Applied real estate program is first in the nation

University business students will manage their own real estate investment portfolio as part of the nation’s first graduate program specializing in the analysis of real estate securities.

The departments of real estate and finance at the School of Business plan to launch the innovative program this fall.

Until now, students interested in institutional real estate investment or investment banking had few opportunities to obtain specialized applied training in the public markets for real estate investment.

Business Dean Andrew J. Policano says the new program will fill this void by providing a comprehensive educational experience intended to familiarize students with real estate capital markets and real estate assets.

The public markets are increasingly important in real estate as commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and real estate investment trusts (REITs) augment traditional private debt and equity capital sources.

The new program is a partnership of two graduate educational programs within the School of Business. The Applied Real Estate Securities Analysis Program (ARESAP) is an area of specialization within the master’s degree program in real estate. Students admitted into the ARESAP specialization will take a concentrated core curriculum in real estate, finance, investments and accounting and will complete coursework in securitized debt and equity valuation.

The last year of the program will be spent in the Finance Department’s intensive Applied Security Analysis Program, where students manage aseparate investment portfolio dedicated to REIT and real estate operating company (REOC) equities.

Professional investors will provide advice and guidance to the student teams throughout the year, but ultimate responsibility for portfolio management will remain with the students.

A $500,000 fundraising campaign to endow the ARESAP portfolio is underway, with $300,000 already having been committed.

The Finance Department, through its Applied Security Analysis Program (ASAP), pioneered the concept of student management of endowment funds in 1970. Since then, ASAP has trained several hundred professional investors who are analysts and portfolio managers at major investment companies worldwide.

The Real Estate and Urban Land Economics program, more than 50 years old, is regularly listed in U.S. News surveys as one of the top five such programs nationally. The real estate program has more than 1,300 graduates staffing and heading major real estate organizations worldwide.