9th Annual Real Estate Canada Forum
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The 9th Annual Real Estate Canada Forum is a local peer education-focused event exclusively for Canada’s investor community to benchmark and learn about institutional and private wealth real estate allocation strategies.
This closed door one-day forum will bring together public and corporate pension plans, endowments, foundations, insurance portfolios, healthcare plans, investment consultants, HNW wealth managers, and private banks.

OUR SPEAKERS
Speakers

Citie Velazquez
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Head of Real Estate Portfolio Management
As Head of Real Estate Portfolio Management at Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan, Citie Velazquez oversees a $30 billion+ global portfolio. She leads portfolio composition and capital allocation across multiple regions and asset classes. Citie also plays a critical role in investment performance, value creation, and developing real estate's long-term strategy. Citie is an award-winning professional with over 15 years of real estate experience. Her experience includes senior leadership finance positions at Dream, Cadillac Fairview and, most recently, Head of Real Estate Finance at OTPP.

Brandon Perra
Mercer
Principal, Co-Head of Real Estate, North America
Brandon Perra is a Principal within Mercer Alternatives Real Estate Team. He joined Pavilion Advisory Group in 2018, which was acquired by Mercer later that year. Mr. Perra is responsible for leading Canadian Real Estate research and with assisting North American investors with their Real Estate portfolio needs. Mr. Perra is also responsible for supporting portfolio management and investment analysis on behalf of Mercer’s dedicated real estate solution within Mercer’s Private Investment Partners (“PIP”). Previously, Mr. Perra worked in the field consulting group where he was responsible for manager monitoring, performance reporting, manager searches and asset allocation projects. Brandon Perra is a CFA Charterholder.

Caroline Rauhala
AIMCo
Portfolio Manager, Mortgage Investments
Caroline is a Portfolio Manager on the Mortgage Investments team at the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo). She is responsible for growing and managing AIMCo’s Canadian, U.S. and European mortgage portfolios, on behalf of AIMCo’s clients. Caroline has over a decade of experience in construction and commercial mortgage lending, portfolio risk management and private mortgage investments. She completed her Bachelor of Arts at Queen’s University and is a graduate of the MBA program at the Schulich School of Business.

Jamie Manley
QuadReal
Executive Vice President, Canadian Investments Toronto

Donald Chu
Presbyterian Church of Canada
Member - Board of Trustees and Investment Advisory Committee
Donald is a seasoned capital market professional with deep expertise in credit, investments and risk management. His work experience would include time at TD Bank, S&P Global Ratings, OMERS and CDIC. Aside from the Presbyterian Church, Donald is involved with family offices where he leads board governance and helps to optimize investment portfolio performance, business strategy and enterprise risk management. Donald is a CFA Charterholder and he completed his MBA at Queen’s University and BSc (biochemistry) at the University of Toronto.

Alexander Chase
NAV CANADA Pension Plan
Manager, Real Assets
Alex Chase is a real assets investment professional. As Manager of the Real Assets portfolio at the NAV Canada Pension Plan, he oversees investments in infrastructure, real estate, and agriculture. Earlier in his career, Alex worked on public-private partnership (P3) project development across Canada. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Nancy Bertrand
Citi
Global Market Manager, Head of Citi Private Bank, Canada
Nancy joined Citi Private Bank in 2006 and has over 20 years of capital markets experience. She advises ultra high net-worth families, foundations and single family offices on wealth preservation and creation, with a particular focus on alternative and international investments. Previously, Nancy practiced U.S. securities law at the global law firm, Shearman & Sterling LLP specializing in cross-border corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.
Nancy sits on the board of the Golf Association of Ontario. She is a Past President of the Toronto CFA Society and the former Chair of the Governance and Nominations Committee. She was a member of the CFA Institute's Capital Markets Policy Committee and a member of CFA Institute's Global Corporate Governance Task Force. She received her Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2002.

Jim Clayton
York University
Timothy R. Price Chair and Director of the Brookfield Centre in Real Estate & Infrastructure in the Schulich School of Business
Jim Clayton is the Timothy R. Price Chair and Director of the Brookfield Centre in Real Estate & Infrastructure in the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. He joined Schulich in 2018 from global investment manager Barings (formerly Cornerstone), where he was Head of Real Estate Investment Strategy. Previously he was Director of Research at the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), after holding faculty positions at the University of Cincinnati and Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, NS. Jim has a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, an MA from Western Ontario, and BA from Queen’s University.

