MIAMI—The CRE Finance Council's January 2014 Conference was wall to wall with commercial real estate professionals looking for insight into the state of the finance industry. The conference, which promised to address the most relevant topics facing the industry today and presented by recognized finance leaders, did not disappoint.

After a continental networking breakfast at the famous Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, attendees flooded into the opening session with keynote speakers Jonathan Pollack, managing director for Deutsche Bank and Steve Witkoff, CEO of The Witkoff Group. That was followed by a panel entitled, “Best Investment Ideas: High Yield, Investment-Grade, Direct Property."

Panelists, including representatives from Hines, NorthStar Realty Finance Corp., American Realty Capital, and Hartford Investment Management Co., discussed how big the opportunity is for 2016 and 2017. They also tackled the rush to find debt deals, the retail market for private assets, and how far they are willing to go for yield.