Institutions Under Allocated in Industrial

LOS ANGELES—There is runway left in the industrial cycle, and one clear sign is the under allocation of institutional capital in industrial. “Institutional capital is still under allocated in industrial,” said Don Ankeny, president and CEO of Westcore Properties said on the Investment Leaders panel at RealShare Industrial West last week. “It is hard to find $100 million deals, and when you have $1 billion that needs to get out, it is difficult. So, I think that industrial acquisition is going to stay strong because of the amount of capital that needs to get out.”

Ankeny’s fellow panelists—Michael Boss, director of global real estate at TIAA-CREF, and Alan Carmichael, VP of investments at Alere Property Group—agreed that there is still runway left, despite being cautious about the possibility of downturn. Much of their concern was due to the global economic volatility. Boss called the current climate the seventh inning stretch, but said that if you look only at industrial fundamentals, things are good. “All signs are pretty healthy in the industrial sector,” he said. “All things outside are concerning.”