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Our team

Almazara deliberately has a compact team of specialists who work for our clients as a ‘dedicated’ group. We don’t have any staff departments, so no time-consuming staff meetings and coordination meetings. Working intensively together, we can concentrate all of our time and energy in our clients. We only employ advisers who have the potential of becoming partners, thus guaranteeing the knowledge and experience for our services.

 

Our team currently consists of:

 

 

 

Bas van den IJssel 

Partner and founder

‘We know the trends.’

‘My fascination for real estate is all about its tangibility and relevance. Real estate is also continuously developing, literally and figuratively. Many trends are global and that also makes this area of expertise fascinating. Our challenge is to know all of those trends, to interpret them and to predict them. For example, what will happen in cities as soon as the self-driving car is embraced? Will there be more offices in city centres? Or will they remain on the peripheries? And what about urbanisation? What will be the consequences of this global trend on the development of real estate? We know the trends. These are the things we like to study more closely.’

‘We are professional and personal.’

‘Personal contact plays a leading role in this profession. We work regularly with and like working with fund managers throughout the world, meeting them in person so we can look them in the eye and assess the prospects for ourselves. Is this fund manager suitable for our client? What’s his/her strategy? And can we have faith in him/her? We’ll only take the plunge once we know for sure there’s a match, because only then are we able to offer our clients a truly tailored solution. As far as we are concerned, it’s not so much about a client handing over its real estate portfolio to us, but about the client hiring in a team of real estate professionals. We are professional, but we feel personally involved.’

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Wietse de Vries

Partner (since 2011)

‘Investing in real estate is an intellectual challenge.’

‘I was inspired virtually immediately when in 2004 I made the switch from the stocks and fixed-income world to the profession of real estate investor. The attraction of investing in real estate is that you can see what you’re involved with. We already know at an early stage what a project will ultimately look like and that’s enormously inspiring. Furthermore, investing in real estate is an intellectual challenge. It seems simple but there are large numbers of parameters which determine whether an investment will be successful or not; vacancy levels, consumer confidence, the capital market, to name just a few. You have to keep a close eye on all of those factors. It’s on the basis of this that we develop a vision and scenarios. That’s what we do.’

‘A question today, a detailed answer tomorrow.’

‘The nice thing about working in a small firm like ours is that we cannot allow ourselves to cherry pick. We place the same value on every client assignment we receive. This is what makes our work so interesting and ensures that we can continuously improve and deepen our level of knowledge. Every day we can also focus on what we believe to be important. We have to deal with rules and deadlines but we don’t have any issues with bureaucracy. A client who sends us an e-mail today will receive a detailed answer tomorrow. Try and get that elsewhere.’

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Okan Yilmaz, CAIA 

Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Adviser 

‘I want to make sure clients are informed properly about their choices.’

‘In 2013 I deliberately chose this firm. The communication lines are short and I’m involved in everything, thus allowing me to develop quickly in a broad range of subjects. I get involved in the detail of many projects and I’m in direct contact with clients. That makes our work exciting. I like to analyse to the finest of details, which means this profession is perfect for me. As a ‘stickler for detail’ I make sure I’m able to provide clients with the detailed information they need. I want to make sure clients are informed properly about their choices. Sometimes, the investment strategies of fund managers are qualitatively very similar and it’s the details that are the decisive factors.’

‘We can undertake a detailed assessment of changes to funds.’

‘We are a small team, fully aware of each other’s projects and therefore have a broad understanding of our client’s portfolios. We have our fingers on the pulse. For example, if the fund terms or strategy change then we examine that change in detail. Because we know how things are organised with other funds, and because we monitor trends and developments closely, then we can also undertake a detailed assessment of these types of changes. In this context, I am often proactively called by fund managers for advice about fund change proposals. And we’re also not shy in taking the initiative ourselves in order to protect the interests of our clients.’

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Bart-Jan Brouwer, CAIA CFA

Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Adviser

‘We operate globally.’

‘Bricks and sites. That’s what makes our work tangible and my profession so enjoyable. What you’re working on is very clear and visible. An investment proposal analysis starts with global figures, and then you analyse the funds in increasing depth, down to the specific characteristics of a property. This also makes the work very dynamic. On one day you’re busy investing in Europe and the next day you’re working on a real estate project in the United States. We always have to ensure we are at the forefront and closely monitor developments. After all, current trends in the market determine what will and will not be a good investment in the future.’

‘We can respond quickly.’

‘We invest in numerous sectors worldwide. However, at Almazara our work is not sector or region specific. Each partner or adviser is involved in every aspect and can therefore be deployed on a wide range of projects. We are all aware of what’s happening. That means the substance of our work is enormously interesting and it ensures continuity for our clients. I know all clients and now what’s happening within all of the funds, not just mine but those of my colleagues as well. We can therefore respond quickly if needed.’

CV

 

 

 

Annemiek Kleinheerenbrink

Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Adviser

‘Deliberate choice for Town and Country Planning studies.’

‘My decision to choose Town and Country Planning studies was very deliberate. I enjoy thinking through issues, making plans and solving puzzles in such a way that everyone ends up singing from the same hymn sheet. I’m the youngest and the newest member of staff at Almazara but in my brief career to date I’ve already gained a great deal of experience in researching shopping centres and retail areas. You could very tentatively call that my specialism.’

Location, location, location

Over time I really want to learn a lot from my new colleagues. I already know a lot about locations for shops and shopping centres, but I’d like to delve deeper into investing in real estate, and working at Almazara is perfect for that because investing is also all about location, location, location. Consequently, I also expect to be able to use my background in planning at Almazara. I’m also looking forward to the personal contact with clients.

CV

 

 

 

Shaun StevensShaun

Strategist

'privileged to continue learning about the industry'

I’ve been working in real assets since I started my working life as a trainee researcher analysing housing for the UK’s Office of National Statistics. This early experience provoked my interest in the real assets sector and was the start of a career investing in global public and private commercial real estate, devising strategies and investing internationally for clients in both the private real estate and global REIT markets. I have therefore been very privileged to continue learning about the industry from some talented and generous colleagues and my fascination with the built environment has only increased over the years.

'Real assets will play a pivotal role in achieving the planet’s increasingly challenging climate objectives'

I remain as enthusiastic about the potential of the sector as when I started working in real estate investment management.  And its importance to society has only increased, as real assets will play a pivotal role in achieving the increasingly challenging climate objectives.

I believe the best investment strategies are developed by working collaboratively alongside clients, which is what attracted me to joining up with Almazara. I like the small, focused and purposeful team interacting with clients to find the best investment solutions.

CV


 

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