Julie McMillan
Oxford Properties Group
Senior Vice President, Global Portfolio Management
Julie McMillan is the head of Global Portfolio Management at Oxford Properties and a member of Oxford’s Investment Committee. Julie oversees investment strategy, capital recycling initiatives and portfolio analytics across a diverse global platform. With a decade of experience at Oxford, Julie has held multiple leadership roles spanning valuations, FP&A, Research and Investment Risk. This cross-functional experience has uniquely positioned her to drive data-informed decisions and optimize capital allocation at the enterprise level.

Simon Segall
General Synod Pension Plan
Trustee
Simon Segall is a Trustee of the General Synod Pension Plan where he’s a member of the Asset Mix Committee and ESG Subcommittee. Simon is also a member of the Investment Committee at The Atmospheric Fund. Simon has held senior management, business development and client service positions with Canadian and global asset management firms, including CEO of BNP Paribas Investment Partners Canada. He holds mathematics degrees from the University of Alberta and Stony Brook University.

Tom Keenleyside
Western University
Associate Director – Investments
Tom Keenleyside is Associate Director, Investments at Western University, where he provides support for the management of the University’s Pension Plans and its Operating & Endowment Fund. He has over 25 years of experience in the financial industry and has been with the University since November 2013. His responsibilities include monitoring the University’s external investment managers and providing support for the development and implementation of asset allocation and risk management strategies. He holds a Master of Science degree in Statistics and an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science, both from Western University. He is a fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. Prior to joining Western, Tom provided actuarial support in various roles within the London Life/Great-West Life/Canada Life group of insurance companies.

Abdur Nimeri
West Mountain
Chief Investment Officer
Abdur Nimeri is a highly respected leader in the financial services industry, known for his expertise in private and public market investments. With a career spanning over two decades, he has consistently delivered industry-leading standards of excellence and instilled a culture of innovation in his organizations. As the Chief Investment Officer at UMB Bank, Abdur propelled the success of multiple investment strategies and oversaw the management of over $16 billion in wealth management investment strategies. Prior to this, he held key positions at Northern Trust Corporation, where he provided direction for the design of quantitative global portfolios and executed above-market performance across various strategies. Abdur's extensive experience also includes senior roles at Fannie Mae and Kronos Investments.

Arthur Diochon, CFA, CAIA
BMO Family Office
Head of Alternatives Research
Arthur Diochon has over a decade of experience in the investment industry across all asset classes. As BMO Family Office's Head of Alternative Research, he is responsible for providing insight, support and research on the alternative asset class. These responsibilities include alternative portfolio construction for UHNW clients and maintenance of the Firm’s recommended list and product shelf.

Colton Creber
QuadReal Property Group
Vice President & U.S. West Coast Residential Asset Management Lead

Declan Winston Ramsaran
PANGEA Private Family Offices
Managing Director

Jeff Carrie
Target Benefit Investment Consulting
Institutional Consultant

Jerry Olynuk
Northland Wealth Management
Senior Vice President & Portfolio Manager

Josh Benchetrit
Westcourt Capital
Principal & Portfolio Manager
Josh’s responsibilities include the construction and management of diversified investment portfolios and reviewing investment products for Westcourt’s clients. Josh is registered as a Portfolio Manager (Advising Representative) and a Dealing Representative. Prior to joining Westcourt, Josh was an executive at two of the country’s largest single-family offices, and a member of the Investment Committee. In this role, he was responsible for building the investment framework covering all major asset classes and geographies. Josh started his career working in public accounting for a major accounting firm, primarily focusing on audits of financial services clients. He has also held operational finance positions at various leading businesses. Josh earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from the Schulich School of Business. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder, a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), and holds the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) from the CFA Institute. Josh is married with children and is an avid tennis player.

Kristin Dacey
Bulltick Wealth Management
Chief Investment Officer – Real Estate, Alternatives
Kristin Dacey is Chief Investment Officer – Real Estate, Alternatives at Bulltick, which has a RIA and Broker
Dealer. At Bulltick, she also acts as the fund manager of two real estate fund of funds primarily focused on the US market. Concurrently, she is the Chief Investment Officer for Emprenta, an impact investing group, and on the board for Convision 20/20, a social enterprise
in Mexico. Previously, she spent 8 years in the private sector of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) contributing to over US$2.2 billion in alternatives investments. Kristin also
worked for GE Capital for 7 years where she held progressing roles in credit, portfolio management, and account management participating in the structuring of over 70 real estate,
equipment, cash flow and construction deals comprising over US$2 billion in volume. Kristin
has a Masters from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, an MBA from Arizona
State and BS and BA degrees from Virginia Tech.

