Bellwether

Bellwether's Analyst Asset Management Program is an integral part of our company's platform—focused on attracting and training top-tier talent from renowned universities across the United States. The program offers diverse and extensive real estate exposure across investment vehicles, asset classes and the capital stack, empowering our analysts and associates to develop important relationships and build career-enhancing skills. Welcome to Bellwether Jack Bennan Sam Cooper Benjamin Farrell Timothy Francis Ryan Gee Bob Hoang Aiden Johnson John Michael Kinney Evan Kupferberg Zach Lesher Ryan Lindley Scarlet Lytel Aidan Najah Rylen P. Keegan Rothrock Summit Schmerse David Stevenson Braxton Whitney

Bellwether is hosting its virtual 2026 Recruiting Information Session on September 2nd and 3rd at 4:00 PM Pacific Time. We will discuss full-time Debt/Equity Analyst positions and all current college students are welcome to join the session! Zoom Link: https://lnkd.in/gvCjHbic Handshake: https://lnkd.in/dC9ebBf5 Website: https://bellwetherco.com/

This month, we celebrated the opening of Bellwether’s Dallas office. We are excited to officially establish our presence in the Dallas market and continue our company’s expansion.

Chart for Thought No. 32: The Big Role Played by Small Businesses * Small businesses are an often-overlooked economic engine of the U.S. economy. * Of the approximately 6.1 million private job openings in 1Q 2025, 47% were offered by firms with less than 50 employees. * Additionally, small firms with fewer than 50 employees employed about 44% of the nation's private workforce. * Although leasing activity by small business often goes unnoticed in news headlines due to their relatively modest size, the cumulative impact on real estate demand is significant and far-reaching. * CoStar data provides a general outline of the significance of small-business office leasing activity in 2024, whereby leases smaller than 5,000 square feet accounted for over 110,000 leases compared to the approximately 20,000 leases tallied for deals larger than 5,000 sq. ft. * The high volume of small leases translates to a significant share of the total square footage leased. * In our home market of Los Angeles, office leases under 5,000 square feet made up nearly 40% of the total square footage leased in the market during 2024. * The same is true for smaller industrial spaces where leases under 15,000 square feet made up 35% of the square footage leased in 2024. * While these examples highlight how small businesses play a vital role in real estate demand, they are also integral to the ownership and operation of the nation’s real estate. The health of small businesses is key to the performance of all the major property types, and to the national economy in whole. For more Bellwether Charts for Thought, click here: https://lnkd.in/gXBsshS5

This week, our Los Angeles summer intern class had the opportunity to tour an industrial building near LAX. Special thank you to CBRE (Bret Quinlan and Jenny Edwards) for sharing their insights and expertise with our summer intern class. 

As part of Bellwether's ongoing commitment to philanthropy, in May, our London team volunteered at Thrive in Battersea Park, a charity that uses gardening as a therapeutic tool to improve well-being. The team spent the day planting, weeding, and building compost to support Thrive’s mission. We’re proud to support organizations making a meaningful impact in our communities.

Applications for the Bellwether Women’s Mentorship Program for the 2025-2026 school year are now open. The program aims to foster growth and provide guidance for undergraduate women who are interested in pursuing careers in real estate. Those interested can apply on LinkedIn or our website by September 30th. Please reach out to womensmentorship@bellwetherco.com with any questions. 

Philanthropy is a core commitment of our culture at Bellwether. For our LA and OC offices' annual Philanthropy Day, the team volunteered at MudTown Farms, an urban farm and community wellness center in Watts. The team spent the day working around the farm, weeding, planting crops, turning a live compost pile, constructing a toolshed, and painting signage for the garden. We are grateful for the opportunity to support our local community.

Last week, Mike Holford represented Bellwether London at an important conference in the House of Lords of the UK Parliament, where they outlined a forthcoming whitepaper on the Building and Safety Act. Their contribution will be instrumental in shaping the discussion around regulatory clarity, implementation challenges, and industry-wide accountability.

Chart for Thought No. 31: Why a Growing U.S. Trade Deficit is Bullish for U.S. Risk Assets In our latest Chart for Thought, we explore an underappreciated mechanism: how trade imbalances may actually fuel U.S. financial markets. Drawing from data since 2008, we examine a surprisingly strong correlation between the U.S. trade deficit and the S&P 500.   Key Takeaways: * Capital Feedback Loop: A growing U.S. trade deficit exports U.S. dollars globally — many of which are recycled back into U.S. financial markets via equities, bonds, alternatives, and other assets. * Liquidity Engine: The U.S. dollar’s reserve status and the attractiveness of U.S. markets make this loop sticky — further reinforced by the post-2008 world of QE, globalization, and U.S. economic outperformance. * Empirical Link: Since 2008, the year-over-year percentage change in the U.S. trade deficit and the S&P 500 show a strong positive correlation. * Policy Implications: Efforts to reduce the trade deficit (e.g., reshoring, tariffs, etc.) may create headwinds unless offset by other economic levers. * Looking Ahead: Investors and policymakers should pay close attention to how structural trade dynamics influence cross-border capital flows, U.S. financial market performance, and policy trade-offs in the years ahead. For more Bellwether Charts for Thought, click here: https://lnkd.in/gXBsshS5