Cohen & Steers

Cohen & Steers is a United States investment management company focused on specialized income-oriented and real-asset investment strategies. Its best-known area is listed real estate, particularly securities issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs) and related companies. The firm also manages strategies involving preferred securities and other real assets, using publicly traded securities and investment vehicles rather than operating property businesses itself. The company was founded in 1986 by Martin Cohen and Robert Steers. Before establishing Cohen & Steers, both founders worked at the National Securities and Research Corporation. In 1985, they organized and managed the National Real Estate Stock Fund, described in reference material as the first real estate securities mutual fund in the United States. That experience helped establish the investment approach that later became the core of Cohen & Steers: treating real estate as a distinct securities sector that could be analyzed and managed through diversified public-market portfolios. Cohen & Steers is associated with the development of the securitized real-estate investment sector. Rather than concentrating on direct ownership or development of individual properties, the firm provides professional investment management for institutions, financial intermediaries, and other investors seeking exposure to listed real estate and related income-producing assets. Its offerings have included mutual funds and separately managed accounts, with REIT-focused strategies serving as a prominent part of its product range. The firm's investment scope broadened over time. It expanded into preferred securities in 2003 and into real assets in 2012, according to the supplied reference material. These additions allowed Cohen & Steers to address investment themes beyond conventional listed real estate while maintaining an emphasis on income, diversification, inflation sensitivity, and real-asset exposure. The exact mix of products and client channels may vary by jurisdiction and market conditions. Cohen & Steers became a publicly traded company through an initial public offering completed in August 2004. The offering raised $104.3 million and placed the company on the New York Stock Exchange. Public ownership gave the firm access to listed-company capital markets while leaving its identity centered on specialist asset management rather than broad retail financial services. Leadership continuity has included a transition from the founders' direct operating roles. Martin Cohen retired from day-to-day management in 2016. In November 2021, Robert Steers announced that he would step down as chief executive officer and that Joseph Harvey would succeed him. The company has continued to be described as a specialist manager with a global investment orientation. Reference material also reports that its assets under management exceeded $100 billion in 2021 and that it ranked among the world's largest managers of REIT securities in a report from the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Those figures are time-specific and should not be treated as current assets under management without a more recent company or regulatory source. Cohen & Steers is a U.S.-based global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income. The company’s origins are closely associated with listed real estate: founders Marty Cohen and Bob Steers set out to help investors participate in the emerging public real estate investment trust (REIT) market. In 1985, before the firm’s formal founding, they created and managed what the company describes as the first mutual fund specializing in real estate securities. Cohen & Steers was founded in 1986. The firm offers actively managed investment solutions, including funds and exchange-traded funds. Its stated areas of expertise include real estate securities, global listed infrastructure, commodities, natural resources, and energy. The featured offerings on its website include a multi-strategy real assets ETF, a future-of-energy ETF, and an actively managed real estate ETF. These examples illustrate a focus on specialized investment strategies rather than general retail banking or a broad range of consumer financial services. Cohen & Steers serves clients through a global investment-management business and reports having six offices globally. Its stated mission is to help clients achieve financial security through investment results, client service, product development, and strategy. The firm highlights specialist expertise, investment innovation, client education, and inclusion as central values. It also describes corporate responsibility as encompassing beliefs and practices, the environment, communities, and culture. The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2004 under the ticker CNS. Its investor-relations materials describe it as a global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income. The company reported $100.1 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026. It remains an active investment manager, providing information about funds, investment themes, financial results, corporate governance, and shareholder matters through its website. Cohen & Steers is a U.S.-based global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income. Its best-known area is listed real estate, particularly securities issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs) and related companies; the firm also manages strategies involving preferred securities, global listed infrastructure, commodities, natural resources, and energy, using publicly traded securities and investment vehicles rather than operating property businesses itself. Cohen & Steers is associated with the development of the securitized real-estate investment sector. Rather than concentrating on direct ownership or development of individual properties, the firm provides professional investment management for institutions, financial intermediaries, and other investors seeking exposure to listed real estate and related income-producing assets. Its offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), separately managed accounts, and institutional mandates. Featured ETFs include the Real Assets Active ETF (CSRA), the Future of Energy Active ETF (CSEN), and the Real Estate Active ETF (CSRE). The firm's investment scope broadened over time. It expanded into preferred securities in 2003 and into real assets in 2012. These additions allowed Cohen & Steers to address investment themes beyond conventional listed real estate while maintaining an emphasis on income, diversification, inflation sensitivity, and real-asset exposure. The company reports having six offices globally and describes its mission as helping clients achieve financial security through investment results, client service, product development, and strategy; it presents excellence, innovation, focus, and inclusion as core values, and frames corporate responsibility around beliefs and practices, the environment, communities, and culture. Cohen & Steers completed an initial public offering in August 2004, raising $104.3 million and listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CNS. Public ownership gave the company access to public equity markets while preserving its identity as a specialist asset manager rather than a broad retail financial-services provider. Leadership continuity has included transitions from the founders' direct operating roles. Martin Cohen retired from day-to-day management in 2016. In November 2021, Robert Steers announced he would step down as chief executive officer, with Joseph Harvey succeeding him. Reference material reports that assets under management exceeded $100 billion in 2021, and a National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts report cited in the same material placed Cohen & Steers third among global managers of REIT securities, using assets under management measured as of September 2025. Company investor-relations materials report $100.1 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026. These figures are time-bound and may use different definitions or scope; they should not be treated as current without updated company or regulatory sources.