Pat Leo
Gallagher
Vice President—Toronto Retirement

Sandeep Kakan
Canada Wide Industrial Pension Plan
Trustee
Sandeep is currently serving as a Trustee on the Canada Wide Industrial Pension Plan Board. He is also the Director of Pension Governance and Trustees and formerly as Director of Pension and Benefits at the Unifor National Office. He brings extensive experience and strategic focus within pension plan governance, risk management, portfolio management, and regulatory compliance. Mr Kakan advocates for retirement security and has represented worker and retiree interests at Parliamentary Senate committee hearings on pension reform. He has served on the Technical Advisory Committee at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). Sandeep graduated from Oxford Brookes University with an MSc. He also holds the CEBS and FLMI designation and serves on two other separate Boards as a fiduciary.



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Our Sponsors
Gold Sponsors

CBIZ
CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) is a publicly traded, leading professional services advisor to middle market businesses and organizations nationwide. With unmatched industry knowledge and expertise in accounting, tax, advisory, benefits, insurance and technology, CBIZ delivers forward-thinking insights and actionable solutions to help you anticipate next steps and accelerate growth. We help your organization navigate challenges, turn risk into opportunity and drive sustainable, long-term excellence — where you are today and wherever you want to grow. Our 10,000+ team members across 160+ locations in 21 major markets provide top-tier industry expertise with local delivery, relationships and support.

DWS Group
DWS Group (DWS) with EUR 1,012bn of assets under management (as of 12/31/2024) aspires to be one of the world's leading asset managers. We offer individuals and institutions access to our strong investment capabilities across all major liquid and illiquid asset classes as well as solutions aligned to growth trends. Our diverse expertise in Active, Passive and Alternatives asset management complement each other when creating targeted solutions for our clients.

Rockwood Capital
Rockwood Capital is a privately held real estate investment management firm founded in 1995 that provides equity capital combined with real estate operating expertise for the repositioning, recapitalization, development and redevelopment of residential, office, research and development, retail and hotel space in key markets throughout the United States. Rockwood and its principals have invested on behalf of their clients approximately $28.4 billion of real estate through ten value-add vehicles and ten separate accounts. Today, Rockwood is a 76 person organization with offices in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Los Angeles, CA that manages a portfolio of approximately $3.4 billion of net equity value in approximately $6.8 billion of gross real estate value as of 6/30/2018. Rockwood’s investors include public and private pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, fund of funds, high net worth individuals and family offices.

TD Global Investment Solutions
TD Global Investment Solutions (TDGIS) represents the institutional asset management businesses of TD Bank Group (TD) - TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM) and Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. (TD Epoch). We offer investment solutions to a broad range of investors using our deep expertise across real and alternative investments, equities and fixed income. Our independent investment teams maintain their own investment philosophies, giving TDGIS diversity of thought.

Yardi
Yardi is dedicated to the
design, development, and support of real estate investment management and
property management software. We offer full business solutions for every real
estate market, including multifamily, single family, affordable, public, senior
and military housing as well as office, industrial, and retail market segments.
Yardi has the highest commitment to quality, innovation, responsiveness, and
customer focus. With over 40 offices and 6,500 employees worldwide, Yardi is
positioned to help you effectively manage your portfolio more efficiently and
competitively.
Sponsors

Belay Investment Group
Belay
Investment Group, LLC is an institutional investment management firm that
specializes in granular small and middle market real estate opportunities
through the establishment of programmatic partnerships with high-caliber local
and specialized operating partners. The firm pursues equity and debt
opportunities across the risk spectrum, property types, and geographies,
offering its clients scalability and customization. Visit www.belayinvestmentgroup.com
for more information.

Centurion Asset Management Inc.
Centurion Asset Management Inc., founded in 2003, is Canada’s largest private apartment REIT at
over $ 7.5 billion in AUM. The firm owns and operates 160 apartment buildings
and student residences in 43 cities across Canada, which represents over 22,300
rental units. The Centurion Apartment REIT has an annualized rate of return
since its 2009 inception of 12.6%/year, with never a down year.
At average country wide rental vacancy rates of less than 1.5%, Canada
continues to experience one of the world’s largest and most intractable housing
supply demand imbalances. This makes Centurion’s large and expanding portfolio
of rental apartments and student residences a much coveted asset with strong
rental pricing power.

Forum Asset Management
Forum is an investor, developer and asset manager operating across North America for over 28 years, focusing on real estate, private equity and infrastructure, with a strategic concentration in housing. We are committed to creating value that benefits our stakeholders and the communities in which we invest, delivering what we call our Extraordinary Outcomes™ .
The enterprise value of our assets under management currently exceeds $3.1 billion. We're proud to have delivered meaningful alternative asset returns since 2002, while positively impacting over 25,499 lives.

