CBRE Capital Advisors

What CBRE Capital Advisors does

CBRE Capital Advisors, Inc. is the investment banking arm of CBRE, Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), operating as a wholly-owned, SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC member. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in New York, the firm provides a full suite of investment banking services to commercial real estate owners, operators, developers, asset managers, gaming and leisure companies, and corporate boards. The platform was assembled through the acquisitions of Union Gaming in 2021 (gaming and lodging) and Sera Global (formerly Brookfield Financial) in 2023 (placement agent and capital advisory).

The firm operates across six core practice areas: Private Capital Advisory (GP/LP liquidity solutions), Sera Private Funds Group (global placement agent), Gaming & Leisure (sector-specialized advisory and capital markets), Sera Asset Manager M&A (strategic transactions for alternative managers), Strategic Advisory (M&A and fairness opinions), and Investment Grade CTL Bond (private placement bond structuring and distribution). Coverage spans all major real estate asset classes — industrial, multifamily, office, retail, hotel, gaming, data centers, healthcare, self-storage, senior/student/affordable housing — and extends into alternatives including infrastructure, credit, private equity, renewables, and digital assets. No proprietary technology platform is referenced; the offering is people-intensive and relationship-driven.

Revenue is generated through three transaction-based streams: investment banking advisory fees (M&A, fairness opinions, strategic alternatives), capital placement fees (private fund placement, equity and debt capital arrangement), and private placement bond services (CTL and bifurcated ground lease structuring and distribution). Services are delivered through senior professionals across offices in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Boston, Baltimore, and Toronto, with European operations through entities in Germany and Ireland. The Global Institutional Debt Advisory Group arranged $65B+ in 2025, and the platform closed 196 deals totaling $56.6B in 2024. Distribution is exclusively direct enterprise field sales to C-suite and senior decision-makers at institutional clients.

Name

CBRE Capital Advisors

Legal name

CBRE Capital Advisors, Inc.

Website

https://cbrecap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Investment Banking

NAICS

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE), Real Estate Capital Markets Advisory (Debt/Equity Placement, Refinancing) (BPAJANAE)

Keywords

• Real estate investment banking
• Capital markets advisory
• Private placement services
• M&A advisory services
• Debt and equity financing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Investment Banking Advisory Fees: Fees earned from providing strategic advisory services on M&A transactions, fairness opinions, and strategic alternatives for companies and boards.
2. Capital Placement Fees: Fees earned from acting as a placement agent for private funds and arranging equity and debt capital for clients across various vehicle structures.
3. Private Placement Bond Services: Structuring and distributing private placement bonds, particularly Credit Tenant Lease (CTL) and bifurcated ground lease transactions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

CBRE Capital Advisors is a full-service investment banking platform providing capital formation strategy, equity capital raising, debt and equity capital markets advisory, M&A and strategic transaction advisory, fairness opinions, private placement bond structuring and distribution, and liquidity solutions for GPs and LPs. The firm serves private real estate owners, operators, developers, gaming and leisure companies, alternative asset managers, and institutional investors across all major real estate asset classes.

Product overview

CBRE Investment Banking operates as a comprehensive investment banking platform organized into distinct practice areas: Private Capital Advisory (liquidity solutions for GPs and LPs), Sera Private Funds Group (global placement agent services), Gaming & Leisure (strategic advisory with deep sector expertise), Sera Asset Manager M&A (strategic transactions for alternative asset managers), Strategic Advisory (M&A and fairness opinions), and Investment Grade CTL Bond (private placement bond structuring and distribution). The platform covers multiple sectors including Real Estate (industrial, multifamily, office, retail), Gaming/Lodging/Leisure, Real Estate Specialties (data centers, healthcare, self storage, senior/student/affordable housing), and Alternatives (infrastructure, credit, private equity, renewables, sustainable investments, digital). Securities are provided through CBRE Capital Advisors, Inc., a broker-dealer registered with SEC and member of FINRA and SIPC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sera Private Funds Group: Acting as a global placement agent for private capital
• Sera Asset Manager M&A
• Private Capital Advisory
• Gaming & Leisure
• Strategic Advisory
• Investment Grade CTL bond

