“It ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward,” boxer Rocky Balboa once wisely said.

In the past year, there have been plenty of one-two punches for real estate and plenty of scenarios where investors had to have fast feet in order to bob and weave (and occasionally duck). 

In the original “Rocky” movie — now 50 years old — a little-known Philly fighter goes head to head with the heavyweight champion of the world, putting himself at significant risk in his quest for significant glory. With higher-yielding opportunities an increasing focus for many today, CO’s Power Investors occasionally have a similar conundrum when weighing the risk-reward tradeoff. But they also have the competitive advantage of several years of training, hard work and experience to know when to lean in and punch, and when to leave the ring. 

This list, now in its second year, features the most powerful investors or investment teams in real estate from 25 different entities. Power is the strength to act, and whether market conditions are favorable or choppy as heck, these investors consistently show up and find savvy ways to generate real returns on behalf of their own investors. 

While high-conviction themes are a recurring North Star — with housing and logistics continuing to be de rigueur — several investors on the list are busy far from the madding crowd and focused instead on more niche asset classes like manufactured housing, industrial outdoor storage or cold storage. A lot of distress still exists in the system and the bid-ask spat is ongoing, but our investors aren’t fazed by market dislocation or bumps. Instead, they’re leaning into it and maximizing the market opportunity for however long that window lasts. After all, “Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up.”

To select our featured honorees, we looked at a cross section of GPs, LPs, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, investment banks and others to see who had an impressive story to tell this past year. We understand that 25 isn’t a big number, so we contacted some of Commercial Observer’s top sources wheeling and dealing on the investment side on a daily basis to see who in their opinion is a force to be reckoned with and who’s showing up consistently. As always, some investors would rather Rocky Balboa, Adrian (!), Apollo Creed or anyone other than them have their spotlight, so we did some digging around financial disclosures and news coverage to try to capture their true might. 

So, dear reader, please sit back and enjoy this list of the most powerful investors who are fearlessly leading the fight on behalf of top-performing platforms and funds. Learn about their investments, their highlights and their challenges, where they’re finding opportunity and why, what they won’t touch with a 10-foot barge pole, and what in their eyes is a knockout strategy that can leave their competitors down for the count.  

As Balboa said, “Going in one more round when you don’t think you can — that’s what makes the difference in your life.” These investors have shown they have the tenacity to take on whatever, and we raise our boxing glove to them for an awkward fist bump.

Investor profiles — listed alphabetically by entity name — were written by Tom Acitelli, Andrew Coen, Gregory Cornfield, Cathy Cunningham, Emily Davis, Isabelle Durso, Julia Echikson, Larry Getlen, Mark Hallum, Brian Pascus and Amanda Schiavo. Profiles were edited by Acitelli, Cunningham, Skip Card and Max Gross. Jim Sewastynowicz coordinated the photographs. Jeff Cuyubamba designed the layout.