Real Estate Forum - October 2011

to Know…

Financial Intermediaries 10

Today’s capital markets are on par with the Wild Wild West. One-stop
shopping is a relic of the past, says Howard L. Michaels, chairman of
the Carlton Group in Manhattan. In the pre-credit crunch days, he
says, “owners could go directly to people like Mark Walsh at Lehman,
Robert Verrone at Wachovia and so on. All of those firms are either
now out of business or have much narrower platforms.”
In short, “now more than ever, borrowers should be using good intermediaries to make sure that they are
getting the best-priced and most reliable capital,” he says. A good starting place is this list compiled by REAL
ESTATE FORUM. We are not claiming this is a complete list or even a list of the largest players by volume. Rather,
we selected a cross-section of providers in this space, from the widely recognized, national names to smaller
players with a strong geographic focus.

BERKADIA COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE

www.berkadia.com

Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC is a privately held company in which Berkshire Hathaway has a 50%

ownership interest. Based in Horsham, PA, it is a correspondent for insurance companies and an approved lender for the GSEs and HUD/FHA.

CARLTON GROUP www.carltongroup.com

The real estate investment bank specializes in equity and debt placement, loan restructuring, and commercial and residential loan sales. The New York City-based firm helped place the $500

million of equity and debt raise for Harry Macklowe in his closings on apartment properties at 737 Park Ave. and 150 E. 72nd St. earlier this year, among other transactions.

CASSIDY TURLEY CAPITAL MARKETS GROUP www.cassidyturley.com/services/capital-markets

A one-stop shop for the commercial real estate space, the St. Louis-based firm’s capital markets group completed transactions valued at $18 billion in 2010. This year is shaping up even better; the group was recently lauded for its office sales of at least

$25 million during the first half of 2011.

CBRE GROUP www.cbre.com/USA

Based in Los Angeles, CBRE is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm in terms of 2010 revenue. Among its many services are mortgage banking, real estate-related loans, securities portfolios, investments in operating companies, joint ventures and in private real estate funds under its fund of funds program.

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COHEN FINANCIAL

www.cohenfinancial.com

The company is known for its ability to structure short-and long-term capital alternatives. Another mark of distinction for the Chicago-based company: CEO Jack Cohen has been tapped as president of industry association CRE Finance Council for 2011.

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HFF

www.hfflp.com

Another well-known one-stop shop for commercial real estate, Pittsburgh-based HFF’s lines of business include debt placement, investment sales, equity and joint ventures, structured finance, loan sales, special assets and loan servicing. It was, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the top intermediary for originations in 2010.

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MARCUS & MILLICHAP CAPITAL CORP.

www.mmcapcorp.com

The Encino, CA-based firm provides loan products for all investment properties, including apartments, shopping centers, office, industrial, single-tenant net-lease, seniors housing, hotels/motels, manufactured home communities and self-storage.

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NORTHMARQ CAPITAL

www.northmarq.com

Based in Minneapolis, the firm provides debt and equity via correspondent relationships with more than

50 life insurance companies. It also represent the GSEs and all CMBS sources.

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TRANSWESTERN’S INVESTMENT SERVICES GROUP

www.transwestern.net/Services/Pages/ Investment-Services.aspx

With expertise ranging from structured finance and corporate real estate finance to financial advisory services, the Dallas-based firm provides access to permanent loans, construction finance, mezzanine and bridge loans and preferred equity, among other products.