Products and services

• Private Capital Advisory Liquidity solutions for General Partners (GPs) and Limited Partners (LPs), enabling capital formation and strategic positioning in the market for private real estate owners, operators, and developers.
• Sera Private Funds Group Global placement agent services helping fund managers raise capital from institutional investors across diverse vehicle structures for real estate and real assets.
• Gaming & Leisure Investment Banking Strategic advisory, debt and equity capital markets services with deep sector expertise in the gaming, lodging and leisure industries, serving casino operators, gaming REITs, and leisure property owners.
• Sera Asset Manager M&A Strategic transaction advisory for alternative asset managers, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures advisory across the alternative investments sector.
• Strategic Advisory M&A advisory, fairness opinions, and strategic alternatives evaluation for company boards of directors and executive teams across real estate, gaming, lodging and leisure industries.
• Investment Grade CTL Bond Structuring and distribution of private placement bonds, specifically Credit Tenant Lease (CTL) securities and bifurcated ground lease transactions, for institutional investors.
• Large Loans Debt Advisory Institutional debt advisory providing fixed and floating-rate financing transactions on large single assets and portfolios across all major commercial real estate asset classes (office, industrial, multifamily, retail, hotel, data centers, healthcare, self storage, senior/student/affordable housing).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $100 billion in commercial real estate loan originations across careers of senior professionals
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Union Gaming (acquired)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021CBRE acquired Union Gaming in 2021, the leading boutique investment bank and advisory firm focused exclusively on the global gaming industry. Bill Lerner and Grant Govertsen co-founded Union Gaming in 2009, bringing gaming sector expertise to CBRE's platform.
• Sera Global (acquired 2023)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBRE acquired Sera Global (formerly Brookfield Financial) in 2023 to expand its investment banking capabilities globally. Sera Global was a Brookfield-backed real assets placement agent that brought capital advisory expertise and international relationships.

Scale indicators7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• JLL Capital Markets: JLL's Capital Markets division (which acquired HFF in 2019) provides debt origination, investment sales, equity placement, and investment banking services for commercial real estate — a direct competitor to CBRE Capital Advisors with similar global commercial real estate parentage.
• Eastdil Secured: Eastdil Secured is a leading real estate investment bank providing capital markets advisory, debt and equity placement, and structured financing solutions — a direct competitor in large-loan commercial real estate capital markets.
• PJT Partners (Park Hill): PJT Partners' Park Hill division is a leading alternative asset manager advisory and fund placement agent — directly comparable to CBRE Capital Advisors' Sera Private Funds Group and Sera Asset Manager M&A businesses.
• Newmark Group: Newmark Group provides commercial real estate capital markets, investment sales, and investment banking services with comparable scale and similar real estate-focused product offerings including debt placement, equity placement, and advisory services.

Broad incumbents

• Houlihan Lokey: Houlihan Lokey provides M&A advisory, capital markets, and restructuring services including real estate-focused practices — competes for advisory and capital placement mandates for asset managers and REITs.
• Cushman & Wakefield: Cushman & Wakefield is a global commercial real estate services firm offering capital markets, investment sales, and debt/equity advisory services — a broader commercial real estate incumbent that competes with CBRE Capital Advisors across overlapping service lines.
• Greenhill & Co. Greenhill provides M&A advisory and restructuring services with a real estate-focused practice — competes for strategic advisory, fairness opinions, and asset manager M&A mandates.
• Moelis & Company: Moelis & Company provides investment banking advisory services (Matt White previously worked in their Real Estate M&A group) — competes for strategic advisory, M&A, and asset manager transaction mandates.
• Lazard Real Estate: Lazard's Real Estate practice (where Zaahir Syed previously led Western U.S. coverage) provides capital advisory and investment banking services for real estate clients — directly competes for private capital sourcing and equity placement mandates.

Emerging players

• Robert W. Baird: Robert W. Baird's Real Estate Investment Banking practice provides M&A advisory, capital markets, and equity placement services — a competing boutique-style platform focused on real estate clients of comparable profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cbre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cbre

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CBRE Capital Advisors