The new entity plans to tap 20 national markets this year. TAG has 16 employees, led by its three principals, Evan D. Jennings, J. Christopher Spain and Larry C. Orr. Cole Whitaker is the operating partner in the firm's Orlando office. Len Helbig, C&W president, financial services, will oversee the group's operations.

Over the last two years, the combined sales of multifamily properties of the two companies was more than $2 billion. There are advantages for both firms in merging their operations. The Apartment Group, well-known in the Southeast, has instant access to a national market, while C&W can take TAG's successful business model and apply it nationally.

The timing of the merger was critical. "Apartment ownership plays an increasingly important role in institutional portfolios," says Bruce E. Mosler, president of C&W's U.S. operations in a news release. As an example, Mosler notes locally-based Lend Lease, a C&W client and one of largest pension advisory companies in the nation, plans to purchase $1 billion in apartments this year.