Not so long ago, institutional real estate investors rarely strayed from a basic diet of domestic core office, retail, industrial and multifamily. But their appetites and tastes have expanded dramatically in recent years. Today’s investors have broadened their horizons to include many new strategies across equity and debt, public and private. They’re participating in joint ventures and funds of funds, going global in a big way, investing in niche strategies and infrastructure, and exploring newer instruments such as real estate derivatives.

Gone are the days when an investor would simply buy core real estate, leave it alone, and come back to it in five years. Today, investors are taking a more active management approach, and deploying a lot more money, too.

“The real estate industry is getting more and more sophisticated,” says David Lynn, managing director and head of research and investment strategy for ING Clarion. He explains that the industry has