The Blueprint X Louis Wright
I met with Louis Wright in early July for a chat about his role as a Portfolio Analytics Manager, his time working in London, life at Oyster and what makes a successful portfolio.
Meeting Louis a week before competing in the UoA Property Case Competition was incredibly good timing. The knowledge he shared was at the forefront of my mind while competing and added significant value to our team’s strategy.
The most valuable thing I learnt from my discussion with Louis was about how he and his team help Oyster optimise real estate portfolios from both an operational and returns perspective.
Oyster is unique because they are fund managers, meaning that through capital raising and debt funding they create and develop real estate funds to generate returns for their investors.
Louis outlined the three key factors that they consider when curating portfolios:
Defining the portfolio goal
Understanding your funding model; and
Matching investor risk appetite and return targets with the appropriate assets
Louis explained how investors can range from mum and dad type investors who usually want low risk and consistent income, to capital partners who are more open to risk but expect higher returns, the latter are usually the type of investors who you can partner with for exciting development projects. These institutional investors often invest hundreds of millions into large-scale projects.
After learning about how Oyster develop portfolios I wanted to learn more about the analyst team. Louis explained that his team focuses on two main areas. Firstly, maximising existing properties and, secondly, appraising potential investment opportunities that could be added to the portfolio. The analyst team will work alongside the asset managers and finance team to develop a short-term and long-term strategic plan for how to reduce risk and maximise returns for the asset. Typically, each analyst will assist on around 5-10 assets keeping each day busy and different from the last.
Louis joined Oyster Property Group two years ago, but he hasn’t always been in property, he holds a post-graduate honours degree in Economic and International Management with a specialisation in French. After graduating he started in an economic consulting firm focusing on a mix of private and government sector research, including projects related to real estate policy in New Zealand. After a few years he made the move to London. Following his curiosity for property he joined Grosvenor an investment firm, as an Economist. This was his first role focused solely on property and he hasn’t looked back since. After two years at Grosvenor, Louis joined Invesco’s European Real Estate arm. While there, Louis was able to make good use of his French skills by spending time in Paris researching the French markets each month. Talk about a dream job!
Louis expressed how useful his background in economics was when moving into the property sector. He emphasised that you don’t have to come from a property background to get into the industry and how understanding economics can enhance your analytical thinking and market analysis, both extremely useful skills in the world of property.
After two incredible roles and numerous adventures overseas Louis landed back home and joined Oyster property group as their Portfolio Analytics Manager. I was curious to know what highlights Louis has from his time at Oyster so far, and he explained that he was proud about the work he and the analyst team have done tracking the company’s emissions, and later analysing that performance against their established baselines. He emphasised how important it was for them to achieve their goals within their set timeline. Louis expanded on this by explaining how essential ESG is to institutional investors and capital partners. These firms often have highly specific mandates that prohibit them from investing in a property if it is not “green” enough. This was encouraging to hear as these high standards create significant change in the market overtime.
After two incredible roles and numerous adventures overseas Louis landed back home and joined Oyster property group as their Portfolio Analytics Manager. I was curious to know what highlights Louis has from his time at Oyster so far, and he explained that he was proud about the work he and the analyst team have done tracking the company’s emissions, and later analysing that performance against their established baselines.
He emphasised how important it was for them to achieve their goals within their set timeline. Louis expanded on this by explaining how essential ESG is to institutional investors and capital partners. These firms often have highly specific mandates that prohibit them from investing in a property if it is not “green” enough. This was encouraging to hear as these high standards create significant change in the market overtime.
We began discussing other growing trends in the industry. We touched on topics such as, build-to -rent but the most interesting trend I learnt about was the growing investments in the alternative sector and the potential impact of AI in the property analytics space.
The growing interest in the alternative sector is driven by many macroeconomic and demographic factors. Investing in healthcare, data centres, storage and other alternative asset classes present significant opportunity over the coming years. This was the first time I had thought about how much potential there was for assets like data centre, however, with the growth in AI it made perfect sense. Louis highlighted that AI is already so ingrained in our day-to-day activities that we often don’t notice it. Louis described how there are many ways that AI could be leveraged by analysts in the future, but he was quick to say we must be cautious with how out use of the tool will affect the development of AI. Data privacy of open-source AI models is a large concern especially during these early stages. Despite these risks when leveraged correctly it can create significant efficiency gains. Louis and his team are looking into safe ways to maximise this new tool.
During my discussion with Louis, it was clear how hardworking and collaborative the Oyster team is. The feedback I had heard from past students who participated in their intern program has been overwhelmingly positive, and I was eager to hear what advice Louis had for those looking to apply.
“Work hard, upskill yourself and be open to all opportunities that come your way!”
Louis was incredibly encouraging to those thinking of applying for the Oyster 2024/25 intern programme. Louis and the analyst team have worked with some of the interns over the past couple of years and I was curious to know what qualities in an intern they value most. He mentioned that while high grades are important that are not the sole consideration criteria. The team looks for students who are enthusiastic about learning and eager to contribute during their time at Oyster.
Additionally, Louis highlighted that having strong MS Excel skills helps set students apart- he prefaced this by saying he might be biased by working in analytics.
In true Blueprint style, I asked Louis “What is a piece of advice you wished you had starting out?” After, a moment of thinking, Louis responded with “There are more opportunities out there than you realise”
I really liked this and thought it was a hopeful outlook on the future. Louis further explained that these may not look like the opportunities you thought you wanted. For example, he explained how he never thought of getting into the property sector at university but wouldn’t change it. He was incredibly happy about where being open to these opportunities has taken him. He emphasised that hard work is equally important as well as positioning yourself in best way to be able to seize these opportunities. For example, by taking an internship upskilling yourself or improving your interview skills, you can ensure you are prepared for all the opportunities that are available once you graduate.
I was so grateful for my discussion with Louis last month, it was inspiring and insightful. I learnt so much in such a short time it and appreciated the advice he offered.
Louis’s advice for those of us entering the industry is exactly right – work hard, upskill yourself and be open to all opportunities that come your way!
