The AFIRE Podcast

(Featuring Richard Florida, Urbanist, Author, Professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto)

As the cities cautiously re-open into the late phase of the pandemic, writer and urbanist Richard Florida believes that metros have a unique opportunity to reimagine and redefine what a "central business district" will look like in the new normal. Community is key.

https://www.afire.org/podcast/postcrisiscities/

In this two-part AFIRE Podcast (the FIFTIETH EPISODE of the podcast!) host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Richard Florida, urbanist, author, and professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, to discuss the the crisis cities were facing before the pandemic, how the crisis accelerated evolving trends in work and lifestyle habits, and the opportunity cities have right now to reimagine what live-work-play means in their communities.

As a prolific economist and researcher in global urban trends, Richard Florida has helped investors better understand how cities have changed and evolved, particularly through his work in The Rise of the Creative Class (2002) and The New Urban Crisis (2017). In this podcast, Florida calls on investors to embrace change as work habits, families, and use of the built environment adapts to life after the pandemic.

(Featuring Andrew Weiner, Real Estate Practice Partner, Pillsbury)

Non-US-based investors face the disclosure regime of the Corporate Transparency Act. What do you need to know?

https://www.afire.org/podcast/corporatetransparency/

Non-US-based investors that own or invest in US real estate have never been free from disclosure requirements. But the disclosure regime has historically been relatively inobtrusive. The Federal government has been ratcheting up the scope of required disclosure, in part as a response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and to rising concerns about money laundering through real estate ownership.

On January 1, 2021, Congress enacted the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), the most significant expansion in over twenty years of requirements to disclose the identity of individuals who own or control entities engaged in business in the US. While the CTA applies both to domestic and to some non-US-based entities, and is not limited to real estate activities, when fully implemented its effect on non-US-based investors and sponsors of commingled vehicles in which these investors participate will be substantial.

In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Andrew Weiner, Real Estate Practice Partner at Pillsbury, talks about the current state of the CTA—and what investors will need to watch for in the coming months.

Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.

(This podcast is based on the article “Transparency Rules” from Summit Journal.)

(Featuring Vincent Cicciarelli, Growth Lead, JLL Spark)

As proptech continues to transform commercial real estate, discoveries happening on the venture side provide key insights on the future of ESG, portfolio optimization, cost savings, and human capital.

(This podcast episode is part two of a two-part conversation. Listen to the full conversation at https://www.afire.org/podcast/jllsparkproptech/)

In this two-part AFIRE Podcast, host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Vincent Cicciarelli, Growth Lead at JLL Spark, to look at the current state of proptech for CRE, how pandemic-related evolutions in space usage present a unique problem that proptech is especially suited to solve, and what these solutions will mean for investors into the future.

With unique insights as a member of JLL Spark, one of the leading proptech venture funds, Cicciarelli explains how he and his group "look for novel technology solutions to age-old problems in commercial real estate."

What age-old problems are set to be solved next?

(Featuring Vincent Cicciarelli, Growth Lead, JLL Spark)

As proptech continues to transform commercial real estate, discoveries happening on the venture side provide key insights on the future of ESG, portfolio optimization, cost savings, and human capital.

(This podcast episode is part one of a two-part conversation. Listen to the full conversation at https://www.afire.org/podcast/jllsparkproptech/)

In this two-part AFIRE Podcast, host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Vincent Cicciarelli, Growth Lead at JLL Spark, to look at the current state of proptech for CRE, how pandemic-related evolutions in space usage present a unique problem that proptech is especially suited to solve, and what these solutions will mean for investors into the future.

With unique insights as a member of JLL Spark, one of the leading proptech venture funds, Cicciarelli explains how he and his group "look for novel technology solutions to age-old problems in commercial real estate."

What age-old problems are set to be solved next?

(This podcast episode is part two of a two-part conversation. Listen to the full conversation at https://www.afire.org/podcast/ethicsfrontandcenter01/)

While discussed in universities, business schools, and corporate mission statements, ethics need to be front-and-center during times of crisis and uncertainty. What should this look like in the world real estate investing?

In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, podcast host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with El Rosenheim, Founder and CEO of Profimex, to discuss what honesty, transparency, and integrity look like in practice for business leaders, investment managers, stakeholders, and communities.

Rosenheim is also the chair of AFIRE’s Ethics Committee, and this episode expands on his article, “A Call to Ethics,” which first appeared in Summit Journal. While the purpose of investing is to profit, Rosenheim says, the pursuit of returns must not ignore the implications of the decisions we make every day—consciously and unconsciously—as investors, fiduciaries, and global citizens.

