from institutional sources. That is changing rapidly. Indeed, according to the firm’s global chief investment officer, David Steinbach, as much as 50 percent of its capital is expected to come via private wealth channels within five years. Steinbach makes this bold prediction in an interview with PERE’s editor-in-chief, Jonathan Brasse, captured for this special episode of The PERE Podcast. He spoke to PERE just days before Hines announced the hiring of Hao Zhan, most recently head of Asia for the Carlyle Group’s Global Wealth division, as head of Asia for its own Private Wealth Solutions business, and just days after a regulatory filing revealed that its public, non-traded real estate investment trust, Hines Global Income Trust, had passed the $5 billion mark in terms of net asset value. Steinbach sees the Trust remaining an important offering for private wealth investors, but he also explores how products for this increasingly coveted cohort of investors are only proliferating. That will bring its challenges, Steinbach explains in this 10-minute episode, but also huge opportunities for vehicle innovation for firms like Hines and others.

This week PERE published its latest investor report, with figures for the first half of 2025 providing key insights into the private equity real estate investor environment. In this episode, we discuss the standout finding: Investor allocations to private equity real estate pulled back overall during the period, with most investor types lowering their exposures to the asset class. Meanwhile, some of the most active known investors in real estate funds dropped out of the rankings completely and a handful of the biggest real estate managers only scored one investor check each. Listen as Charlotte D'Souza and Samantha Rowan sit down with Lucy Scott to breakdown the report, discussing what has changed in the investor universe in these past six months, why it has changed and whether the figures tell managers anything about what is to come for fundraising in the coming months.

The discussion kicks off with Starwood Property Trust's major $2.2 billion acquisition of Fundamental Income Properties, showcasing the growing trend in net lease strategies. Experts delve into the allure of these investments, emphasizing their potential for long-term, reliable income. The podcast highlights the evolving landscape of institutional real estate, where the integration of debt and equity strategies is crucial amidst uncertainty. With insights on sectors like student housing proving resilient, it paints a picture of the dynamic opportunities in the ever-changing market.

MF1, a joint venture between Berkshire Residential Investments and Limekiln Real Estate, closed its third CLO this year and 21st overall securitization as of May 31, 2025. The transaction comes as CRE CLO issuance is rebounding. The first half of 2025 saw almost five times the issuance rate as the same period of 2024, according to data from the CRE Finance Council, a New York-based trade group. In this episode, PERE Credit editor Samantha Rowan speaks to Berkshire's Jon Pfiel and Limekiln Real Estate's Scott Waynebern about the partnership's CRE CLO activity and how an increase in bridge lending is helping to fuel MF1's growth.

On its face, PERE’s just-released first-half fundraising report brings welcome news to the private real estate sector, revealing that capital commitments to the asset class jumped 16 percent from H1 2024. After a multi-year slowdown, is fundraising ramping up again? Or is there more to the story? In this episode, join host Greg Dool, PERE editor Evelyn Lee and PERE Asia-Pacific reporter Christie Ou as we dive into the results – including a pair of Blackstone mega-funds and bright spots for both data centers and Asia-focused vehicles – and what they suggest about investors’ evolving view of the asset class. Listen for updates on the managers that closed on the largest capital hauls during the first half of 2025, the investors that backed them, headwinds for industrial vehicles and the rise of specialist funds targeting other emergent sectors. The team looks ahead at the next group of funds headed for a final close in the coming months, including massive vehicles being raised by Brookfield and Starwood Capital Group, among others. Read the full H1 fundraising report here.