Ned Tanner, 29

For many, success means taking the road less traveled. For Ned Tanner, who hails from a family of lawyers, it began with a decision to pursue a different career. 

“I was always interested in finance and the nature of real estate,” he said, “and the people that I already knew in the business created this natural attraction and curiosity for me.” 

Tanner earned his bachelor’s degree in finance at Lehigh University before completing a master’s in real estate and real estate development at Georgetown. Today, he specializes in one specific strategy for Related Fund Management — preferred equity investments that sit behind agency loans on existing multifamily properties — but his career experience prior to Related proved to be the perfect launchpad. 

Tanner got his industry start working for Freddie Mac. It was there he learned the key fundamentals and also built a network across the agency’s seller-servicer clients. He wanted to add to his repertoire by gaining experience on the owner-operator side, and so from there he went to Aion Partners, a multifamily investment firm for two years. Then, the Related opportunity serendipitously came calling. 

“Starting as an agency lender, and then jumping to owning and buying real estate, I now sit in the middle,” Tanner said. “I’m a quasi-lender, quasi-owner in the preferred equity space, so it’s the best of both worlds, and my prior experience culminated to get me to this position.” 

It was a good friend and former Freddie Mac colleague who’d moved to Related Fund Management who gave Tanner the heads-up about his current position being up for grabs. Tanner joined in 2023, and today he oversees underwriting, portfolio management and investor reporting for the platform’s $1.5 billion multifamily preferred equity portfolio, while also supporting between $200 million and $500 million in new originations annually. 

Tanner’s niche is getting more competitive, with several institutional owners starting preferred equity arms, but it doesn’t faze his team. “We’re one of the larger pref providers that are agency compliant, and the agencies will come to our group specifically to help them structure their guidelines on what should and should not be allowed — so they have a lot of respect for us, as we do for them,” Tanner said. “Given that half our team used to work at Freddie Mac, we have a really good synergistic relationship.” 

As if Tanner doesn’t have enough to celebrate, he and his wife recently bought a new house in Hoboken, N.J., and are expecting their first child, a boy, in September.