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Randy’s Custom Workshop:  Endorsements

  • Ethan Penner Founder and CEO, Mosaic Real Estate Partners; Founder and CEO of Nomura Asset Capital Corp/Capital Company of America.  This terrific book belongs in colleges and universities. Randy is a renowned former Princeton professor who directed real estate research at Goldman Sachs and reported to me as real estate research director at Nomura Securities International.  He has published in prestigious journals, and has closed over $6 billion of institutional transactions, not counting the transactions he supported at Goldman and Nomura.   He has an unusual combination of market sense and academic chops . . . this book belongs on the shelf of every practitioner, investor, and student.  Buy this book now!

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  • Michael Fascitelli, Founder, MDF Capital; former CEO of Vornado; former partner, Goldman Sachs & Co.  Randy combines his intellect, academic and analytical frameworks, market and product knowledge, and practical experience to the world of real estate investing.  It’s a unique background and provides a unique perspective and advantage to those of us in the real estate investment business.   

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  • Russell Platt, CEO, Forum Partners and former Managing Director, Morgan Stanley.  Randy Zisler has written the definitive critique of commercial real estate investing . . . Perhaps aptly sub-titled, “A Random Walk Down Main Street”, Randy’s timely book is a perfect bookend to the seminal study, “A Random Walk Down Wall Street”, by fellow Princeton faculty member, Professor Burton Malkiel. 
     

  • Jonathan Schein, CRE, CEO & Founder, RELPI and Founder of Globe Street.  Iconoclast, radical thinker, outward bound, and a brilliant mind, Randy always brings a different point of view to this topic.   Whether or not you agree with his theories or conclusions, this book is a must read for any investor, manager, advisor, and those aligned with this exciting industry. And beyond that, he also brings a sense of humanity, humility, and humor in his writing. Pick up this book!
     

  • Richard F. Burns, Former CEO, now Senior Advisor & Trustee, The NHP Foundation. Founding partner AEW.  Randy has created a seminal book on real estate.  He exposes myths, reinforces sound investment principles, and backs up his theorems with supportive econometric models . . . An important book for anyone either directly or peripherally involved with real estate investment.
     

  • Professor Joseph L. Pagliari, Jr., Ph.D., CFA, CPA; John Mazarakis and Chicago Atlantic Clinical Professor of Real Estate, The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.  The nature of private markets lends itself to . . . loosely knitted anecdotes. Dr. Zisler provides the antidote – seamlessly melding his experiences from the halls of academia to Wall Street and rigorously examining important issues facing commercial real estate investors. He eruditely synthesizes data, theory and practical insights into actionable investment strategies, pushing the frontiers of our knowledge in essential ways.
     

  • John R. Sischo, Managing Principal, Coretrust Capital Partners, LLC.  An important critique of entrenched thinking in real estate investment management, this book challenges industry conventions with evidence-based clarity and equips readers with practical, effective analytical tools.   A bold truth-teller. . . he exposes the hubris embedded in the real estate investment management world, while delivering an evidence-based approach to enhanced investment performance.
     

  • Susan L. Stupin, Managing Director, Prescott Holdings, LLC and The Prescott Group; and former senior executive of Goldman Sachs & Co.  Randy’s elegant analyses often defy conventional wisdom, but they are underpinned by his deep experience in the real estate capital markets and deft econometrics.  This book is destined to be the Samuelson Economics of real estate investing. 
     

  • Steven Wechsler, President and CEO, National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.  Randy Zisler makes an impressive and incredibly intelligent case for objective, clear-eyed, risk-based, long-term investing. Along the way, he skewers more than a few commercial real estate myths and sacred cows, and he deftly illuminates the true risks and rewards of real estate investing. This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to know why some experts miss the mark and often fail.
     

  • Geoffrey Dohrmann, Chairman, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief, Institutional Real Estate, Inc.  Dr. Zisler delivers an authoritative critique of institutional real estate investing. Drawing on his extensive experience as a Princeton professor, Goldman Sachs and Nomura Securities International strategist, and as an advisor to global pension funds, Zisler offers readers a rigorous, data-driven framework for navigating the complexities of commercial real estate.   The book is structured to challenge conventional wisdom and expose the myths that often underlie industry practices.  Zisler urges institutional investors to demand more from their managers; he provides them with the tools to do so.  Zisler’s writing not only is analytical but also personal and engaging. His chapters are punctuated with wry humor and numerous anecdotes from decades working in the field, making the book accessible to both seasoned professionals and newcomers to the industry.  In sum, the book is an important work that redefines how we should be thinking about risk, valuation, and strategy in real estate. It is a must-read for anyone serious about making objective, informed, evidence-based investment decisions. 

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