Real Estate Private Equity Program in third year

The IU real estate private equity (REPE) program was officially launched in the fall of 2020 with the inaugural class led by senior Patrick Engels.  As a freshman Patrick conceived the idea for the new REPE class spanning both the fall and spring semesters to allow top students the experience of raising money and investing funds on behalf of investors into real properties.

Seniors Max Mitchell and Cale Philips helped lead the second IU REPE class, which wrapped up after the spring 2022 semester.  Class 2 had the distinction of being the first class to go through the arduous process of preparing an offering memorandum, investor pitchbook, and investor subscription documents for use to raise funds for the first IU REPE investment entity called Sample Gates Real Estate Fund 1, LLC.  This culminated in the students making an in-person investment presentation in April to a group of sophisticated investors that ultimately indicated investment interest of more than $2 million.

After shadowing Class 2 during the spring semester, Class 3 will hit the ground running in the fall and will continue the fundraising process initiated by Class 2.  The initial fundraising target was $3 million, but our sights are set on a slightly higher number that we believe will place the IU REPE program as the top undergraduate program in the United States for real estate investment capital raised.  After fundraising efforts are completed, Class 3 will turn its attention to investing the committed funds and will welcome investment opportunity referrals from IU real estate alumni.

Thanks to the many people who have been instrumental in helping the IU REPE program get to the point where it is today including the many alumni who have supported the effort as advisors and investors; Dean Idalene Kesner who was instrumental in helping the program make it through the IU approval process that culminated in approval by the IU Board of Trustees; Alan Becker (Bose McKinney & Evans), Brian Fennerty (Faegre Drinker), and Josh Malarsky (Katz Sapper Miller) who provided important professional expertise; and Tim Morris (Proprium Partners), Patrick Engels (now with Evercore), and Professor Doug McCoy who have helped spearhead the IU REPE program from its inception.