What are the trends in commercial real estate and housing matters in the US?

Greg Michaud, Voya IM’s Head of Real Estate, gives his thoughts on where US commercial real estate is recovering, where it’s not, and where investors may find opportunities.

Greg Michaud
Greg Michaud, Head of Real Estate, Voya Investment Management.

Andrew Putwain: Your team recently won Real Estate Manager of the Year at the Insurance Investor North American awards, so could you introduce yourself and Voya and explain its ethos around commercial real estate investing? 

Greg Michaud: I've been with Voya for 30 years, which is before it was called Voya—we used to be part of ING Group, the Dutch bank life insurance company. We ran proprietary real estate in the Americas. After the global financial crisis, Voya spun off ING USA in an IPO and became Voya. 

My commercial mortgage lending program has been around for over eighty years with the insurance companies it was attached to. We manage $16 billion. Approximately $5 billion is for Voya, and the rest is third party.

This represents big growth since we left ING. Back then, we were $12 billion in proprietary assets. Now, we're $16 billion in AUM, with $5 billion in proprietary assets. Since we went public, we've been able to pivot from being a proprietary manager to a third-party manager without a hitch.

Please Login or Register to view this content.. Subscribing is free of charge, with benefits including:

  • Receive weekly Insurance Investor newsletter containing the latest articles and news
  • Hear about latest industry developments and industry analysis first, and be informed ahead of the rest of the market
  • Access exclusive invitations to Insurance Investor industry events in your local region, and meet with peers to network around research-led content programs