WHAT DOES AN ASSET MANAGER DO?

The Asset Manager plays a pivotal role in the real estate sector, focusing on optimizing the performance and value of a property portfolio. This involves continuous supervision and management of both commercial and technical aspects, ensuring the leasing, maintenance, and improvement of buildings meet high standards. They also engage closely with tenants and stakeholders, preparing detailed reports and contributing to strategic planning and budgeting to support aggressive growth objectives.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Asset Manager

1. Asset Manager Duties

  • Strategy Development: Build a successful strategy for an allocated office and logistics portfolio to secure investors' business goals.
  • Value Creation: Be a key player regarding asset value creation and growth.
  • Reporting: Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual performance reports of the portfolio.
  • Budget Management: Create and review annual budgets, manage marketing and PR activities.
  • Asset Analysis: Undertake periodic asset reviews and detailed analysis.
  • Team Supervision: Supervise leasing and property management teams.
  • Portfolio Management: Take ownership and maximize performance of own portfolio (valued around £300 million to start with).
  • Leasing Management: Deal with rent reviews, new lettings, lease renewals, lease expiries, and repositioning of assets.
  • Fund Reporting: Produce fund reports for clients and debt providers.
  • Stakeholder Management: Stakeholder and relationship management (third party providers, tenants, landlords, agents, fund managers).
  • Due Diligence: Occasionally carry out due diligence and assist with acquisitions and disposal of assets.

2. Asset Manager Details

  • Strategy Implementation: Driving asset management strategies at the portfolio and asset level.
  • Relationship Management: Taking ownership of managing key relationships and effective communication with JV and strategic partners.
  • CAPEX Management: Managing sizeable CAPEX projects and responsible for monitoring CAPEX budgeting and expenditures.
  • Cross-functional Liaison: Liaising with finance, legal, and investment teams on asset management initiatives and progress.
  • Performance Communication: Clearly communicating asset performance to investors on a quarterly and annual basis.
  • Operational Oversight: Ensuring operational requirements are met at all times.
  • Stakeholder Coordination: Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders including real estate consultants.
  • Financial Review: Review cash flows against annual budgets set and ensure these are managed effectively.
  • Leasing Expertise: Experience in commercial/retail leasing and asset management for a sizeable portfolio in China.
  • Performance Enhancement: Demonstrate a track record in driving asset performance and ideally experience gained working in a real estate group.

3. Asset Manager Responsibilities

  • Investment Supervision: Assisting, supervising the standing investments (Buildings).
  • Leasing Support: Maintaining, supporting continuously the (quantity and quality) leasing up of the Buildings.
  • Manager Supervision: Supervising the commercial and technical manager of the Buildings.
  • Management Control: Controlling an effective commercial and technical management of the Buildings.
  • Legal Management: Preparing and managing legal issues relating to the Buildings, excluding legal services.
  • Reporting: Preparing reports defined by the employer and the Building's owners within a given period.
  • Maintenance Planning: Planning, managing, and organizing the maintenance and midterm (3-5 years) investments regarding the (value) saving of the Buildings.
  • Contract Management: Working out and maintaining tenancy contracts/relations.
  • Budget Participation: Contributing and participating in the budgeting and valuation process.
  • Tenant Relations: Continuous contact with the tenants, maintenance of the tenant relationship.
  • Capital Improvements: Scope, design, budget, and on-time completion of capital improvements in conjunction with and with the support of the internal M&C Construction Team.
  • After-Hours Monitoring: Understand that Asset Management requires after-hours monitoring and accessibility.
  • Strategic Decision-Making: Determine how to proceed in partnership with the property and convey the issues to the Executive Team in a timely manner.
  • Supply Chain Enhancement: Play a pivotal role, in ensuring we have robust supply chain processes in place to accommodate aggressive growth plans.