Cohen & Steers was established in 1986 by Martin Cohen and Robert Steers, who had previously worked at the National Securities and Research Corporation. The firm's origins were closely connected to the emergence of publicly traded real estate as a dedicated investment category. In 1985, before founding the company, Cohen and Steers organized and managed the National Real Estate Stock Fund. The fund is described in the supplied reference material as the first real estate securities mutual fund in the United States. That early work shaped Cohen & Steers' subsequent specialization. The company concentrated on real estate securities, particularly REITs and other listed real-estate companies, helping develop an investment-management model based on diversified public-market exposure to property sectors. This approach differed from direct real-estate ownership because investors could obtain exposure through securities portfolios with daily market pricing and professional management. Over the following decades, Cohen & Steers became identified with the development of the securitized real-estate sector. Its activities included mutual funds and separately managed accounts, allowing the firm to serve both pooled-fund investors and institutional or other separately managed mandates. The firm's investment universe was not limited permanently to real estate. It expanded into preferred securities in 2003, adding a strategy area associated with income generation and capital-structure analysis. In 2012, it broadened its scope again into real assets. A major corporate milestone occurred in August 2004, when Cohen & Steers completed an initial public offering. The transaction raised $104.3 million and resulted in the company's listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Becoming public distinguished the firm from many privately held investment boutiques while preserving its specialist identity and sector-focused investment model. Leadership gradually moved from the founders' direct involvement toward a successor-led management structure. Martin Cohen retired from day-to-day management in 2016. Robert Steers later announced in November 2021 that he would step down as chief executive officer and that Joseph Harvey would succeed him. The transition marked a change in operating leadership while retaining the firm's established focus on real estate securities, preferred securities, and real assets. The company also expanded in scale. The supplied reference material states that assets under management exceeded $100 billion in 2021. A National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts report cited in the same material placed Cohen & Steers third among global managers of REIT securities, using assets under management measured as of September 2025. These measurements are time-bound and may include different definitions or scope from the company's broader assets under management. Cohen & Steers is therefore best understood as a specialist global asset manager whose historical differentiation comes from its early leadership in listed real estate and whose later business includes several related income and real-asset strategies. Cohen & Steers traces its origins to the development of publicly traded real estate investment opportunities. The company’s account of its history identifies Marty Cohen and Bob Steers as founders who saw potential in public real estate investment trusts and sought to make listed real estate accessible to investors. In 1985, they created and managed what the firm describes as the first mutual fund specializing in real estate securities. This initiative preceded the formal establishment of Cohen & Steers in 1986 and gave the company an early specialization in real estate securities. The firm’s subsequent identity has remained that of a specialist investment manager. Its current description emphasizes real assets and alternative income, with offerings and investment themes spanning real estate, listed infrastructure, commodities, natural resources, and energy. The products featured on its website include actively managed ETFs focused on real assets, the future of energy, and real estate. The company also provides investment education through themed knowledge centers, including coverage of energy, global listed infrastructure, and real estate. Cohen & Steers became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2004, under the ticker CNS. Its investor-relations materials describe it as a global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income. The firm reports having six offices globally and positions its mission around helping clients achieve financial security through investment results, client service, product development, and strategy. The company presents excellence, innovation, focus, and inclusion as core values. It describes corporate responsibility as a framework encompassing its beliefs and practices, environment, communities, and culture, and says its governance and ethical practices have been maintained since its founding in 1986. In materials reporting on the period through June 30, 2026, Cohen & Steers states that it had $100.1 billion in assets under management. Its website continues to provide fund information, shareholder materials, financial reporting, corporate-governance information, and investment commentary. The company also expanded in scale and global reach, reporting six offices globally and presenting excellence, innovation, focus, and inclusion as core values; it describes corporate responsibility as a framework encompassing its beliefs and practices, environment, communities, and culture, and says its governance and ethical practices have been maintained since its founding in 1986. The supplied reference material states that assets under management exceeded $100 billion in 2021. A National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts report cited in the same material placed Cohen & Steers third among global managers of REIT securities, using assets under management measured as of September 2025. Company investor-relations materials report $100.1 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026. These measurements are time-bound and may include different definitions or scope from the company's broader assets under management. Cohen & Steers is therefore best understood as a specialist global asset manager whose historical differentiation comes from its early leadership in listed real estate and whose later business includes several related income and real-asset strategies.

