The eighth annual REIT Investor Relations Symposium, hosted by the NYSE and Nareit, was held June 3 in New York City, ahead of Nareit’s REITweek: 2024 Investor Conference.
As in past years, the IR Symposium brought together more than 100 REIT IR professionals, representing 65 REITs, for a half day of timely panel discussions. Topics included preparation and responses to investor activism, fixed income investor communication, market research findings on REIT utilization among institutional investors, and a government relations update.
The first session, Activism in the REIT Industry, was moderated by Sherry Rexroad, board member for AIMCO, and panelists included Moira Conlon, founder & CEO, Financial Profiles, Inc.; Ruth Dowling, EVP, CAO & general counsel for American Tower; and Zach Oleksiuk, managing director – corporate advisory for Evercore. Panelists discussed the current environment for activism globally and in the U.S. market. The panelists shared the current areas of focus for activist investors including, targeting companies for break-ups and divestitures, selling companies to unlock value, seeking board representation and management change to drive their agenda, and a continued focus on Board, governance and executive compensation. The panel also discussed the latest happenings in REIT activism, the increase in campaigns, the shifting objectives for those campaigns, and the increasing number of activists involved in the market.
The second session, Fixed Income Investors, was moderated by Tom McNamara, director for real estate issuer solutions at S&P Global, and the panelists were Thomas Cook, senior credit analyst for Genworth Financial; Ray Huang, executive vice president for PIMCO; and Kevin McClure, managing director for Wells Fargo Securities. The panelists discussed best practices for engaging with fixed income investors and underscored the importance of viewing fixed income investors as long-term partners and meeting with them early, often, and consistently. The panelists rounded out the conversation by offering a few quick tips for meetings with fixed income investors.
The third session, Research Study Findings: REIT Utilization Among Institutional Investors, was moderated Kurt Walten, SVP, investment affairs for Nareit, and featured panelists, including Todd Glickson, head of investment management – North America for Coalition Greenwich; Andy Rubin, institutional portfolio manager for Fidelity Investments; and Matthew Sgrizzi, chief investment officer for LaSalle Global Solutions. The discussion focused on recent market research conducted by Coalition Greenwich that looked at REIT utilization among institutional investors, the top attributes investors seek from REIT investment, property sectors in consideration for investment in the future, and the role of consultants.
The final session of the IR Symposium, Government Relations Update, with Robert Dibblee, SVP, government relations for Nareit, and Justin Durbin, director for the NYSE Institute, provided an overview of the upcoming presidential election and the House and Senate elections. The speakers highlighted that for years they have been hearing from Members of Congress that the pending election “would be the most important/consequential election in recent history,” and this year may in fact meet that because of the possible policy and regulatory actions that a unified or divided government would mean for the real estate community.
The symposium concluded with a reception to kick off the busy week of meetings during Nareit’s REITweek: 2024 Investor Conference.