This panel will examine the trends and issues related to raising debt, equity and access to other capital from the perspectives of institutional investors, REITs, private equity funds, and other real estate owners. How are they managing their balance sheets in this exceptionally low interest rate environment? Among the questions that will be addressed:

• Can you as easily access the capital that you require in today’s market as you could a year ago?
• How much debt are you carrying, when does it roll over, and how will you likely refinance? Is your goal to lock-in for the longest possible
  term given the cost of capital?
• What primary sources of capital are you tapping? Who has the lowest cost of capital now?  
• What are your perspectives on secured and unsecured debt? Will the unsecured market continue to grow in 2021? How will it affect conventional commercial mortgage lending?
• What challenges do you have with underwriting in today’s market and how lenders are trying to transfer risk during COVID-19? 
• What about new acquisitions and development? Will they be financed through asset recycling or some other strategies in 2021?
• What is the right capital structure and appropriate level of debt for a real estate corporation during the pandemic?
• Is new technology emerging that will affect any of your financial activities and practices?
  

Moderator:
Mark Edwards, Managing Director & Head of Real Estate Investment Banking, Desjardins Securities Inc.

Panel:
Lesley Gibson, Chief Financial Officer, CT REIT
Tamara Lawson, Chief Financial Officer, QuadReal Property Group
Rick O’Dell, Senior Vice President, Global Platform Solutions, Fiera Real Estate
Cecilia Williams, Chief Financial Officer, Allied Properties REIT

Equity investment and financing is growing significantly across Canada and from a wide range of sources. With billions of dollars looking for investment and income opportunities in commercial and multi-family markets, there has been a strong growth within the institutional sector and in investment management funds to deploy equity capital into real estate assets and development. This session will thoroughly examine three tiers of equity and how each of them are deploying their capital during COVID-19. What are examples of various deal structures? Under what conditions do they partner with others? In what circumstances is equity combined with debt into the deal structure to get the weighted cost of capital down? What are other ways in which equity is engaged? What yields are equity investors looking for under various scenarios?

Moderator:
William Jandrisits, Managing Partner, Normera Capital Partners

Panel:
Richard Abboud, Founder & CEO, Forum Equity Partners
Colin Baryliuk, Executive Managing Director, Investments, KingSett Capital
Blair McCreadie, Head of Canadian Real Estate & Fund Manager, Fiera Real Estate
Dennis Mitchell, CEO & Chief Investment Officer, Starlight Capital 

SESSION B3:
THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF ESG & IMPACT INVESTMENT: WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND

Impact investment is accelerating and describes the broad range of approaches that can be used to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into the investment process. It is now accelerating as a significantly important metric that applies to all real estate companies regardless of where you are on the point of a compass. The considerations include social and economic impacts. Increasingly, companies are being asked to disclose and manage their ESG performance. This TEDx style session will examine the what, why and how of ESG, investor and regulatory sentiments, and the frameworks used. What are the complexities of these various metrics? How are organizations using this information within their financing, investment and development decision-making? What are the environmental benefits of green bonds? How is ESG shaping an organization’s processes, policies and overall culture? What is the business case for strong ESG practices?   

Moderator:
Steven Pacifico, Director, Sustainability & Innovation, EPIC Investment Services

Panel:
Fanny Doucet, Director, Debt Capital Markets & Sustainable Finance, Scotiabank
Steven Marino, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Management, GWL Realty Advisors Inc.
Catherine Marshall, Principal Consultant, RealAlts
Qi Tang, SVP & Chief Financial Officer, RioCan REIT

Once a favourite of investors, retail is facing many increasing challenges for some time now. COVID-19 has compounded the issues causing most malls and a considerable number of stores and restaurants to close due to health and safety government mandates. How vulnerable is this property class? This discussion will examine a range of major issues and trends that both landlords and retailers have been dealing with in the current situation. A few examples: How have super regional malls performed vs. smaller enclosed malls vs. power centres vs. grocery anchored centres? With the major surge in online shopping due to mandated closure of most retail, how will brick and mortar co-exist with e-commerce going forward? 

Lisa Borsook, Executive Partner, WeirFoulds LLP

In Conversation with:
Jay Freedman, Executive Vice President, Client Relations and Business Development, Oberfeld Snowcap
Bradley Jones, Head of Retail, Oxford Properties Group

SESSION C2:
FACTS & FALLACIES ON HOW THE APARTMENT MARKET HAS PERFORMED IN 2020: BETTER THAN YOU THINK?

Last year, multi-unit residential moved to the top of many preferred property portfolios for a growing number of investors. And then came COVID-19 resulting in accelerated unemployment and a steep decline in immigration. Concerns immediately were raised about rent collection related to the ability of unemployed tenants to pay. How has the multi-residential market really performed since March? What impact are lower financing costs, lower utility costs, lower repair and maintenance costs and non-existent CAPEX having on the value of these assets? When do landlords expect a return to more stable market conditions? This session will provide address these and many other questions. 

Michael Betsalel, Executive Vice President, Head of Canadian National Multifamily Group, JLL

In Conversation with:
Glen MacMullin, Chief Investment Officer, Minto Apartment REIT
Ashi Mathur, President, Marlin Spring 

SESSION C3:
COVID-19 AND THE OFFICE MARKET: TO WHAT EXTENT WILL REMOTE WORKING BECOME A NEW NORMAL AND REDUCE DEMAND? WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR THE CORPORATE WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT? 

