From Acquisition to Management and Exit: The Perspectives Required in Asset Management
In the field of real estate asset management, diverse decisions are required at each phase—acquisition, operation, and divestment. While relying on data and logic, the team’s expertise and experience are invaluable in crafting the optimal strategy for each project.
Cushman & Wakefield
Investment Management Division
Senior Manager, Investment Management Group
Certified Master by the Real Estate Securitization Association
Marina Takaoka
Rationally maximizing asset value. What is the role of asset management?
What exactly does asset management entail?
Takaoka (hereinafter referred to as “T”): Asset management is a specialized profession that involves investing funds entrusted by investors into real estate, generating stable returns, and ultimately selling the properties to maximize profits. We sometimes purchase existing properties and other times develop new ones. Our clients are primarily foreign-affiliated funds, and the properties we handle vary widely, including residential, office, logistics, and data center facilities.Some clients seek stable returns, while others aim for high returns, so we propose properties and management strategies tailored to each client’s needs while taking into account the risks associated with development and leasing.
At our company, we divide asset management operations into three phases: entry (acquisition), ongoing management, and exit (disposition), and I am responsible for the ongoing management phase. In this role, I handle leasing strategies to ensure stable operations and manage cash flow with an eye toward the exit.In addition, ongoing management tasks are divided into “property-related” and “SPC-related” responsibilities. Property-related staff handle repair plans for the properties themselves and monitor leasing progress, while SPC-related staff manage the SPCs ( s) and structures that serve as investment vehicles, as well as numerical aspects such as revenue and cash flow generated from the properties. I am primarily responsible for SPC-related tasks.
Could you tell us about your career so far?
It has been 10 years since I started working in real estate, and I have about four years of experience in asset management. Prior to that, I was involved in consulting work related to property management and asset management. Both of these roles were closely related to asset management, and I feel that the experience and knowledge I gained back then are definitely being put to good use in my current work.
One of the reasons I was drawn to asset management is its “rationality.” Of course, since we deal with real estate, there are many situations where people’s feelings and values come into play, but I find the unique appeal of this job in the fact that decisions are ultimately made based on numbers and logic.
An organizational structure that allows me to deepen my expertise
Why did you choose Cushman & Wakefield (C&W)?
I was involved in asset management at my previous job as well, but since my former company’s core business was consulting, I chose C&W because I could be more deeply involved in larger projects.
I was worried because I’m not very good at English, but many of the people in our asset management roles come from Japanese companies, and depending on the project, there aren’t actually that many opportunities to speak English during daily work. However, since you do encounter English in contract documents and emails, you might struggle a bit if you’re very resistant to it.
What gaps did you notice after joining the company?
Since this was my first time working at a foreign-affiliated company, I had imagined a demanding work environment before joining, but in reality, the work-life balance is well-established, and I feel it’s a reassuring place to work. There are many employees in the Asset Management department who are raising children, and I think it’s a workplace with a deep understanding of childcare. A culture of naturally supporting one another while respecting each other’s circumstances is deeply rooted here.
My role in mid-term management is not primarily field-based; instead, I often hold meetings with clients—such as investors, professionals, and financial institutions—online, and I also take advantage of remote work. Generally, one account manager is assigned to each client , but a backup manager is always designated, and my supervisor is constantly aware of the situation, so I never have to shoulder the workload alone.
Additionally, work is divided into phases—onboarding, mid-term management, and closing—and multiple people are involved in each project. While information sharing is essential for this division of labor, the open and communicative environment ensures that I never feel stressed about coordination. I feel that a workplace where this kind of structure and work-life balance can coexist is truly valuable.
Gaining Experience and Becoming a Consistent Manager
Could you tell us about a project that left a strong impression on you?
It was a data center development project. It was my first time working with data centers as an asset class on a full-scale basis. Furthermore, since the investors and lenders were foreign firms and the structure was complex, there were many issues to consider, and I struggled greatly with the coordination. However, being able to proceed with the support of my supervisor—who had a background in foreign banks and was well-versed in the data center market—proved to be a major source of support. It was also a tremendous learning experience and an opportunity for growth.This project also reaffirmed how reassuring it is that C&W has members with diverse backgrounds and a system in place to pool our expertise as needed for each project.
In recent years, interest in data center investments has surged against the backdrop of rapidly expanding AI demand, but there are very few real estate firms capable of handling such projects on a fund-style basis, including asset management. C&W is recognized by industry stakeholders as one of these few players, and our research department also publishes reports on the data center market.I believe that it is precisely because we possess this specialized expertise and infrastructure that we are able to tackle new asset types and expand the scope of our projects—a strength unique to C&W.
Could you share your outlook for the future?
The projects I’m currently working on don’t follow a set “template”; each one has different circumstances and objectives, so the support we provide is always tailored to the specific needs. Furthermore, the assets that attract attention and the decisions required change depending on market conditions, interest rate trends, and the lending stance of financial institutions. Gaining experience in this environment has broadened the range of options I can propose, and the roles I play within the team—as well as the expectations placed on me—have gradually evolved.
Going forward, my goal is to expand my scope beyond the operational phase to include acquisition activities—the entry point of the process—so that I can gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire cycle from acquisition through operation to exit, and become a professional capable of flexibly handling even highly complex projects.
