Key Takeaways
- • Real estate fundraising continues a negative trend despite 2024 transaction value rebounds, as LPs systematically favor established asset managers over emerging players amid a three-year monetary-tightening cycle that is now easing.
- • November 2024 saw 22 real estate fund launches (13 debut funds), while December 2024 recorded 15 debut fund launches with 8 new entrants, demonstrating sustained activity in emerging manager formation despite capital headwinds.
- • Opportunistic and value-add strategies attracted the most capital in 2024, while core funds gained traction as GPs redesigned portfolios with niche assets to reduce investor redemptions; real estate debt launched by new asset managers increased as traditional lenders retreated.
- • AG Paratus, founded by James Gabriel (former Guggenheim Partners VP) and Scott Avram (ex-Lightstone), launched in New York to specialize in debt and equity special situation investments across residential, commercial, and hospitality developments.
Summary
The real estate fundraising environment in 2025 presents a paradox: while transaction values rebounded in 2024 and interest rate cuts from major central banks have accelerated capital markets activity, emerging managers continue facing structural headwinds in capital deployment. According to data tracked by With Intelligence, LPs have maintained a strong preference for established asset managers at the expense of first-time fundraisers, creating a persistently difficult environment for emerging players to differentiate themselves.
The landscape reveals distinct strategic preferences among investors. Opportunistic and value-add strategies captured the majority of available capital throughout 2024, reflecting LP appetite for higher-risk, higher-return profiles. Core funds have experienced a resurgence, but with a notable twist: GPs have begun redefining core portfolios to incorporate niche assets as a mechanism to reduce investor redemptions and improve retention. Simultaneously, real estate debt has emerged as a growth area, with numerous asset managers launching debt products for the first time as traditional lenders have quietly withdrawn from the credit space, creating a vacuum that emerging platforms are beginning to fill.
Despite these headwinds, emerging manager activity remained robust in late 2024. With Intelligence tracked 22 fund launches in November 2024 spanning real estate equity and credit, of which 13 were first-time funds. December 2024 continued this momentum with 15 debut fund launches, eight of which represented new entrants to the market. This indicates that experienced operators continue to see opportunity in launching independent platforms despite the challenging fundraising environment for debut managers.
Among notable emerging managers to watch, AG Paratus represents a representative example of industry veterans launching independent ventures. Launched in New York, AG Paratus was founded by James Gabriel, a former vice president at Guggenheim Partners, alongside Scott Avram, who previously worked at Lightstone. The firm will focus on debt and equity special situation investments across residential and commercial developments, including the hospitality sector—a strategy positioning the team to capitalize on dislocated assets and distressed opportunities that traditionally attract institutional capital during periods of market transition.
The landscape reveals distinct strategic preferences among investors. Opportunistic and value-add strategies captured the majority of available capital throughout 2024, reflecting LP appetite for higher-risk, higher-return profiles. Core funds have experienced a resurgence, but with a notable twist: GPs have begun redefining core portfolios to incorporate niche assets as a mechanism to reduce investor redemptions and improve retention. Simultaneously, real estate debt has emerged as a growth area, with numerous asset managers launching debt products for the first time as traditional lenders have quietly withdrawn from the credit space, creating a vacuum that emerging platforms are beginning to fill.
Despite these headwinds, emerging manager activity remained robust in late 2024. With Intelligence tracked 22 fund launches in November 2024 spanning real estate equity and credit, of which 13 were first-time funds. December 2024 continued this momentum with 15 debut fund launches, eight of which represented new entrants to the market. This indicates that experienced operators continue to see opportunity in launching independent platforms despite the challenging fundraising environment for debut managers.
Among notable emerging managers to watch, AG Paratus represents a representative example of industry veterans launching independent ventures. Launched in New York, AG Paratus was founded by James Gabriel, a former vice president at Guggenheim Partners, alongside Scott Avram, who previously worked at Lightstone. The firm will focus on debt and equity special situation investments across residential and commercial developments, including the hospitality sector—a strategy positioning the team to capitalize on dislocated assets and distressed opportunities that traditionally attract institutional capital during periods of market transition.
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