Newmark Knight Frank has expanded its multifamily investment group in Southern California. Blake Okland, national head of multifamily investment sales, Kevin Shannon, co-head of U.S. capital markets, and Sean Fulp, private capital group lead will provide leadership for the group. The group will provide a multidisciplinary experience for multifamily investors.

"When Chris Benton re-joined Newmark Multifamily Capital Markets platform at the beginning of the year, we examined how we could integrate the existing talent we have under the same roof to form a more powerful service offering for our clients," Okland tells GlobeSt.com. "Chris partnering with Anthony Muhlstein and joining forces with Sean Fulp and Kevin Shannon is a logical extension of trends already underway at Newmark in the industry as real estate product types and capital sources continue to converge."

The structure of the group gives clients access to brokers with experience in all commercial asset classes. "Several of our clients invest across many if not all the real estate food groups," says Okland. "Approximately 87% of real estate capital allocations in 2020 is for office, multifamily and industrial product, according to NKF Research. Being able to advise our clients across these primary disciplines allows us to be more synchronized in advising on their investment strategy and portfolio and provide best-in-class services. A client partnership comes from understanding needs and providing solutions holistically."