Green Street
Green Street is a real assets company at the forefront of transforming the commercial
real estate market with cutting-edge predictive analytics, data-driven insights, and actionable intelligence. Green Street empowers investors, lenders, banks, and industry stakeholders across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia to make optimized investment and
strategic decisions. By combining robust market research, real-time data, exclusive insights, and expert advisory services, Green Street delivers comprehensive solutions
through an advanced SaaS platform. Our powerful analytics, market foresight, and tailored advisory support equip our clients with the tools to navigate and succeed in the
evolving real estate landscape.

GREYKITE
GREYKITE is an independent European real estate investment firm established in 2023 and headquartered in London. GREYKITE’s approach is rooted in meticulous market research aimed at identifying scalable investment opportunities in a series of high-conviction sectors. Thereafter, GREYKITE seeks to create leading European real estate businesses by either “buying it” or “building it” – utilizing corporate transactions or through strategic asset aggregations. Following acquisition, the Firm drives durable and lasting value enhancement through a combination of active asset management and value creation initiatives at the real estate and corporate levels. GREYKITE was founded on the principles of partnership and collaboration and is committed to creating long-term-value through transparency and strong alignment of interests of internal and external stakeholders.

HVPG
HVPG acquires existing, cash flowing affordable
multifamily rental properties, maintains and extends affordability programs,
and elevates the quality of the housing. Through strategic renovations,
operational efficiencies, improved security measures, community engagement, and
sustainability efforts, HVPG properties perform as better assets, and we
believe, places residents are proud to call home. Beyond addressing the quality
of housing, HVPG enhances services and facilitates access to other local
resources that elevate quality of life. HVPG was founded in 2010 and has
preserved the affordability of over 17,000 units.

Institutional Mortgage Capital
Institutional Mortgage Capital (IMC) is an independent investment firm managing commercial mortgage portfolios across Canada. Established in 2009, IMC serves institutional and private clients, managing over $2.5 billion in assets under administration. Its primary strategies include core (Active Mortgage Fund) and value-add (Real Estate Debt Fund). The objective of IMC’s funds is to deliver consistent and attractive long-term quarterly income to investors using IMC’s 15 years of mortgage structuring expertise.

KingSett Capital
KingSett Capital is the leading Canadian private equity real estate investment business which creates and co-invests in investment solutions to deliver sustainable, premium risk-weighted returns. Founded in 2002 and based in Toronto, KingSett has $18 billion of assets under management.

Macquarie Group
MAM Real Estate are a global real estate investment business offering clients a differentiated approach by investing in and partnering with sector operators to access high-conviction real estate opportunities.

Magenta Capital Corporation
Magenta is one of Canada’s leading residential, private MICs. Since 1994, we’ve specialized in flexible mortgage solutions for Ontarians who fall just outside of bank lending criteria, while delivering on strong, consistent returns for shareholders across Canada. Our goal is to empower our customers, partners and employees to build a better tomorrow.

Trez Capital
Trez Capital is a diversified real estate investment firm and preeminent provider of commercial real estate debt and equity financing solutions across North America. Trez Capital offers private and institutional investors strategies to invest in a variety of opportunistic, fully secured mortgage investment funds and like investment assets, and provides property developers and owners with quick approvals on flexible short- to mid-term financing.

Vector Financial
Vector Financial Services Limited was established in 1969 as a family office and is now a private non-bank mortgage lender, brokerage and mortgage administrator. The firm originates and manages a $500+ million portfolio of first mortgages against commercial and development real estate located in and around the GTA. Members of the original family hold senior positions at the firm, which focuses on capital preservation, the generation of attractive, stable returns and generating consistent monthly distributions.

Värde Partners
Värde is a global credit specialist with approximately $17 billion in assets under management.* Our three decades of experience investing across both private and public credit markets has solidified our position as a leading global credit firm. Whether we are providing flexible capital solutions or capitalizing on inefficiencies in secondary markets, we bring discipline, rigor and creativity as we seek to deliver for our investors throughout ever-changing markets.
We value our investors, our investing partners, our employees, our heritage.

