CBRE Investors Snags Real Estate Heavy-Hitter

Ethan Penner, known in the real estate industry as one of the foremost experts in securitization, is now a player on CB Richard Ellis Investors’ team. Penner has taken on the role of executive managing director and is also holding a seat on the executive committee.Penner’s reputation as a leader in securitization began to take hold in the 1990s. Among his most celebrated role was that of founder and president of Tokyo-headquartered Nomura Securities Co.’s U.S. mortgage lending division the Capital Co. which, after a year of phenomenal success, hit the skids in 1998. It was in this position that he established a reputation as one of the founding fathers of the commercial-mortgage back securities market and a leading real estate player. He later spent a few years working in private equity investment and in 2002, the industry took notice again when he joined Los Angeles-based commercial real estate services firm and fund management concern Kennedy-Wilson as president, a position he held for six months.Penner’s appointment at CBRE Investors dovetails with the company’s plans to propel itself into the position of the real estate investment management industry’s market leader. One of the company’s most recent moves came less than two weeks ago with the announcement of its acquisition of a majority interest in Wood Partners, one of the country’s largest multi-family real estate developers. On the international front, in February, CBRE Investors closed its value added real estate fund Strategic Partners Asia II with $400 million in commitments that will allow for a total purchasing power of approximately $1.2 billion.Headquartered in Los Angeles, CBRE Investors presently had $38 billion in assets under management as of the close of 2007. Last year, the company made $11.7 billion in acquisitions in North America, Europe and Asia.