Investors Are Following the STEM Talent

Space Investment Partners, a newly launched investment firm that is planning to take advantage of the changes in the commercial real estate market, is planning to invest in markets with high concentrations of STEM talent. STEM—which stands for science, technology, engineering and math—talent is in high demand by many companies, and Space believes that markets with STEM talent will need office as well as multifamily, retail and industrial space to support employees.

“We have changed from a society where talent chased companies to a society where companies chase talent. Where the talent decides to go, companies will set up shop. That is why you are seeing a lot of companies moving their suburban campuses into cities. That is where talent is,” Ryan Gallagher, founder of Space Investment Partners, tells GlobeSt.com.

This shift in the way that companies are looking for talent has inspired Space’s investment strategy to target STEM markets. “We are following STEM talent closely. We believe that the companies developing the widgets of tomorrow are going to need some level of STEM talent,” explains Gallagher. “When you think through where you find that, we are looking at not only the areas that produce STEM talent as well as the areas that retain it. Some areas that produce it, but the talent leaves and goes to other markets.”

The firm is looking at specific markets that are both producing talent, meaning where universities have large students enrolled in STEM fields, and where STEM talent is staying. That includes markets like Silicon Valley, Seattle and San Diego. “We are looking at areas with universities that are able to produce talent with degrees in those fields, says Gallagher. “Northern California, however, is clearly a market that has been able to produce and retain STEM talent. So, we are looking at certain markets in Northern California. Seattle is another example of a market that has been able to retain that talent.”

Gallagher believes that the trend in chasing STEM talent is just beginning, and as industries adopt more technology, STEM talent will become more of a necessity for growing companies. “As we become a more technologically driven society and as the growth in business continues to be from tech-related industries, STEM talent will continue to be one of the biggest forces in creating bigger winners and losers from a market perspective,” he says.