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REIT Portfolio Practicum

The Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Portfolio Practicum is a unique program designed for highly motivated students interested in gaining the skills necessary to make real estate portfolio investment decisions. Directed by Professor of Practice Blair Koblenz, the practicum provides a unique and robust benefit for real estate, finance, or accounting students.

In the practicum, undergraduate and graduate students gain hands-on experience managing an actual investment portfolio comprised of REITs. The portfolio emulates the real estate component of a balanced investment portfolio, as one would see in real-world markets.

A REIT (pronounced "REET") is a public or private corporation with special tax treatment that combines the investment capital of potentially thousands of individual investors to acquire or finance real estate assets. Like a mutual fund comprised of real estate assets, REITs provide investors with the advantages of a diversified portfolio coupled with highly skilled management teams at the helm.

The course requires a full academic year commitment, with one and one-half credits earned in the fall semester and one and one-half in the spring semester. Students are assigned specific real estate sectors to follow in the fall, and they will choose individual REIT stocks to underwrite and present to the investment committee in the spring. This course requires commitment and initiative that, in return, provides real-world investment experiences.

How to apply

Meet academic prerequisites:

REA 471 — W. P. Carey students or non-business students with a minimum of 56 earned credit hours and a 3.0 ASU GPA
Completion of one of the following courses is required: ACC 340, FIN 303, FIN 361, FIN 365, or REA 456
REA 594 — MRED, MTax, or 2nd-year MBA students

Apply no later than April 15. No late applications will be accepted.

Email application materials to [email protected] with the subject line: REIT Portfolio Practicum Application. The application should consist of the following:

Resume
Unofficial Transcript
1–2-page statement to include the following:
- Candidate's career goals and interest in fund management
- Candidate's exposure to real estate and financial statement analysis
- Candidate's academic and professional background that indicates what they would contribute to the fund (including quantitative skills)

Applications will be reviewed by the fund director and other advisors. The selections will be announced in late May.

Department of Finance

REIT Portfolio Practicum

How to apply