Real estate investment management firms are growing again — but growing faster hasn’t made the job easier. That’s the core tension in the newly released 2026 Global Management Survey (GMS) from NAREIM and Ferguson Partners, now in its 18th year and drawing on responses from 79 firms across strategies, sizes, and geographies.
Key stats at a glance:
- Median firm AUM grew 5% year over year, the second consecutive year of growth
- Two-thirds of same-store participants increased net assets
- 82% of firms expect acquisition volumes to rise again in 2026
- 59% of firms reported rising expenses, versus only 46% reporting revenue growth
- The majority of firms saw profitability decline in 2025
“The data paints a clear picture of an industry that is growing but working harder to protect its economics. For the second year in a row, the median firm expanded its AUM, yet expenses are rising faster than revenues across a majority of participants.”
— Michelle Yelaska, Vice President, Ferguson Partners
As Yelaska put it, firms can no longer count on revenue growth alone to solve the efficiency problem — the winners in 2026 will be the ones using AI, org design, and smarter role structures to grow AUM faster than their cost base.
Three Organizational Imperatives Shaping 2026
1. AI is moving from the back office into underwriting
- Firms prioritizing AI for investment underwriting and modeling jumped from 8% to 29% year over year — the largest single shift in the survey
- Market research and data aggregation use rose 16 percentage points
- Only 42% of firms have a formal technology governance committee
Most of those committees remain advisory-only, without real decision-making authority
“This tells us that firms can no longer rely on revenue growth alone to solve the efficiency problem. The organizations that will pull ahead are the ones using AI, organizational design, and smarter role structures to grow their AUM faster than their cost base.”
— Michelle Yelaska, Vice President, Ferguson Partners
2. Workloads are outpacing headcount
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3. Succession planning stops at the C-suite
- 57% of firms now have a formal succession planning process
- Just 32% offer formal development programs for mid-level professionals
- The survey calls this an emerging operational risk, not just a talent gap
“What we’re seeing across the industry is a group of firms that have done the work to protect their senior leadership continuity, but haven’t yet extended that discipline one level down. Mid-level professionals are already carrying larger portfolios and being asked to produce more with less support, and yet only about a third of firms are investing in their formal development. That is now an operational risk.”
— Mike Cordingley, Managing Director, Ferguson Partners
Together, the findings describe an industry under pressure to do more with the systems, people, and governance it already has — which is exactly where better data infrastructure, workflow design, and portfolio-level visibility start to matter most.
The Global Management Survey 2026 Survey (GMS) is an annual benchmarking study, produced by NAREIM and Ferguson Partners, that tracks management practices across the real estate investment management and private equity industry. The 2026 edition is its 18th year and includes responses from 79 firms.
The median firm grew net AUM by 5% year over year for the second straight year, and 82% of firms expect acquisition volumes to rise in 2026. However, 59% of firms reported rising expenses against only 46% reporting revenue growth, and most respondents saw profitability decline in 2025.
AI adoption is shifting from administrative support toward core investment functions. The share of firms prioritizing AI for underwriting and modeling rose from 8% to 29% year over year, the largest single shift in the survey. Market research and data aggregation use also grew significantly.
Not fully. Only 42% of firms have a formal technology committee, and most of those committees are advisory only, without decision-making authority. The survey identifies this governance gap as a growing risk as AI plays a larger role in investment decisions.
Headcount growth was flat in 2025, with 41% of firms actually reducing staff. Meanwhile, the median asset manager’s portfolio grew from 13 to 16 properties, and NOI per manager rose from $28 million to $40 million, meaning existing teams are managing significantly more with roughly the same headcount.
Mostly not. While 57% of firms have formal succession plans, those plans are concentrated at the senior leadership level. Just 32% of firms offer formal development programs for mid-level professionals, even though this group is increasingly responsible for larger portfolios and is the natural pipeline for future leadership roles.
The Executive Summary is available to NAREIM members and industry stakeholders, while the full participant report with detailed benchmarking data is available exclusively to survey participants. Firms interested in future participation can contact Michelle Yelaska at Ferguson Partners.
