Chase Bolding is Chief Investment Officer and Head of North America at Invesco Real Estate, a global subsidiary of Invesco that manages $90 billion in assets. Invesco as a whole manages $2 trillion in assets. From New York City, Bolding oversees several portfolios comprising approximately $40 billion in commercial real estate. Since joining Invesco 16 years ago, Bolding has expanded his expertise across all asset classes and markets. Today, he uses this knowledge to lead the company's institutional investment business, which touches almost every sector, as well as its private wealth business, which has been growing since 2019. The latter prioritises core-plus and income-oriented strategies.
In private wealth management, Bolding is responsible for the investment strategy of the Invesco Real Estate Income Trust (INREIT), a $1.3 billion non-traded REIT vehicle that invests in stabilised properties across various sectors. He also oversees the Invesco Commercial Real Estate Finance Trust (INCREF), a Perpetual Life REIT consisting of loans and preferred equity interests secured by commercial real estate. Additionally, he manages smaller portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and family offices seeking efficient, tax-optimised strategies.
Career Start and Lessons from the Financial Crisis
Bolding began his career in 2007 at Greenfield Partners in Connecticut, where after university he was the sole analyst contributing to a $1 billion closed-end opportunity fund. He describes this period as extremely instructive, as it immediately preceded the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). He received an intensive introduction to the financial system and experienced a dynamic investment environment that prepared him for market challenges. After his time at Greenfield Partners, he moved to Invesco Real Estate in 2010.
At Greenfield Partners, Bolding specialised in working with distressed and non-performing assets. This experience has been valuable throughout his career, as it requires three-dimensional thinking about investments. This involves not only fundamentals but also legal frameworks and collaboration with lenders and partners. He emphasises the importance of negotiation and compromise skills, which are highly valuable in both strong and strained markets.
The GFC taught him to develop a risk-based mindset. Individuals who began their careers after the GFC did not experience comparable capital losses or principal risks to the same extent as during the GFC until many years into their professional lives. Starting his career amidst asset write-downs and workouts taught him to act creatively and solution-oriented to succeed – a skill that requires a full cycle to impart.
The Move to Invesco and the Post-GFC Strategy
His move to Invesco was motivated by the US government's collaboration with the private sector at the time under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. As part of the Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP), eight or nine managers were selected to strengthen liquidity in the system by providing capital to banks, primarily in the securitised sector (CMBS, RMBS). Invesco Real Estate pursued a unique approach: the company also targeted private real estate. Bolding joined the team that built this opportunistic business segment, which he considered a promising step in his career.
In this post-GFC era, Invesco Real Estate focused on all commercial real estate sectors. Initially, loan sales were particularly prominent, offered by various players such as insurance companies, conduit borrowers, and banks. Invesco purchased these loans, sometimes converting them into real estate, sometimes not. The flexibility in acquiring loans allowed for modifying loans or, if necessary, pursuing remedies provided for in the loan documents. This encompassed hotels, retail, offices, and residential properties.
