Day in the life: Serena, Real Estate Management Associate at Blackstone, London
Serena graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Land Economy. After an internship in the investment banking division of UBS in his final year, he joined Blackstone’s London office as an intern in 2018. He became a full-time analyst. in 2019 and was promoted to work in 2021.
7:30AM: My alarm goes off and I begin my morning routine. I will check what emails came in overnight and see if there is anything I need to respond to urgently. I usually run to work with a bag of clothes and shower at the office.
9:15AM: I’m at my desk, checking email and seeing what’s planned for the day ahead. I will respond within the night and check any relevant real estate accounts. Usually, that means reading the FT and React News. We often get requests from clients to help provide property records for their Investment Committee materials so I can talk to the analysts at the acquisition phase. I am in the asset management department overseeing the properties when they are acquired by the sales team and also responsible for selling them (four purchase) of any asset.
10:00AM: I have a weekly phone call with our ground handling company in the Netherlands. We discuss many different issues starting with the development of an office building. We are in the “authorization” phase for an asset, in this case we are waiting for the approval of the local government after receiving approval in the model and development plan a few weeks ago. We will also discuss the rental plan for a unit that will soon be available. We identify which brokers we should use to purchase the asset and what the lease price and incentives are, especially in the environment. present. We also discuss how this affects the returns we see on our investments. We are visiting Amsterdam next week to see how the development is progressing and have a meeting with local lawyers and banks so we will also discuss the way forward. Besides the offices in the Netherlands, I cover the logistics assets in the UK.
11:00AM: My next piece of business is an internal meeting where we discuss our projects for the week ahead. This includes working with the company on content for an upcoming board meeting that they will present to senior staff in the London office (the New York team often participates via zoom and the meeting is sometimes held if the company is far away).
12:00PM: I will spend 30 minutes answering any emails that come in, sending quick responses and flagging anything that needs a thorough response for later.
12:30PM: Usually, I go out and get some food from a nearby restaurant. Depending on the weather, I will eat out in Berkeley Square or in the office kitchen. If it’s a busy day, I’ll eat at my desk.
1:00PM: Twice a quarter we have our general group meeting. We present our deals to senior members of the team in New York and do a Q&A based discussion on the valuation of the assets we manage, often touching on the macro and market environment.
3:30PM: I’ll take a coffee break and maybe meet up with my teacher to talk about how my work is going and long-term career plans or any questions I may have. there.
4:00PM: I have an “all-round” phone call with foreign lawyers and banks on a transaction. My job involves a lot of interaction with other companies and I’m often on the phone or in contact with top players in the business.
5:00PM: Meetings are dismissed and I will return to my core analytical work. I would say 80% in Excel and 20% in PowerPoint. During this time, I will work on the models but I may be caught in emails or sometimes call the teams responsible for property management to check some information.
6:00PM: The office orders food from various restaurants in London. Most of the younger people eat in the office with their friends and chat, which is a very pleasant experience.
9.00PM: I usually finish work and get a taxi home paid for by the company. How busy I am is driven by deals and when work picks up during reporting.
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