From the opening keynote speech from JLL chief economist Ryan Severino, to the industrial spotlight from Matt Tucker, partner and co-chief investment officer at Bridge Investment Group, people were not holding back enthusiasm for industrial assets at the GlobeSt.com Net Lease conference. The word darling was used more than once, and investors on every panel said that they were increasing exposure to the asset class.

Severino admitted that he didn't call industrial the darling of net lease lightly, but he added that the industry is looking at the asset class in a fundamentally different way following the pandemic. It has a larger role to play not only as a CRE investment, but in the asset's role in the supply chain and as a driver of economic activity. Industrial assets now play an outsized role in the overall real estate market.

Bridge Industrial is planning to deploy $500 million in capital buy the end of the year, but Tucker said that the pandemic didn't change the fundamentals of the asset class. It has been the best performing CRE asset for years, outperforming every other sector. While the pandemic wasn't the catalyst, it did augment already robust growth. Due to the preference for online shopping, the market is poised for even more growth. According to Tucker, ecommerce required three-times the real estate space than brick-and-mortar retail.