By Alexander Bosak and Marianne Schulze

The term real estate is often accompanied by the word “managed“. There are property managers, facility managers (who are not just, but mostly, focused on the building itself), and portfolio managers (who, with comprehensive and numerous real estate ownership, look at the different properties in their relationship to one another, and keep an eye on the key figures). Then there is the real estate asset manager, the latest “manager creation” in the real estate industry. However, the answer to the question of the asset manager’s role, and how he is different from the other “managers” often varies.

As Klaus Gugglberger, Member of the Management Board at Investkredit Bank AG, Vienna, said, like portfolio management, the term asset management originates from financial services and carries over to real estate. Assets can come in various forms, so-called asset classes. To emphasize that it is an investment form dealing only with real estate, the term “real estate asset management” was coined.

The goal of every asset management must be to increase the value of the asset and achieve the highest possible return. The same goes for real estate investments. Real estate asset management should make sure that each real estate investment brings in optimal returns and increases in value. However, real estate is much more complex than, for example, stocks and bonds. A property in a certain location must establish itself in the market that goes through different cycles. It ages and must be maintained or modernised. It costs money if it finds no tenants. If it must be sold, it should be at least attractive enough so potential buyers are not just buying stone and concrete, but connect the building with a “vision of the future”, as Frank Billand, Member of the Management Board at Union Investment Real Estate AG Hamburg said.