NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The University of Georgia has been declared the winner of the 2017
Real Confidence™ University Challenge. The 2017 edition of this annual competition had over 210 students from 38 universities in
North America and Europe gain hands-on learning experience in public and private commercial real estate investing. The University
of Georgia student team managed the best portfolio with a return of 35.38% over four quarters and placed first winning the $30,000
grand prize.
Each university team allocated $1 billion in theoretical capital among a variety of commercial real estate
investment opportunities found within the public and private equity and the public and private debt sectors. The performance of
each sector’s weighted investment selection was calculated with its respective benchmark return data provided by NAREIT®, NCREIF®,
Markit® and Giliberto-Levy Commercial Mortgage Performance Index℠.
The $2,500 quarterly winners for top public and private sector performance included: University of San Diego
(twice), Monmouth University (twice), University of Miami (twice), Lehigh University and Indiana University.
The final portfolio returns of the top 10 student teams that participated in the 2017 Real Confidence University Challenge are
as follows:
Rank |
University |
Final |
1 |
University of Georgia |
35.38% |
2 |
Rice University |
34.70% |
3 |
Texas Tech University |
26.69% |
4 |
Temple University |
25.63% |
5 |
University of San Diego |
22.02% |
6 |
University of Miami |
21.93% |
7 |
Indiana University |
21.44% |
8 |
Lehigh University |
20.92% |
9 |
Monmouth University |
20.58% |
10 |
College of William and Mary |
19.97% |
The 2018 edition of the Altus Group Real Confidence University Challenge is now currently underway, with more
than 290 students from 47 universities across North America and Europe competing with overall and quarterly prizes totaling
$50,000.
“For the past three years, our University Challenge has given students the opportunity to gain a broader
perspective of real estate investment,” said Rick Kalvoda, Senior Executive Vice President at Altus Group. “Through the University
Challenge, we aim to support future industry professionals and we’re so pleased to see the number of schools participating
continues to increase each year.”
The 2018 Altus Group Real Confidence University Challenge index is comprised of the total theoretical $47
billion made up of each university team’s allocation and serves as the competition benchmark. This year’s index allocation saw
58.28% of the total capital allocated to REITs, followed by 29.31% to private equity opportunities. Data centers took the top spot
in public equity selections, followed by industrial, underpinning strong confidence in these sectors. On the debt side, public debt
received an 8.28% allocation, focused mainly on CMBS – BBB securities, while private debt received 4.14%, up over 65% from the 2017
Challenge.
Student teams from the following universities are participating in the 2018 Altus Group Real Confidence
University Challenge:
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- Baruch College - The City University of New York
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- The College of William and Mary
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- University of Alabama Birmingham
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- Florida International University
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- University of Central Florida
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- University of Central Missouri
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- University of Connecticut
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- Middle Tennessee State University
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- University of Missouri – Kansas City
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- Nova Southeastern University
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- University of Nevada, Las Vegas
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- University of Northern Iowa
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- San Diego State University
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- University of South Alabama
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- Southern Methodist University
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- University of Southern California
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- University of Texas at Arlington
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- University of Wisconsin-Madison
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- Texas Christian University
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Students and industry professionals can follow the portfolio performance at http://realconfidence.com/challenge/2018/. The interactive website showcases a leaderboard, blog
posts and industry expert commentary.
About Altus Group Limited
Altus Group Limited is a leading provider of independent advisory services, software and data solutions to the
global commercial real estate industry. Our businesses, Altus Analytics and Altus Expert Services, reflect decades of experience, a
range of expertise, and technology-enabled capabilities. Our solutions empower clients to analyze, gain insight and recognize value
on their real estate investments. Headquartered in Canada, we have approximately 2,500 employees around the world, with operations
in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Our clients include some of the world’s largest real estate industry participants. Altus
Group pays a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share and our shares are traded on the TSX under the symbol AIF.
For more information on Altus Group, please visit: www.altusgroup.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Altus Group Limited
Jeff Hayward
Vice President, Global Marketing & Communications
(416) 234 – 4212
jeff.hayward@altusgroup.com
Environics Communications
Mimi Carter
U.S. General Manager
202-296-2002
mimi@environicsdc.com