• 2026

  Assets under management reported

  [4]Investor Relations - Cohen & Steerscohenandsteers.com

  Company investor-relations materials report $100.1 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026.

• 2021

  Assets under management exceed $100 billion

  [1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reports that the company's assets under management surpassed $100 billion during 2021.

• 2021

  CEO succession announced

  [1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Steers announced his planned departure as chief executive officer and identified Joseph Harvey as his successor.

• 2016

  Martin Cohen leaves day-to-day management

  [1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Co-founder Martin Cohen retired from the company's daily operating management.

• 2012

  Expansion into real assets

  [1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  The firm broadened its investment platform to include real assets in addition to listed real estate and preferred securities.

• 2004

  Initial public offering and NYSE listing

  [1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Cohen & Steers completed its initial public offering in August, raising $104.3 million and becoming a New York Stock Exchange-listed company under the ticker CNS.

• 2003

  Expansion into preferred securities

  [1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  The firm expanded beyond its original real-estate focus by adding preferred securities as an investment area.

• 1986

  Cohen & Steers is founded

  [1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Martin Cohen and Robert Steers founded the investment management company after working together at the National Securities and Research Corporation.

• 1985

  National Real Estate Stock Fund is organized

  [1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Before founding Cohen & Steers, Martin Cohen and Robert Steers organized and managed the National Real Estate Stock Fund, described as the first real estate securities mutual fund in the United States.

• 1985

  First real estate securities mutual fund

A specialist global investment manager focused on real assets and alternative income, with investment expertise spanning real estate, listed infrastructure, commodities, natural resources, and energy.

• Real-estate securities · 1986

  REIT and listed real-estate strategies

  These strategies invest in publicly traded REITs and other listed real-estate companies. They represent the firm's historical core and provide diversified exposure to property sectors through securities markets rather than direct ownership of individual buildings. Portfolios may be structured for mutual funds, institutional mandates, or separately managed accounts, depending on the vehicle and jurisdiction.

