Field reports from our real estate holdings
Find out here what it's like to work in the team from Investment and Asset Management, Portfolio Management and other departments in Union Investment's Real Estate division.
Lennart Brockelmann, Portfolio Manager UniImmo:Global
A team player with an affinity for numbers
"As a portfolio manager, I work in fund management and support the fund manager of UniImmo: Global in managing the real estate portfolio. After my training as a banker, I studied business administration with a focus on finance, management and marketing in Hamburg and Lisbon. As I completed my training at a cooperative bank, I was already familiar with Union Investment and the real estate mutual funds. During my master's degree, I then worked for nine months as a student trainee at the company, so I already got to know numerous colleagues. So I knew what to expect - and it was correspondingly easy for me to get started.
My tasks include developing options for action for the fund and working closely with Asset and Investment Management or Fund Support. I am responsible for fund and budget planning and provide support in property structuring in relation to acquisitions and in the portfolio, as well as in liquidity and currency management of the fund assets. If the fund manager has other appointment commitments, I also represent him at sales events.
I find it particularly exciting to be actively involved in the strategic development and management of the real estate portfolio, be it in acquisitions and sales or the further development of individual properties, while always keeping an eye on the overall performance of the fund. The interaction between the many departments in this area is sometimes challenging and requires team spirit and good communication. The wide range of topics also makes my job very varied. This gives me the opportunity to get to know all types of usage in many different countries, including outside Europe.
What I particularly appreciate at Union Investment is that, despite all the striving for success, people are always in the foreground and mistakes are also allowed to happen once in a while. There is a very cooperative working relationship, which makes the working atmosphere here very pleasant."
Jan Ostrowski, Fund Advisor
With attention to detail, the big picture always in view
Before joining Union Investment, I worked as a banker in various positions at Hamburger Sparkasse and applied to Union Investment in search of a new challenge. At that time, HASPA already had over 5,000 employees and Union Investment (in 1992 it was still DIFA AG) only about 100. That excited me, financial services in a small team. I am still happy to have changed after almost 30 years and appreciate the opportunity to work in different areas within one company.
As a fund advisor, I support the fund and portfolio management for our real estate mutual funds. To do this, I need to know our various real estate fund products in detail and how they differ or have things in common. My tasks include preparing meaningful fund analyses and also yield analyses for funds. In our area, the individual components of the value chain are shown, various options for action are analyzed, and actual/actual and planned/actual comparisons of all asset positions are made. Parts of the results then have to be prepared for the management, so it is of course important to know all wishes and needs in advance. We are also the contact for product management and answer all incoming inquiries as quickly as possible. At the same time, we always have to keep in mind what is important for sales and which topics we should report on to the consultants.
Being involved in all issues along the value chain of a fund product makes my job very varied, and in the management and planning processes it is important to keep an overview. We work across funds on complex interrelationships and data structures with the aim of capturing, analyzing and presenting the character of the fund product. This requires an eye for detail, which not everyone likes, but I enjoy it. I find it particularly exciting that the launch of new fund products in combination with a currently very volatile investment market constantly raises new questions, which also makes it necessary to adapt our internal processes. This requires a very forward-looking and precise way of working.
Before and after work, I spend a lot of time doing sports. Swimming, hiking, cycling, yoga, skiing - it doesn't matter, the main thing is exercise, preferably in the fresh air. However, my passion belongs to horse riding, this time-consuming hobby I am very attached to since my youth.
Dr. Anke Jurleit, Senior Project Manager Real Estate Project Management
Curiosity, trust and fun - values that are also priority in my private life.
Joining Union Investment was both easy and exciting. Simple, because after many years of professional experience as a planner, consultant and in the role of client representative, I know what matters in the planning and construction process. My name is Dr. Anke Jurleit, I am a senior project manager in the field of real estate project management and I am excited by the variety of project tasks in the supervision of my properties, mainly in Finland and Austria.
You definitely have to be curious at Union Investment. Only then do you manage to take on the diverse tasks that you encounter over time. It starts with the underground renovation of an office tower and ends with the technical support of transactions. In order to master these tasks, I have to know who can solve which subtasks and at the same time keep an overview as a generalist. Managing buildings over their entire life cycle and thus facing new challenges such as taxonomy is as complex as our buildings today.
At the beginning of my career at Union Investment, I was particularly impressed by the transaction rounds in the acquisition of buildings. It is complex to reconcile the various stakeholders - from investment management to asset management - and thus to get a holistic picture of the interests in a property. It's really fun to make a contribution to this and to pick up the colleagues again and again.
The fun factor is the result of a lot of collegiality and trust in our department. The great passion to drive new topics forward is encouraged, requires curiosity and is part of the culture in the company.