Cornell International Real Estate Competition

November 2014:  University of Sydney students Jenny Huang, Andrew Peters, Max Rigby, Khosrow Kyanian, Angus Gibbs and Annie Feng travelled to New York City to compete in the Cornell International Real Estate Competition (CIREC) 2014. “Anything is possible” would become the perfect summary for what proved to be a whirlwind experience.

In the STUVAC week of semester two 2014, my team, Abercrombie Advisory, travelled to New York City to compete in the globally renowned real estate finance competition. The competition invited top finance and real estate undergraduates from leading universities across the globe, including Cornell University, New York University and the University of Cambridge.

Before diving into the highlights, readers may be wondering ‘what is real estate finance?’ Just like buying a share from the stock market, investors invest into property - it is simply another asset class comparable to your equities and bonds. The special thing about this asset class is that you can actually see it, touch it, be in it and ‘feel’ its value. This is what makes it “real”.

Buying or investing in property does not simply mean buying a home. It also includes commercial real estate such as offices. Investors are also not simply buyers, but can enter the investment by being financers to property managers. Equities may dominate the headlines but property assets are actually the biggest asset class in the market.

This versatility is just one of the many complicating factors when preparing for the competition. All case studies are based on a real life transaction that a judge – sourced from many large international investment firms such as Blackstone, Silverstein Properties, Moody’s Investors Service and Brookfield Properties, had executed. In each case we acted as strategic advisors to an investor trying to make a decision on how to execute a transaction.

Our team was selected over more than 20 other teams from the University of Sydney Business School. Winning against tough competition and case experience made us think we were well prepared and exposed to all the potential cases.

How optimistic we were. The case was by far one of the most complicated cases in the competition’s history, involving competing options for a single block of land, a construction project, waterfall ownership structure and numerous stakeholders.

Time management is always a struggle in case competitions, no more so than when there are competing priorities of final exam study and the temptation to enjoy New York. In the final hours before submission, six of us were cramped in one hotel room, scrambling to finish the presentation: stressed, fatigued and running on pure adrenaline.

The morning of presentation day was brutal. With only around 3 hours of sleep each, we were the first group to present in our heat, and up against host university, Cornell, and past competition winners, University of Connecticut. Despite our nerves and feeling unprepared, we delivered a strong, cohesive and perfectly timed presentation, hitting the time limit of 15 minutes on the dot.

‘”A” for timing’ was the first response from the judges.

It was the first time that any Australian university had been invited to compete in CIREC and we certainly made an impression. The judges for our heat had taken the longest and found it most difficult to identify a finalist. While University of Connecticut were the finalist from our heat, we were thrilled to learn that we had come second in a heat of such tough competition.

CIREC in New York is an amazing opportunity to gain almost real-life experience in advising real estate transactions - from conducting the research and valuation to preparing the pitch or ‘story’ for a recommendation, under strict time pressures.

The week was a tough balancing act, but we still managed to enjoy New York, including Halloween, and form friendships with competitors from across the global. These connections have given us invaluable insight into putting the University of Sydney Business School in good stead of entering the finals in future year. We hope this opportunity will also lead to future encounters in a professional context.

We hope that CIREC 2014 will mark the beginning of many new opportunities within the University of Sydney Business School, such as a new Sydney University Real Estate Society.

Real estate is a fast growing and highly dynamic asset class but still remains a mystery to most undergraduates. The team is currently working on establishing a society and initiatives to increase the profile of real estate finance within the Business School. So (quite literally), watch this space!

Annie Feng
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School

Why delaying my graduation was one of the best decisions I have ever made

Six months ago, we were presented with an opportunity by our lecturer, Andrew Ainsworth. “One of the world’s leading asset management firms is recruiting an intern for a six month stint”, he shared.

I thought of applying immediately – what better way to gain more professional experience than to immerse myself in the financial world and apply what I’ve learnt there? It was like a litmus test – would I make the cut?

Concerns flew through my mind at the very same time – I had to take a semester off from university and delay my graduation – would I lag behind my peers after this internship? The fact that I had never heard of Wellington before that day was, in all honesty, unsettling as well.

I quickly reached out to a friend who was working in the fund management industry hoping for some advice. His response was clear – a six-month programme within the financial services industry was an incredible opportunity to distinguish myself as having a genuine interest in finance and commitment to your future employers. He also emphasised that the firm was of high calibre and reputable – that was all I need to hear to seal the deal!

The role
In my role, I have the opportunity to work with two different teams - investment administration in the mornings and externally facing global relationship duties in the afternoons. No two days are the same, making the experience very unique. My typical morning involves facilitating the flow of clients’ assets, corporate actions processing and ensuring that trades and assets are priced correctly. My role in the afternoon covers a broader range of tasks. For example, I could be engaged in performance reporting or working on projects that focus on industry analysis and contemporary trends. I have since realised that the only way to gain in-depth knowledge and experience would be to stick at something for a period of time.

I have been at the firm for only three months but have learnt a great deal – the opportunities to understand financial markets and investment vehicles across a range of asset classes never cease to excite me every day at work. To an ambitious undergraduate, this experience is also an eye-opener to the diverse avenues and career paths within Wellington and financial services that exist all over the world.

Having had prior exposure to other corporate internships, I can also confidently claim that the culture at Wellington on a global spectrum is unique – the firm is made up of incredibly genuine and intelligent people who are always willing to offer guidance. Being able to build a professional network of mentors who have been nothing but supportive is invaluable. 

Would I do it again? Absolutely.

Sam Archibald
Current student at the University of Sydney, studying Agricultural Economics and majoring in Corporate Finance. He unabashedly declares that FINC3017 Investments and Portfolio Management is one of his favourite subjects that kick-started his interest in investment management.

Apply for the next internship at Wellington.
Applications close on 30 April 2015.