Real estate private equity is the business of raising and deploying private capital into property and property-backed credit through closed-end, open-end, and permanent capital vehicles. Assets under management refers to fee-earning and non-fee-earning capital dedicated to private real estate strategies. It excludes listed REITs and generalist buyout funds without a dedicated real estate platform.
AUM rankings are a bit like bank deposit tables: they help you gauge counterparty strength, resource depth, and liquidity context, but they do not tell you who actually generates returns for investors. Managers also report AUM under different conventions, which complicates comparisons. Some show gross asset value at the property level, others report net asset value plus undrawn commitments, and many blend equity and credit capital. Rankings shift with currency moves, fundraising flows, and valuation changes.
For practical analysis, normalize before you compare. Two managers with identical logos may be reporting two very different things.
Blackstone reported $339 billion of real estate AUM. The platform spans opportunistic closed-end funds (Blackstone Real Estate Partners), a semi-liquid perpetual NAV REIT (BREIT) that accepts monthly subscriptions with limited repurchase capacity, open-end core strategies (Blackstone Property Partners), and real estate debt vehicles.
The firm concentrates in logistics, rental housing, hospitality, data centers, and student housing globally. It rotates into sectors with secular tailwinds and recycles capital from mature assets. BREIT’s redemption limits were tested in 2022-2023 during the rate surge, demonstrating the liquidity-mismatch risk in retail semi-liquid structures. Gates operated in line with prospectus terms.
Delaware and Cayman partnerships handle drawdown funds, Luxembourg structures manage European feeders, and U.S. REIT blockers address tax issues for non-U.S. and tax-exempt investors. subscription lines and NAV facilities provide pacing flexibility at the fund level.
Brookfield Asset Management reported $257 billion in real estate AUM. The platform includes opportunistic Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners funds, open-end core strategies, regional perpetual vehicles, and substantial real estate credit through insurance partnerships.
The firm emphasizes office repositioning, multifamily, logistics, and hospitality with complex recapitalizations. Insurance general account partnerships provide patient capital for stabilized assets. Global parallel fund structures use Luxembourg and Delaware master-feeder arrangements, securitized financing at portfolio companies, and GP-led secondaries to optimize hold periods.
PGIM Real Estate manages $210 billion. U.S. core open-end funds like PRISA anchor the platform alongside regional value-add funds, sector strategies, institutional separate accounts, and real estate debt across the capital stack. Insurance heritage supports liability-aware mandates.
The firm maintains broad sector coverage with established core exposure in the U.S. and Europe plus growing Asia-Pacific allocations. Debt capabilities span senior mortgage lending and mezzanine. Open-end funds follow INREV and NCREIF valuation standards, with REIT blockers for tax-sensitive investors and Luxembourg vehicles for cross-border capital.
Nuveen Real Estate reports $156 billion in AUM. Global core and core-plus open-end funds, thematic sector vehicles, club deals, separate accounts, and private debt strategies benefit from TIAA’s balance sheet and retirement distribution channels.
The strategy focuses on logistics, living, and alternatives such as life sciences and self-storage. Debt strategies target senior and mezzanine loans with capital preservation objectives. Multi-vehicle architecture uses parallel feeders for ERISA, non-U.S., and U.S. taxable investors.
CBRE Investment Management oversees $147 billion. Core and value-add funds, listed securities strategies, infrastructure adjacency, and credit solutions leverage CBRE’s operating platform and research capabilities. A substantial separate account business serves large institutions.
Global core strategies include tactical tilts to logistics and living. Sustainability-linked business plans and decarbonization capex are integrated into underwriting. Open-end structures rely on frequent valuations and cash-flow-based redemption management, with side letters calibrating fee breaks for large separate account clients.
GLP Capital Partners manages $124 billion. Sector-specialist logistics funds span Asia, Europe, and the Americas, plus related new-economy real estate including data centers. Products include closed-end development vehicles and open-end stabilized income funds.
The platform handles logistics development and stabilization at scale with embedded development pipelines and operating expertise. Access to land banks and modern warehousing tenant relationships creates durable advantages. Local SPVs use ring-fenced non-recourse financing with cross-border tax structuring for treaty access and permanent establishment risk mitigation.
Starwood Capital Group reports $115 billion. Opportunistic private equity funds, Starwood Property Trust credit adjacency, sector-focused hospitality and residential funds, and retail channel non-traded vehicles comprise the platform.