Across Canada, companies and people in March abandoned their offices as governments mandated that everyone had to work remotely. This was deemed as one of the critical measures to try to contain the spread of COVID-19. Once lockdowns eased, landlords and tenants were then faced the question of do they bring people and teams back into their office space and the buildings in tandem with the goals of staying safe and productive? How did landlords respond to these challenges facing their tenants? Is the remote working experience leading occupiers to rethink their space requirements? Will high-rise office buildings become less preferable? Will a higher percentage of tenant employees now work remotely on a permanent basis? What is likely to happen when the pandemic ends? This panel will these and other issues facing the office market currently and going forward.

Eric Shaw, Executive Vice President, Office, Cushman & Wakefield

In Conversation with:
Susan Seto, Vice President, Market Strategy, Environics Research Group
Gordon Wadley, Chief Operating Officer, Dream Office REIT

Across Canada, urban revitalization and development continues on an unprecedented scale not seen for over 30 years. While the pandemic has had some impact on the pace, for many companies, development is a key growth strategy in today’s market along with repurposing existing assets. But with increasing land and construction costs in many markets along with COVID-19 protocols, is the pro forma starting to change and associated risk increasing? Are there particular concerns with multi-residential markets – from purpose-built rental to condominiums? Is the market overextending itself in some cities? For a lender, how high is your level of caution and risk assessment in construction lending activities? How does it compare with financing land acquisitions? How does did it vary from city to city and among specific property classes? This session will offer some insights on these and other questions on what may lie ahead for the financing of construction and land acquisitions for 2021. What are lenders’ pre-sale or pre-leasing and covenant requirements and where will they be heading in the next twelve months? How are lenders pricing risk for this type of financing? What underwriting practices are they using to evaluate projects? 

Moderator:
Peter Sweeney, Chief Financial Officer, SmartCentres REIT

Panel:
Peter Block, Market Vice President & Head, Real Estate Corporate Banking, CIBC
Eric Horie, Senior Vice President, Head of Origination, Canada, Trez Capital
Bruno Iacovetta, Managing Director, Investment Management, Development Finance Team, MCAP
Noah Mintz, Managing Director, Vector Financial Services

Over and above the major conventional financial institutions, large pension funds and lifecos, the Canadian lending environment has witnessed the growth of non-bank lenders, smaller banks, and even foreign banks. This session will examine the range of their activities in the Canadian commercial mortgage market. What is the scope of their primary market? Are they predominately
focused on transactions and properties that have financing needs in the range of $1 million to $100 million? Why is the Canadian commercial lending market gaining interest from U.S. banks again? What are the loan origination and underwriting strategies of these lenders, e.g. preferably to whom, in which markets, and for what property classes? How is risk being priced for smaller sized loans? What are your spreads, amortization periods, LTV ratios, and recourse? Do these lenders serve the market for properties that could be out of favour with major lenders especially during the pandemic? 

Moderator:
Brent Magnan, Managing Director, Canada ICI

Panel:
Sam Brown, Senior Vice President, Origination & Product Development, CMLS Capital
Kasey Chauhan, Vice President, Origination, Equitable Bank
Mike Frigo, Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate, Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Canada
Jeremy Wedgbury, Senior Vice President, Commercial Mortgages, First National Financial LP

An insightful discussion about investment activity in today’s very competitive market environment. The panel will offer insights on all four major “food groups”: office, industrial, retail and multi-unit residential. What challenges could there be in order to buy or sell any of these properties in each of these asset classes during 2020? What are the differences that an investor would have as a REIT vs. a pension fund vs. a private equity fund in selling or acquiring any of these properties at this time? Which gateway cities or mid-markets are most attractive? How are investment programs being financed going forward? How much equity is available and from what sources for investment transactions? Where will Canadian cap rates be by the end of 2020 in each asset class relative to today’s prices? Who will be the likely sellers? Which asset classes will be most favoured? Will shifting bond yields and low interest rates affect investment strategies and, if so, in what way?

Moderator:
Peter Senst, President, Canadian Capital Markets, CBRE Limited

Panel:
Paul Dykeman, Chief Executive Officer, Summit Industrial Income REIT
Michael Emory, President & CEO, Allied Properties REIT
Jonathan Gitlin, President & COO, RioCan REIT
Christina Iacoucci, Managing Director, Portfolio Management, BentallGreenOak 

An insightful discussion with a diversified group of senior real estate executives on their perspective for Canadian and global real estate fundamentals, trends, and strategies for 2021. How do they anticipate Canada will perform relative to the U.S., Europe and other markets? What will be key challenges facing real estate executives over the next twelve months? What are their expectations of the capital and credit markets in supporting their portfolio growth? What trend do they expect for Canadian and U.S. bond yields and the cost of capital? What impact will this have on cap rates and real estate values? What are they seeing in capital, financial and real estate markets outside of Canada? To what extent are assets now fully priced in major Canada markets? Where are the most attractive opportunities for investors and developers? Is investing outside of the country more attractive than staying at home? How much importance does ESG have in their activity? To what extent is technology and innovation a major focus within their leadership team?

Moderators:
Teresa Neto, Chief Financial Officer, Granite REIT
Andrew Wallace, Head of Real Estate, Investment Banking, National Bank Financial

Panel:
Don Clow, President & CEO, Crombie REIT
Sonny Kalsi, Chief Executive Officer, BentallGreenOak
Hilary Spann, Managing Director, Head of Americas, Real Estate, CPPIB
Blair Welch, Founding Partner, Slate