Deborah Harmon, founder and co-CEO of Artemis Real Estate Partners, speaks with three women.
Artemis Real Estate Partners, led by founder and co-CEO Deborah Harmon and Alex Gilbert, co-CEO, has proven that diversity and partnership can drive outperformance in the real estate private equity investment industry. Despite challenges raising its first fund as an emerging manager, Artemis has achieved top-tier performance and reached a significant milestone of $10 billion in assets under management. The firm's focus on partnerships and promoting diverse perspectives has benefited its portfolio and played an essential role in advancing opportunities for historically underserved individuals and fostering economic growth.
As the industry continues to wake up to the potential of diversity as a competitive edge, Artemis remains committed to leading the charge while delivering top-tier performance in the commercial real estate investment sector.
A Women-Owned Real Estate PE Investment Firm Takes On A Male-Dominated Industry
The real estate private equity investment industry has long faced a diversity problem, with limited representation of women and people of color in leadership roles and assets under management.
- White men dominated with over 75% of senior executive positions in the U.S. real estate industry in 2017, according to Bella Research Group and Knight Foundation. In stark contrast, Black men held only 1.3%, while white women accounted for 14.1% of senior executives. Shockingly, less than 1% of these positions were held by women of color.
- A minuscule percentage of real estate funds are owned by women (2.8%) and people of color (1.8%), and an even smaller percentage of assets are managed by women (1.7%) and people of color (1.0%), according to a 2021 Bella Research Group and Knight Foundation report. Artemis is one of the first majority women-owned real estate private equity firms in the U.S. and its workforce is 60%+ women and minorities across their Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta offices. s
The industry's lack of diversity stifles innovation and limits economic opportunities. The homogenous workforce overlooks valuable opportunities and perpetuates bias in decision-making. Recognizing the problem and the opportunity, Deborah Harmon and Penny Pritzker founded Artemis Real Estate Partners in 2009.
Grit And A Desire To Make A Difference Lead To Fundraising Success
Deborah Harmon retired in 2007 after 25 years of building businesses at Bankers Trust and J.E. Robert Companies. During the financial crisis, she put her retirement on hold to launch Artemis Real Estate Partners. "It ended up being one of my darkest times financially and in the real estate industry," she sighed. "In times of great darkness comes opportunity."
Before the 2010s, institutional investors primarily focused on established, larger firms with proven track records. Emerging managers (newly formed or relatively small firms) needed more access to institutional capital. Some forward-thinking institutions recognized the potential of emerging managers and started making small allocations.
With a 25-year track record of investing using the same strategy, you would have thought fundraising for Artemis’ first fund would be easy. Not so much! It was considered an emerging manager fund. It took 225 meetings and two years to find 11 investors to do the first close of their first fund. Harmon’s grit and desire to make a difference kept her going.
Diversity And Partnerships Drive Better Performance
Alex Gilbert, co-CEO of Artemis Real Estate Partners.
Harmon and Gilbert strongly believe diversity drives better risk-adjusted performance. “I felt an enormous responsibility to outperform because I thought our out performance would open the doors wider for the next generation,” said Harmon.
“I talk a lot about the power of partnership and the importance of building teams that don't clone your strength but complement your strength,” said Harmon. “Alex couldn't be more different than me.
The firm recently hit a major milestone of $10 billion of assets under management, making over 300 investments. Nearly all of Artemis’ institutional investors (95%) have re-upped.
“Our focus has been to achieve top-tier performance, investing across the real estate risk spectrum, across product type, and geography focused in the U.S.,” said Harmon. “Our focus has also been in the middle market of investment size and partnering with diverse emerging and established joint venture operating partners.”
Artemis’ superpower is partnerships. As a risk management approach, the firm has co-CEOs, co-presidents, and co-portfolio managers. Diversity of thought breeds innovation, creativity, and resilience within organizations. Embracing different perspectives can lead to a broader range of ideas and solutions, challenge biases, and drive strong team performance. “It also creates a culture of growth opportunities; it's better for our employees,” said Harmon.
For its portfolio, Artemis doesn’t just provide capital; it provides strategic support, talent, office space, and investor access. If local operating partners want to become fund managers, Artemis supports them along their journey.
Why was it so hard to raise money for the first fund? “‘Because people view difference as a risk, not a strength,” exclaimed Harmon. “We went on to raise $436 million, which is today fully realized. We generated a top decile gross return for that vintage of 30% versus a target of 20%.”
Harmon wanted Artemis to be an agent of change to advance opportunities for those who were historically under served in the real estate industry. “You can't change an industry alone,” said Harmon. Over the last 15 years, Artemis has partnered with other industry leaders—including investors, operating partners, and competitors—to help lead the diversification of the industry.
Deborah Harmon speaking to a group of Artemis Summer Enrichment Program interns.
Artemis created a Summer Enrichment Program ten years ago to expand the talent pipeline entering the real estate industry. “At one point, we had more summer interns than employees,” said Harmon. “We had more than 200 interns; it’s a massive economic investment.” Without the intern program, over 80% would never have had access to the real estate industry. Fifty percent of the students have gone on to placements in the real estate, banking, and finance industry, working for competitors, investors, and operating partners.
The industry is slowly awakening to the opportunity inherent in investing in diverse emerging managers. Investors are drawn by their potential for higher returns and access to off-market deals. It is important to note that this acceptance is not universal. Some institutions remain cautious about emerging managers, while others threaten “Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)” initiatives with legal suits, such as those filed in adjacent industries against grants provided by Fearless Fund and Hello Alice and supplier diversity programs.
“The polarized rhetoric around ESG initiatives is a diversion,” said Harmon. “For us, it's all about performance.” For 15 years, the answer is unequivocally ‘yes’ across Artemis’ platform of more than 100 joint venture operating partners.” And they have the track record to prove it!
How are you challenging old business models?
