What Institutional Investors Do Differently (And What You Can Copy)

What can individual investors learn from the biggest players in real estate? In this episode of REady2Scale, we sit down with Geoffrey Dohrmann, founder and CEO of Institutional Real Estate, Inc., to unpack what separates institutional investors from the rest and how everyday investors can apply those same principles. With nearly four decades of experience analyzing real estate trends, Jeffrey shares key takeaways from the evolution of the market, what he sees coming next, and how data, discipline, and alignment drive long-term success.

Key Takeaways:

- From $90B to $4T: How institutional real estate evolved and what that means for private investors today

- The death of defined benefit plans: Why the shift to “you’re on your own” retirement plans puts more pressure on individual investors to get it right

- Mega trends to watch: Technology adoption, water scarcity, and demographic shifts are reshaping real estate investing

- How to track like an institution: Public and private tools for market analysis (including REIT indices, NCREIF, and AI) that are now accessible to individuals

- Replicating institutional discipline: The importance of manager alignment, multi-cycle track records, and investment process standardization

- Common pitfalls to avoid: Why chasing hot trends or relying on one “star” manager isn’t a long-term strategy

- Asset allocation over market timing: How institutions use disciplined portfolio construction to ride out volatility and why that beats trying to predict turns

- Advice for building a meaningful life: Follow your passion, don’t waste time doing what you hate, and align money with purpose

This episode is especially relevant for investors who want to elevate their decision-making by learning from those managing billions. Don’t miss this deep dive into how institutional thinking can improve your own investing approach.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction: Learning from Institutional Investors

00:30 Meet the Expert: Jeffrey Doman's Background

01:34 Mega Shifts in Real Estate

03:00 The Shift from Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution Plans

05:32 Tools and Strategies for Individual Investors

23:24 Lightning Round and Final Thoughts

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Learn more about growing your wealth, strengthening your portfolio, and scaling to the next level at www.bluelake-capital.com.

Credits

Producer: Blue Lake Capital

Strategist: Syed Mahmood

Editor: Emma Walker

Opening music: Pomplamoose

*𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘊𝘗𝘈, 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥/𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

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