Investment Matters: CRE Capital With Cross-Border Clout

Madison International Realty Founder Ronald Dickerman and CPE's Paul Rosta discuss global capital flows, REIT rollups and more trends to watch.

Ronald Dickerman says that real estate is part of his DNA. His family owned and operated apartment buildings in Boston, and when he was still a teenager, he’d spend Saturdays at those properties, vacuuming the halls and cleaning the pools. Back then he figured that he’d probably stick close to home and wind up working in the family business, but as it turned out, he was destined for much wider horizons.

As founder and president of Madison International Realty, Dickerman leads a company with an uncommon focus on the secondaries market and a footprint that encompasses offices on three continents. Since its founding a quarter century ago, Madison International has raised upward of $8 billion from scores of investors.

On left, graphic of a chart superimposed on an image of a city skyline; on right, photo of Madison International Realty's Ronald Dickerman above photo of CPE's Paul Rosta, both within circular borders
Top, Madison International Realty President Ronald Dickerman; bottom, Paul Rosta of CPE..

In our conversation, Dickerman tells us how he came to focus on the secondaries market, and fills us in on Madison International’s latest corporate-level moves. From the perspective of nearly four decades in the business, he offers his insights on today’s key trends.

And, as an expert on international capital flows, he gives us his take on how the U.S. real estate market stacks up against the competition.

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Episode highlights:

  • (2:03) What’s in a name?
  • (3:58) Building a business model
  • (6:44) Corporate-level moves
  • (9:14) Top trends to unpack, at home and abroad
  • (13:47) Adjusting to the new normal
  • (15:54) Career origin story: CRE in the DNA
  • (21:31) Capital flows and geopolitics
  • (24:12) Will the REIT rollups continue?
  • (26:56) Executive off the clock: staying fit in mind and body
  • (28:25) Fulfilling “a global mandate”

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