For over a decade, Ferguson Partners has been the market leader in compensation counseling for public Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). In fact, we work with more public REITs than any other compensation consulting fi rm . We specialize in helping public organizations design pay programs that balance investor expectations with business needs. From benchmarking pay practices to creating proxy disclosures, we focus on helping you stay competitive and compliant.

Some of the areas we cover include:

• Developing peer groups and pay structures.
• Designing equity incentive plans.
• Creating strategies for governance and proxy reporting.

With a proprietary database that gives us unparalleled access to real-time compensation data, we can provide forward-thinking advice that helps public companies navigate today’s challenges.

Privately held companies face their own unique challenges when it comes to pay practices. Our focus on privately held organizations within the commercial real estate space gives us unique insights into not only best and leading practices, but why certain concepts/ideas work well and why others may fall fl at depending on the strategy and internal dynamic of the organization. Our ability to align internal considerations with external best practices through case studies and trends allows us to help clients achieve optimal results in addressing one of the most challenging aspects of an organization. While all of our engagements are customized to suit the needs of each client, we may advise on some or all of the following topics:

• Compensation Levels: Benchmarking pay for all roles using a custom peer group—considering factors like company size, strategy, geography, ownership structure, and specific job responsibilities.
• Annual Bonus Plans: Funding strategies (aggregate pool and individual targets), performance metrics, payout ranges, etc.
• Carried Interest Structures: Suggesting approaches for sharing carried interest, house vs. management splits, eligibility, vesting, termination treatment, and co-investment structures.
• Non-Carried Interest Long-Term Incentive Plans: Reviewing different award types, performance goals, eligibility, performance periods, termination treatment, etc.
• Enterprise Equity: Exploring real or synthetic equity options, including how awards are structured (granted vs. purchased), award economics (cash-fl ow or enterprise-based), timing, and valuation approaches.