4. Asset Manager Job Summary

  • Opportunity Identification: Identify opportunities for improvement, value creation, and any issues that may require additional action.
  • Valuation Review: Perform asset-level valuation reviews.
  • Market Analysis: Gather market data, review property performance, and measure each asset against its budgets and goals.
  • Relationship Building: Develop positive working relationships both internally and externally (co-workers, clients, third-party property managers, consultants, and service providers).
  • Industry Engagement: Be an active participant in local industry organizations.
  • Leasing and Negotiation: Be involved in brand sourcing, negotiating new lettings, and the legal process up to occupation and exchange.
  • Retailer Relationships: Foster relationships with new retailers and brands.
  • Tenant Strategy: Support and develop ongoing tenant mix strategies and ideas across precincts.
  • Strategy Implementation: Develop and implement value-add strategies.
  • Agency Coordination: Support the management and coordination of external leasing agencies and reporting.

5. Asset Manager Accountabilities

  • Strategic Leadership: Provide strategic direction and operational support for a diverse commercial and multifamily portfolio.
  • Investment Analysis: Work in partnership with the President/CEO and Head of Finance on underwriting and due diligence efforts for new multifamily and commercial investment opportunities.
  • Operational Guidance: Provide direction to property managers regarding the development and successful execution of operating budgets, capital investment plans, leasing/marketing plans, cost control strategies, risk management strategies, and significant operational items with the goal of increasing/maximizing value.
  • Exit Strategy Development: Develop and communicate strategic recommendations regarding optimal exit strategies.
  • Disposition Coordination: Work with the disposition team to coordinate and execute successful asset dispositions.
  • Project Management Oversight: Engage and direct construction project managers in the planning, budgeting, and execution of capital projects.
  • Construction Management: Manage internal construction resources and outside contractors to renovate and improve individual assets.
  • Property Oversight: On occasion and sometimes with CEO, visit all properties within the portfolio on a regular basis to oversee the operations and on-site staff.
  • Financial Analysis: Review financial reporting and variance analyses and coordinate with accounting personnel to ensure that financial statements are accurately presented.
  • Compliance Inspection: Perform property inspections to monitor performance and compliance with approved business plans and policies.

6. Asset Manager Functions

  • Strategic Planning: Develop a strategic business plan for each property and provide guidance/oversight on operating budgets and cap-ex plans to meet or exceed business plans.
  • Capital Improvement Management: Identify, develop, and implement capital improvement plans and value strategies for each property.
  • Budget Oversight: Oversee the annual budget process and approval.
  • Financial Analysis: Analyze and monitor the financial performance of properties including financial modeling, review of monthly financials, benchmarking to budget, and collaborating with management in executing business plans.
  • Value Optimization: Act swiftly to address budget variances, fully understand the economics of a deal, and continuously seek to optimize value.
  • Cash Flow Management: Identify and update the cash position for each property to evaluate investor distributions.
  • Cost Savings Initiatives: Analyze trends and make recommendations to initiate cost savings, increase income, and mitigate risk.
  • Investment Analysis: Understand underwriting, deal structure, investment levels, waterfalls, value strategy, and primary risks/opportunities of an investment/project.
  • Compliance Monitoring: Ensure loan covenants are monitored and complied with.
  • Reporting Excellence: Draft timely, detailed, and accurate reporting by analyzing relevant information and extracting data from multiple sources for both internal use and external investor reporting on a quarterly and annual basis.

7. Asset Manager Job Description

  • Refinance Support: Assist throughout the refinance and/or disposition processes.
  • Financial Analysis: Complete sales/refinance analysis to make recommendations to the investment committee.
  • Due Diligence Participation: Involvement in the due diligence process and underwriting for prospective multifamily investments.
  • Market Research: Conduct property, market, and industry analysis.
  • Ownership Liaison: Serve as the primary liaison between ownership and 3rd party property management.
  • Budget Oversight: Ensure property management is operating to the budget and is responsible for the property managers' performance.
  • Leasing Monitoring: Monitor the leasing and marketing of the property.
  • Occupancy Guidance: Provide guidance to property management on occupancy issues and advise on changes to rental rates and offered concessions.
  • Marketing Review: Review property marketing materials.
  • Market Analysis: Seek market data and assess comparable properties on a regular basis.

