Financial Services >> Analyst Interviews >> March 24, 1999

Retail Reits : William Acheson – Salomon Smith Barney

William Acheson joined The Benchmark Company, LLC, in July 2008 to cover the REIT sector. His 17 years of experience prior to joining Benchmark span three major real estate cycles. Most recently Mr. Acheson was a Senior Analyst at Merrill Lynch, where he covered apartment REITs for four years. Before joining Merrill Lynch, he spent four years as an apartment and retail REIT Analyst with Smith Barney, and three years as an apartment, retail and industrial REIT Analyst with Prudential. In 2008 Mr. Acheson was ranked the number three real estate stock picker in The Wall Street Journal's "Best on the Street" survey. In 2007 he was ranked the number two apartment REIT analyst by Institutional Investor in the "use of analyst" category. Mr. Acheson's specialties in the REIT arena include multifamily, student housing, manufactured home, shopping center and malls, with added experience in the industrial and office sectors. Profile
TWST: What is your assessment of the fundamentals underlying the real

estate sector today, and especially as they relate to the REITs that you

focus on malls, strip centers and self storage?