The real estate investment manager M&A market remains active so far this year, but with a notably different cast of buyers. Large, publicly traded alternative investment managers – historically the dominant acquirers in this space – have temporarily stepped back from dealmaking.

Drew Murphy, partner and head of the private markets advisory practice at Berkshire Global Advisors, pointed to two key factors driving this shift. Recent volatility in private credit markets and renewed Middle East tensions have made major public investment firms more cautious about pursuing new acquisitions.

Non-alternative buyers are now stepping into the breach to fill the gap left by the pullback from large public managers. This creates an unusual dynamic where smaller or non-traditional players are leading deal activity instead of the institutional giants that typically dominate the space.