EG FUTURE LEADERS 2024 Will Game, asset manager, Nuveen
“Good morning everyone. I’m going to start by giving you a quick history lesson in horse shit,” has got to be one of the best opening lines of any speech, but for Nuveen asset manager Will Game, the message he wanted to put across was anything but crap.
He used the example of pre-combustion engine England as a metaphor for the rise of AI. Before the combustion engine was invented, London was facing a very real problem. It was predicted to be under 9ft of horse manure within the next 50 years as more and more people used horses for travel and trade. But with the invention of the combustion engine, the great horse manure crisis of 1894 was averted. Phew! That could have been a stinker.
Now, as real estate finds itself on the edge of another crisis – climate change – and battles with the effects of previous crises from Brexit to Covid and faltering economy, Game asked the audience to consider AI as our combustion engine.
Game believes AI could be the tool that enables real estate to address the issues of volatility in returns, illiquidity, high risk, high obsolescence and climate change in a way that it has failed to do so far.
But to do that, the industry needs to change its attitude. It needs to not fear technological progress, it needs to adapt and learn to share.
“We shouldn’t feel threatened by change, we should embrace it. AI is not here to replace us. It’s here to make us better. There is no substitute for people in the industry. It is location, location, location, but it is also people, people, people,” said Game. “AI will open doors for us working smarter and faster, but if we allow our skillsets to stand still, the real estate industry will fall behind as the world moves on.”
He added: “If we are to use the full potential of AI, the industry is going to need to change. It’s going to need to collaborate and share data. Collaboration is the foundation of meaningful change…
“If we adopt this strategy, if we work together, we can create a stable market, remove barriers to entry and attract the investment that’s needed to face other issues like climate change or shortage of housing. This strategy will open doors to new opportunities for growth. Unlock efficiency gains and cost reductions and improve services to who we serve.”
Game told the audience that real estate was at its own fork in the road. It could find itself in its own horse shit crisis, or it could, if it is willing to collaborate and adapt, build a more efficient, resilient and innovative future.
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