Wafra
Wafra is a global alternative investment manager
with approximately $33 billion of assets under management. Wafra invests across
a range of alternative assets, including alternative and traditional real
estate, strategic partnerships, real assets and infrastructure. By providing
flexible and accretive capital solutions and focusing on long-term
partnerships, Wafra aligns and partners with best-in-class asset owners,
companies and management teams. Headquartered in New York, Wafra has additional
offices in London, Kuwait and Bermuda. For more information, please visit: www.wafra.com.
Networking Sponsors

Bear Advisors
Bear Real Estate Advisors provides comprehensive real estate investment services to investment funds, private equity firms, family offices and high net worth global and domestic investors who are seeking strategic opportunities with the potential to deliver significant value. We supply custom-tailored solutions to meet each investor’s unique needs, while connecting them with our global network of finance, private equity and brokerage relationships.

Cogir Real Estate
Cogir Real Estate manages over $12B in assets across 500+ properties in Canada and the U.S., serving major public companies, pension funds as well as private companies. Cogir is also a leading property developer, delivering 1,700 units in 2024 and with 5,700 additional units presently in development. As an active investor through its private, open-ended real estate fund, Cogir leverages its scale and expertise to unlock strong growth potential and deliver attractive, long-term returns in the Canadian real estate market.

Concert Properties
Since 1989, Concert Properties has been proudly developing, acquiring and managing real estate across Canada in pursuit of building a people-first future. We develop, own and manage rental apartments; develop condominium homes; and develop, acquire and manage industrial and office properties. Today we have grown to over $6.6 billion in assets. Owned by union and management pension plans and institutional investors representing over 200,000 Canadians, our vision is to create resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities.
Key Discussion Topics
Navigating the Currents: Assessing Canada's Real Estate Landscape
As interest rate adjustments and economic fluctuations continue to shape the Canadian real estate market, stakeholders across the industry face pressing questions and considerations. Join our distinguished panel of experts as they delve into the multifaceted dynamics influencing real estate trends and investment strategies.
The Orbit Around Debt
What type of distressed assets are attracting attention? What kind of loan structures would you recommend incorporating into your investment strategy? Which structures would you actively avoid? Are you approaching debt differently in different real estate asset classes? As many portfolios today revolve around debt strategies, how do you foresee the orbit around debt evolving in the coming 12-24 months?
The Residential Ripple Effect
Canadian residential real estate markets are expected to grow more than 10 billion USD in the next five years. What trends are emerging in the residential sector? How is sustainability playing a role in the residential sector? Which regions of Canada are seeing inflows versus outflows? How do you expect this to change as we look ahead to 2025? How are office, storage, and hospitality being affected by shifts in residential markets? How are investors approaching affordable housing?
Niche Real Estate Strategies to Invest In (or Divest From)
How are niche real estate strategies performing in 2024? Are they pulling ahead of more traditional real estate strategies? Where are you finding success in sectors like life sciences, student housing, selfstorage facilities, data centers, film & television production studios, senior housing, manufactured housing, and medical office buildings? How does the Canadian niche real estate supply and demand compare to other geographic markets? What in the next phase of these strategies look like for real estate investors?
Best in Class Risk
How are Canadian real estate investors evaluating the risk of their real estate strategies within their investment portfolios? Are there any new due diligence methods that your team is utilizing to ensure appropriate lengths are taken? As you look ahead to the next 12-24 months, are you favoring opportunistic and value add strategies, or is your team in favor of allocating to core and core plus strategies? Do different geographic markets change your approach to risk?
Dissecting Multifamily Housing
Is the hype surrounding multifamily warranted? What kind of returns are you seeing in the space? Will interest rates impact the trends that you are seeing in the multifamily sector? How can managers set themselves apart from other players? Which regions of Canada are seeing more interest in multifamily? Which technological advancements are contributing to your investment decisions? What is the next wave of technology in multifamily?
The Industrial Complex
Industrial real estate continues to impress investors nationally. What can allocators do to maximize their exposure to industrial? What advice would you have for newcomers in the space? What economic factors are driving the industrial industry? How is the industry changing? What technological advancements are emerging in industrial properties? How is cold storage performing? What other sub-asset classes are top of mind for investors interested in the industrial real estate market?
A Closer Look at Private Wealth
Private wealth allocators have become critical changemakers in the real estate industry. What kind of investment strategies are wealth managers and family offices favoring in 2024? How has the private wealth landscape changed in the last year? How do you foresee the industry moving as we look ahead to 2025? What tax advantages are on the table for private wealth allocators? What does the risk appetite look like for the private wealth community?
Best in Class Real Estate Development
In this dynamic keynote discussion, a Pension Fund CIO is joined by real estate development partners to share top tier real estate development successes as well as their critical perspectives on the future of real estate development opportunities in Canada.
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