Conference Recap: Spector and Rubenstein Lead Keynote Fireside Chat at Battery Gardens

The 32nd annual Cornell Real Estate Conference was held in New York City on Thursday and Friday October 9th and 10th 2014. The annual real estate conference offers current Cornell students, Cornell alumni and other real estate industry professionals an open forum to discuss trends in the industry and an opportunity to network.

This year’s conference was highlighted by a reception at Battery Gardens in Lower Manhattan, followed by a dinner and fireside chat on Thursday evening. The fireside chat featured a question and answer session between Mike Spector, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and David Rubenstein, CEO and co-founder of The Carlyle Group.

Spector covers private equity and has written several features on bankruptcies and restructurings. He has recently focused on the SEC’s scrutiny of private equity fees. Rubenstein is the CEO and co-founder of the Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. Founded in 1987, the Group is headquartered in Washington D.C., has 38 offices globally and has nearly $200 billion of assets under management.

The discussion covered a variety of topics, including interest rates, the Federal Reserve, and the future of real estate investment. Cornelians past and present listened intently as Rubenstein opined on the state of the real estate market. “The Fed has been extremely transparent with interest rates and has said they won’t decide until the middle of next year on what it is they are going to do. I don’t think we will see that large of an increase in interest rates during that time,” explained Rubenstein. He continued to discuss the state of the economy and focused on issues such as unemployment, housing supply and demand, and the cyclical nature of real estate.

The conversation ended with Rubenstein discussing the state of private equity and his philanthropic endeavors. Specifically, Rubenstein addressed the alteration of the typical private equity retail investor, the rise in co-investment in private equity, diversification of private equity firm investment strategies, the impact of SEC regulation on private equity fees, and his most recent charitable contributions for the restoration and preservation of historic US documents.

“We were really fortunate to be able to hear from David Rubenstein. He was very impressive. Was as Baker students were lucky to be exposed to many of his ideas. It was also amazing to be able to sit next to other top people in real estate while listening to Rubenstein speak,” said Martin Moser (Baker ’16).

Rubenstein and Spector covered a gamut of topics across real estate, the economy and personal philanthropy. The Cornellians in attendance were privileged to be able to enjoy dinner in Battery Gardens while hearing the thoughts of one of the most influential economic leaders in the country.

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