Opportunistic and value-add strategies across North America and Europe emphasize proven hospitality expertise and cyclical repositioning plays. Real estate credit operates through affiliated platforms. Closed-end funds often use European waterfall structures with 20% carried interest and deal-level promotes in operating partner joint ventures.
Hines manages $94.6 billion. The development-led global platform includes core-plus and value-add funds, open-end core vehicles, retail non-traded NAV REITs, and significant separate accounts for development pipelines.
In-house development and asset management are deeply integrated across offices, living, logistics, and mixed-use projects. Alpha generation relies on creating new supply and local operating capabilities. Greater development exposure than peers requires robust governance around cost-to-complete management, contractor oversight, and contingency funding at project SPVs.
LaSalle Investment Management oversees $89 billion. Core and value-add regional strategies, sector funds, separate accounts, and real estate debt solutions leverage JLL data and relationships.
Core income products maintain measured tilts to logistics and living. Credit strategies focus on senior lending with conservative loan-to-value ratios. Open-end products use INREV NAV and appraisal cycles aligned with peer groups to support fairness in subscriptions and redemptions.
BentallGreenOak manages $83 billion. Core, core-plus, and value-add funds in North America, Europe, and Asia operate alongside a substantial debt platform. Sun Life backing provides balance sheet capital and distribution channels.
The diversified platform emphasizes logistics, living, and office repositioning. Loan origination strategies scale in markets facing bank retrenchment. Insurance ownership creates alignment features through co-investment via affiliated accounts and insurance mandates.
Scale supports specialized sector teams, stronger data infrastructure, and proprietary sourcing. It increases execution certainty on recapitalizations and large take-privates. Open-end and semi-liquid vehicles at large managers maintain diverse investor bases with redemption frameworks using appraisal-based NAVs and queue mechanics. Gate provisions and in-kind distribution rights interact with liquidity covenants in fund-level credit facilities.
Scale also lowers financing costs. It reduces warehouse line pricing, improves subscription facility spreads, and sharpens term debt negotiations. It strengthens securitization access and private bilateral lender relationships for portfolio-level financing. The largest managers can provide GP-led liquidity, structured NAV finance, and bridge capital when buyers and sellers are far apart on price.
Closed-end funds call capital per deal or on a schedule, using equalization mechanics so all investors are treated fairly over time. Open-end funds accept subscriptions at periodic NAVs with admission queues. Retail semi-liquid vehicles rely on omnibus intermediaries and specific settlement windows.
Closed-end waterfalls commonly feature an 8% preferred return with 100% GP catch-up to 20% carry, applying deal-by-deal or whole-fund distribution tests. European waterfalls are typically whole-fund with robust clawbacks. Open-end vehicles charge performance fees on benchmark outperformance or on rolling high-water marks; many core funds skip carry altogether.
Drawdown funds often charge 1.25%-1.75% management fees on commitments during the investment period, stepping down to invested cost or NAV afterward. Carry usually ranges from 15%-20%. Core open-end fees range roughly from 0.50%-1.00% on NAV with or without incentive fees. Retail perpetuals add distribution fees and potential early repurchase deductions.
Under U.S. GAAP ASC 820 and IFRS 13, properties are measured at fair value using third-party appraisals in open-end funds and quarterly valuation processes in closed-end funds. Valuation policies define materiality thresholds, cap rates, discounted cash flow assumptions, and impairment triggers.
Manager-level consolidation applies VIE and voting-interest models. GP stakes in funds may trigger consolidation when power and economics tests are met. Many managers elect investment company accounting at the fund level to carry underlying assets at fair value.
INREV NAV frameworks and NCREIF reporting improve comparability for open-end core funds. U.S. managers registered with the SEC file Form ADV and Form PF. Large private fund advisers face 2023 SEC private fund rules, parts of which were vacated in 2024 and remain under legal review.
The largest REPE managers by AUM currently span Blackstone through BentallGreenOak based on recent firm disclosures. However, AUM definitions vary significantly, so compare fee-bearing AUM, equity versus credit mix, and perpetual versus closed-end capital weight before drawing conclusions. In stressed markets, vehicle structure, liquidity terms, and governance matter more to outcomes than headline AUM figures.
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P.S.S. – These figures are estimated AUM as of Q4 2024.