This podcast is part of AFIRE’s Ethics Project. Launched in 2020 and led by AFIRE members, the Ethics Project aims to develop an ethics for the global commercial real estate investor community—inwards, for how we work with each other, and outwards, for all users of the built environment.

(Featuring Bill Himmelstein, CEO, Tenant Advisory Group)

The global pandemic has disrupted our ability to meet together in-person with clients, colleagues, and collaborators—but according to Bill Himmelstein of Tenant Advisory Group, this is a beginning for how we can redefine relationships, and not the end.

https://www.afire.org/podcast/new-way-to-network/

In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Bill Himmelstein, CEO of Tenant Advisory Group, to share his insights on how to become a partner rather than a vendor. What are the key questions you should ask, and the critical strategies you should take, when building new relationships as we emerge into a new normal?

For many investors, the global pandemic continues to pose a challenge for networking and relationship building. With a new business approach, investors can move away from the traditional “business card networking” model and try new approaches that serve business needs, as well as the bottom line.

Listen on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.

(Featuring Mike Hu, Managing Director, Gaw Capitol Partners)

With travel limitations, empty offices, and remote working, the routine operating procedures for cross-border investment faced seas of uncertainty over the past year. As the world returns to a new normal, what's next for international investment?

https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast43/

In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Mike Hu, Managing Director of Gaw Capital Partners, to share his thoughts on US property markets from the perspective of an international investor. What's the future of cross-border investing in the real estate market, especially between Asia and the US?

For many international investors, the US remains the most transparent and most liquid market in the world, which shows promise for continued investment into the US. But how that interest plays out will depend on what happens as the US and the rest of the world emerges from the pandemic.

(Featuring Tracy Loh, Fellow, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking, Brookings Institution)

So much has changed with the global COVID-19 pandemic, but the honest concern is, will real estate be ready to embrace a new change?

https://www.afire.org/podcast/real-estate-reset-2/

In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast—the second of a two-part conversation—podcast host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Tracy Loh of the Brookings Institution, and co-author of Brookings' "The Great Real Estate Reset: A data-driven initiative to remake how and what we build," to explain the demographics of housing, its impact on the built environment, and how it's changing.

In order to create change in a major sector in the economy—one which constitutes 43% of all investment assets in the US—it is crucial to look at the fundamentals of the industry, and where they fit into the larger social context. Climate change, social unrest, and other emergent imbalances and crises indicate the need to “reset” the status quo. According to Loh, we must “think bigger about new policies that are more just and prioritize an economy that is more resilient.”

Listen on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.

(Featuring Tracy Loh, Fellow, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking, Brookings Institution)

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many investors to restructure their agendas. What does it mean to "reset real estate," and what role should investors have in imagining in the future of the world?

https://www.afire.org/podcast/real-estate-reset/

In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast—the first of a two-part conversation—podcast host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Tracy Loh of the Brookings Institution, and co-author of Brookings' "The Great Real Estate Reset: A data-driven initiative to remake how and what we build," to unravel the economic, social, and political trends that have accelerated during the pandemic—and will significantly affect the real estate landscape for years to come.

In order to create change in a major sector in the economy—one which constitutes 43% of all investment assets in the US—it is crucial to look at the fundamentals of the industry, and where they fit into the larger social context. Climate change, social unrest, and other emergent imbalances and crises indicate the need to "reset" the status quo. According to Loh, we must "think bigger about new policies that are more just and prioritize an economy that is more resilient."

(Featuring El Rosenheim, Founder, CEO, Profimex)

This podcast episode is part one of a two-part conversation. Listen to the full conversation at https://www.afire.org/podcast/ethicsfrontandcenter01/

While discussed in universities, business schools, and corporate mission statements, ethics need to be front-and-center during times of crisis and uncertainty. What should this look like in the world real estate investing?

In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, podcast host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with El Rosenheim, Founder and CEO of Profimex, to discuss what honesty, transparency, and integrity look like in practice for business leaders, investment managers, stakeholders, and communities.

Rosenheim is also the chair of AFIRE’s Ethics Committee, and this episode expands on his article, “A Call to Ethics,” which first appeared in Summit Journal. While the purpose of investing is to profit, Rosenheim says, the pursuit of returns must not ignore the implications of the decisions we make every day—consciously and unconsciously—as investors, fiduciaries, and global citizens.

This podcast is part of AFIRE’s Ethics Project. Launched in 2020 and led by AFIRE members, the Ethics Project aims to develop an ethics for the global commercial real estate investor community—inwards, for how we work with each other, and outwards, for all users of the built environment.