8. Overview Asset Manager Roles

  • Digital Asset Management: Manage the existing and incoming digital assets consisting of photography, created imagery, and associated support assets in the client's custom internal DAM application.
  • Metadata Accuracy: Create new records, fix existing records, adding accurate metadata to all.
  • Retouching Coordination: Create, vet, and revise instructions for Retouchers across all JIRA system retouching requests (hundreds every year).
  • File Reconciliation: Reconciling files (renaming, deleting dupes, scanning, etc.) and then tagging all of the files in the database with the Jira ticket number.
  • Quality Assurance: Compare layered Photoshop files against the digital reference library to determine if the correct finish reference was used, matched correctly, and if the background used was correct for the brand, done in Jira.
  • Budget Tracking: Track the estimates and actual expenses for all Jira tickets via a Smartsheet database.
  • Interdepartmental Liaison: Liaise across multiple departments to ensure the accuracy of metadata in several database portals that share data.
  • Database Management: Update and prioritize, the database Bug and Development Enhancement Lists, and work with the Development department to make sure they understand the fixes or enhancements, and how they should work for the users.
  • Data Standardization: Create ‘master’ value lists for the database including collections, finishes, and more.

9. Asset Manager Details and Accountabilities

  • Service Program Development: Continue the development of a high-performing and operationally excellent building and workplace service support program (Maximo).
  • Safety Compliance: Ensure a safe work environment is maintained through adherence to environmental and health safety guidelines, compliance, and policies.
  • Regulatory Review: Ensure timely review of GMP / regulated records and that work is performed accurately and in compliance with GMP, QSR, CLIA, and regulations.
  • Documentation Management: Maintain GMP files for building equipment and instrument data, work orders, service reports, calibration certificates, and related documentation; execute good documentation practices.
  • Procurement Collaboration: Collaborate with Procurement and Facilities in procurement and maintenance partnerships with OEMs and maintenance vendors to maximize service levels and efficiencies for lab systems management.
  • Vendor Management: Maintain vendor relationships and support the development and execution of laboratory and EHS training for onsite or external service technicians and OEM personnel.
  • Instrumentation Support: Support installation, repair, and troubleshooting for a wide range of instrumentation and laboratory equipment used by all functions in a CLIA, QSR, and GMP environment.

10. Asset Manager Tasks

  • On-Call Support: Support on-call on a rotational basis.
  • Maintenance System Development: Assist with initiating, developing, and maintaining the maintenance and calibration work orders and spare parts inventory systems, request notification system, and the asset management and risk-based preventive maintenance system, ensuring work is performed in accordance with established procedures.
  • Data Reporting Support: Provide support to the Laboratory and Finance groups in the management and creation of data reports and metrics.
  • Asset Management Adherence: Assist in the development of, and adherence to, a comprehensive equipment lifecycle asset management.
  • SOP Development: Create and revise applicable SOPs and Work Plans.
  • EMS Proficiency: Become proficient in working with the EMS (Environmental Monitoring System) and the Alarm response program.
  • Flexible Availability: Maintain availability to work outside of a regularly scheduled shift.
  • Property Assessment: Visit properties no less than 3-4 times a year, and transitional properties may require more frequent travel. 
  • Operational Excellence Impact: Make an impact by supporting a company-wide initiative to implement Operational Excellence and continuous improvement programs.
  • Cultural Integration: Enjoy a family-oriented culture that stretches back four generations, including work-life balance and a great partnership between leadership and employees.
  • Property Assessment: Assess the general physical condition of the building systems, housekeeping, and grounds.
  • Staff Evaluation: Confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of property site staff.