Front Office Investing interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your CV.
2. Tell me about your most impressive deal or underwriting.
3. Tell me about a weakness, a failure, or feedback you've received and worked on.
4. Why real assets / real estate / infrastructure? Why not corporate PE or credit?
5. Why the firm?
6. Why {core / value-add / opportunistic} — or why {real estate / infrastructure} — over the alternative?
7. How would you describe the firm's strategy and edge in your own words?
8. What's your view on the {firm's asset class / market} right now?

Technical concepts to master

• The real-assets underwrite — the workflow

  Cash flows / NOI · Entry + going-in cap · Business plan · Leverage · Exit

• Cap rates + value

  Cap rate = NOI / value · Going-in vs exit cap · Cap rate vs interest rates · Spread to debt

• Return metrics

  Unlevered vs levered IRR · Cash-on-cash · Equity multiple · Return decomposition

• Leverage + debt

  LTV · DSCR · Debt yield · Refinancing + rate risk

• Strategy + risk

  RE core to opportunistic · Infra: availability vs demand · Inflation linkage · Key risks by type

Practical drills

• Walk me through how you'd underwrite an acquisition in the firm's asset class. 5 min prep, 5-7 min delivery. Be ready to be probed on the cap rate, leverage, exit, and where the return comes from.
• An asset generates $5m NOI. (a) At a 5.0% going-in cap, what's the value? (b) You grow NOI to $6m over the hold and sell at a 5.5% exit cap — what's the exit value? (c) What if the exit cap instead expands to 6.5%?
• You buy an asset for $100m at a 6% cap ($6m NOI) with 60% LTV debt at 5% interest. (a) Annual cash-on-cash? (b) Is this positive or negative leverage? (c) If you sell in 5 years for $120m (NOI grew), roughly what's the equity outcome?

Smart-question anchors

• Sourcing — where the firm's deals come from (off-market, relationships, development pipelines, platforms) and how an analyst contributes
• Value creation — the firm's approach (core income vs value-add / development) and the asset-management capability behind it
• Underwriting discipline — how the firm sets exit caps, rent / revenue growth, and leverage, and how it stress-tests
• Capital + risk — the firm's leverage philosophy, debt sourcing, and how it manages refinancing / rate risk
• Market view — how the firm sees cap rates, the rate environment, and supply / demand in its sectors

Sourced from

Mergers & Inquisitions — Infrastructure / Real Estate PE · Wall Street Oasis — Real Estate + Infrastructure threads · Leveraged Breakdowns / Break Into CRE — REPE technicals + mental math · AnalystPrep / Preqin — Infrastructure assets (CFA-aligned) · Adventures in CRE — Real Estate technical interview prep · Leland — Real Estate Private Equity Interview Guide