CBRE Investors – Transforming Portfolio Management

The Problem

• The investment team managed REIT portfolios using large spreadsheets that were slow to open, prone to errors or corruption, and made daily operations difficult.

• The project to migrate these processes into a proprietary software system had stalled due to misaligned understanding of requirements between offshore developers, New York stakeholders, and the California project team.

• Communication gaps and time-zone differences led to stalled progress and inconsistent deliverables.

Solution 

• Organized agile, in-person workshops with developers and business users for real-time design, build, and validation.

• Streamlined communication and decision-making, combining discovery, design, and testing in integrated sessions.

• Repeated the approach for UAT and final validation, ensuring alignment before launch.

• Developed a training program, FAQs, and help-desk plan for long-term user support.

The Result

• Cut development and release timelines by 50% through collaborative agile cycles.

• Reduced trade execution time by 40% via system integration.

• Delivered a custom platform that replaced manual spreadsheet transfers with faster, more coordinated workflows.