Public pension funds have been big investors in real estate over the past 25 years, but what´s the future for these pools of capital? Corporate pension plans are steadily getting replaced by 401K alternatives which reduce company expenses and put investment decision making into the hands of employees. Companies spin 401Ks as their pension plan, but let´s face it, they are poor substitute for beneficiaries, who don´t have the expertise to manage their investments and can´t protect themselves against losses when markets tank. The notion of a guaranteed pension for many corporate employees is disappearing.
Public employees, meanwhile, hold onto their defined benefit pensions (read that guaranteed) as long as their unions can bully state and local politicians into keeping them in place. Every time a contract negotiation takes place, the union approach is--You want our members´ support in the next election, don´t mess with our plan. For decades, politicians had been free and easy with giving the store away to unions on pensions since the bills wouldn´t come due until well after they left office. That´s why we have government workers still retiring in their mid 40s on full pensions.
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Jonathan D. Miller
A marketing communication strategist who turned to real estate analysis, Jonathan D. Miller is a foremost interpreter of 21st citistate futures – cities and suburbs alike – seen through the lens of lifestyles and market realities. For more than 20 years (1992-2013), Miller authored Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the leading commercial real estate industry outlook report, published annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has lectures frequently on trends in real estate, including the future of America's major 24-hour urban centers and sprawling suburbs. He also has been author of ULI’s annual forecasts on infrastructure and its What’s Next? series of forecasts. On a weekly basis, he writes the Trendczar blog for GlobeStreet.com, the real estate news website. Outside his published forecasting work, Miller is a prominent communications/institutional investor-marketing strategist and partner in Miller Ryan LLC, helping corporate clients develop and execute branding and communications programs. He led the re-branding of GMAC Commercial Mortgage to Capmark Financial Group Inc. and he was part of the management team that helped build Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Inc. (subsequently Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.) into the leading real estate advisor to pension funds and other real institutional investors. He joined the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. in 1981, moving to Equitable Real Estate in 1984 as head of Corporate/Marketing Communications. In the 1980's he managed relations for several of the country's most prominent real estate developments including New York's Trump Tower and the Equitable Center. Earlier in his career, Miller was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. He is a member of the Citistates Group and a board member of NYC Outward Bound Schools and the Center for Employment Opportunities.
