On September 15th, 2017, the Department of Real Estate, in collaboration with the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC), hosted a workshop entitled CMBS 101: An Introduction to Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities at Baruch College. Though I have had courses regarding advanced structured products before, the workshop itself was very rewarding as I could get this opportunity to see CMBS markets from a different perspective.
The speakers were Constantine Korologos, Managing Director at Berkeley Research Group; and Shari Linnick, Vice President of Client Services at Trepp, LLC.
I was very impressed with the abundant materials that the CMBS workshop provided. This session was delivered in four sections: The CMBS Process, Build-A-Bond, The CMBS Market, and Investors of CMBS. Discussion also included such fundamental concepts as review of the flow of funds, transaction timetable, and subordinate debt. I had been trying to get a better understanding of the CMBS market and how it works, and this workshop went beyond my expectations in providing a thorough explanation of CMBS.
In addition to learning about the fundamentals of CMBS capital markets, I enjoyed hearing about the panelists’ personal experiences working in the CMBS markets. Constantine’s discussion of his personal experience during the financial crisis was very eye-opening. Through his stories, we received firsthand accounts of how the crisis hit the global capital markets a decade ago. It was also extremely interesting to witness the history of CMBS regulations, as such information is critical when researching current CMBS capital markets.
An important takeaway from this workshop was Shari and Constantine’s reflections on job opportunities in the CMBS world. I learned that students who are interested in the CMBS industry don’t necessarily need to break into big banks to get in the door; other job opportunities at rating agencies and buy-side shops can also be decent opportunities for graduates looking for entry level positions.
I’m extremely grateful to Baruch College and CREFC for giving me this opportunity to find out more about commercial mortgage-backed securities. Workshops like this are greatly beneficial in helping graduate students like me prepare for our future career searches.
– Shuo Wang, MS in Real Estate