Excerpted from the December 31, 2000 issue of Realty Stock Review
© 2000, Realty Stock Review

Shining Stars

Since 1992, Realty Stock Review has recognized the industry’s leading analysts and CEOs at its annual awards breakfast, held in the fall of each year at the annual NAREIT convention. In 1999, Realty Stock Review added an award recognizing the industry’s best CFOs. And based on this year’s vote tally, a special award was given at the 2000 annual NAREIT meeting (this past October in Washington, D.C.) to Sam Zell in recognition of what voters called “his tireless and considerable efforts on behalf of REITs”—in his role as NAREIT chairman for the past two years, as well as before he assumed that role, and since he formally turned over the association’s reins to Warren E. “Ned” Spieker at the fall meeting.

Ever since we began handing out the awards in 1992, the buy-side analyst awards have been dominated by analysts from Green Street Advisors. Based in Newport Beach, California, the firm, founded more than a decade ago by Jon Fosheim and Mike Kirby, focuses solely on REITs and other property-linked stocks. This year’s top three vote-getters in the buy-side analyst category were John Lutzius, Mike Kirby, and Craig Leupold. Said one voter, “Green Street’s take on things has been so woven into the fabric of REIT analysis that it’s impossible to find an investor who hasn’t been influenced by their work.”

This year—as last year—an honorable mention went to Fred Carr of the Boston-based Penobscot Group. Voters singled out Carr and his firm for providing a slightly different take on things. Said one voter, “Penobscot’s heavy focus on the underlying real estate fundamentals, as well as its use of other than off-the-shelf metrics, makes the firm’s reports a must-read forinstitutions that invest in the sector.”