One of the most powerful benefits modern technology provides businesses with today is increased visibility into operations. In the real estate segment, deep insight into business performance is paramount to delivering better customer experiences.
One area of the real estate ecosystem that is, arguably, one of the more challenging branches is investment management. There are so many aspects of investment management that require constant monitoring, communication and tracking that it’s difficult to do it all effectively without the aid of technology to help managers stay organized.
Apart from benefitting investment managers and helping streamline their work, the insight captured by technology also gives investors themselves increased transparency around their portfolios.
Investment management is also ripe for growth. Our recent survey of investors found they are positive about the market, with almost half of respondents indicating they plan to increase their real estate investments and stay in the real estate investment game long-term. The winter is a good time to move forward with real estate investments because this time of year tends to be more of a buyer’s market, especially in multifamily, a popular asset class.
There is no better time for investment managers to get ahead of the season and consider how to use technology to strengthen and build lasting relationships with their investors, all of which lead to better business growth.
Be Investors’ One-Stop Shop
Real estate investing is a complex environment because there is a multitude of information to keep track of and to understand in order to make sound investment decisions. Investors rely heavily on their investment managers to provide them with consistent information across a variety of areas like new investment opportunities, property performance updates and analytics, information about the performance of the investment management company, and more.
Managers should use technology to provide this type of information more effectively and more frequently to investors. Historically, investment management required a significant amount of last-minute, manual paperwork to deliver relevant investor information, including fundraising documents, tax documents, statements, distribution calculations and contributions. In the investment world, there’s often an immediacy tied to providing financial information. Managers can employ technology to consistently keep track of financial documents, reducing risks of double entry and other human error and eliminating pressure on investment managers to pull together last-minute requests from investors. It also provides more assurance to investors that they will be able to acquire any information they need through digital records, accurately and concisely, and at any time. This leads to more confidence in investment managers and gives investment managers time back to focus on more strategic work.
Savvy investment managers track and pull every part of the investment cycle into digital, visually digestible, online material that also gives investors themselves direct access to information they need, in one location.
Grow And Strengthen Relationships
Communication plays a huge role in any successful business relationship. By using technology, investment managers can do this better with their investors, keeping operations more organized and transparent. Instead of constant follow-up with investors to get a better idea of where certain actions stand, use tech to be automatically updated on the latest completed activities, like when investors receive a signed document. Take as much of the guesswork and misunderstanding out of investment communications as possible to make for more efficient work.
Through streamlined processes and through working with effective investment managers, investors, naturally, will have more confidence in the investment management business handling their portfolios and fundraising. This kind of credibility and trust, in turn, gives investment management businesses the opportunity to raise even more capital from investors, helping overall business growth.
Understand Your Investors’ Needs
It’s important to understand that while technology will certainly improve operations, it isn’t the only important component of successful real estate investment management. Managers must understand their investor needs and keep those at the forefront of all their business decisions.
For example, managers need to be able to craft different investment strategies depending on the investor they’re servicing. It’s never going to be a one-size-fits-all approach. While some investors might be focused on the multifamily space, others might have a more mixed portfolio, which requires different strategies for different asset classes. It may even make sense for managers to try and specialize in a specific area of real estate, like development, to offer more sound advice on where it might make the most sense to invest in the future.
Additionally, as many investors invest nationwide, not just locally, it’s critical for managers to have in-depth knowledge of the local markets their investors play in, to help lead investors to better decisions and give them more information and background to work with when making those decisions.
While technology absolutely helps take investment managers to the next level, understanding individual investors and their needs, assets and strategies will help managers cross the finish line.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