• Income-oriented securities · 2003

  Preferred securities strategies

  Preferred-securities strategies were added to the firm's investment platform in 2003. Preferred securities occupy a position between common equity and debt in a company's capital structure and are often used by investors seeking income and diversification. Cohen & Steers manages this area as part of its broader specialist approach to income-producing securities.

• Real assets · 2012

  Real-assets strategies

  The firm expanded into real assets in 2012. This category broadens the platform beyond conventional listed real estate and can encompass market exposures linked to tangible assets and infrastructure-related economic activity. The supplied reference material identifies the expansion but does not provide a complete product-by-product list.

• Pooled investment vehicles

  Mutual funds

  Cohen & Steers offers mutual-fund vehicles that pool investor capital into professionally managed portfolios. The firm's historical association with real-estate securities mutual funds is central to its identity, while its broader platform includes strategies connected with real estate, preferred securities, and other real assets.

• Institutional and private accounts

  Separately managed accounts

  Separately managed accounts provide customized portfolio management outside a pooled mutual-fund structure. They are suited to institutions and other eligible investors seeking exposure to the firm's specialist strategies with an account structure that can accommodate client-specific mandates or restrictions.

• Exchange-traded funds

  Real Assets Active ETF (CSRA)

  An actively managed, multi-strategy real assets solution investing across real estate, commodities, natural resources, and infrastructure.

• Exchange-traded funds

  Future of Energy Active ETF (CSEN)

  Invests in energy companies across the value chain, including producers, enablers, and developers of traditional and alternative energy markets.

• Exchange-traded funds

  Real Estate Active ETF (CSRE)

  An actively managed, high-conviction portfolio of U.S. real estate securities, with select opportunistic exposure to non-U.S. and other real estate-related securities.

• 2021

  Transition from Robert Steers to Joseph HarveyOther

  Background

  Co-founder Robert Steers announced that he would step down as chief executive officer after leading the firm through a period of expansion in assets and investment capabilities.

  Action taken

  The company designated Joseph Harvey as Steers' successor as chief executive officer.

  Aftermath

  The succession shifted day-to-day leadership to a non-founder successor while preserving the firm's established specialist investment orientation.

  Source

• 2012

  Expansion into real assetsStrategy

  Background

  The company sought to extend its specialist investment capabilities beyond listed real estate and preferred securities.

  Action taken

  Cohen & Steers added real assets to its investment platform.

  Aftermath

  The firm positioned itself across several related real-asset and income-oriented investment categories while retaining real estate as its defining area of expertise.

  Source

• 2004

  Public listing through initial public offeringOther

  Background

  Cohen & Steers had operated as a specialist investment management firm and elected to access public equity markets.

  Action taken

  The company completed an initial public offering in August 2004 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CNS.

  Aftermath

  The offering raised $104.3 million and made Cohen & Steers a publicly traded asset manager.

  IPO proceeds. $104.3 million raised (August 2004)

  Source

• 2003

  Diversification into preferred securitiesStrategy

  Background

  After building its reputation in real-estate securities, the firm broadened its investment platform to address another income-oriented securities category.

  Action taken

  Cohen & Steers expanded into preferred securities as a formal investment area.

  Aftermath

  The move contributed to the firm's evolution from a narrowly real-estate-focused manager into a broader specialist manager of income and alternative investment strategies.

  Source

• Specialist focus on listed real estateOther

• 2025

  Cohen & Steers remains among leading global REIT-securities managers[1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts report cited in the reference material ranked Cohen & Steers as the third-largest manager of REIT securities worldwide, based on assets under management as of September 2025.

• 2021

  Joseph Harvey designated to succeed Robert Steers as CEO[1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  In November 2021, Robert Steers announced that he would step down as chief executive officer and that Joseph Harvey would succeed him.

• 2021

  Assets under management surpass $100 billion[1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Reference material reports that Cohen & Steers' assets under management exceeded $100 billion during 2021.

• 2016

  Martin Cohen retires from day-to-day management[1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  Co-founder Martin Cohen retired from the company's day-to-day management while the firm continued operating as a specialist asset manager.

• 2004

  Cohen & Steers completes initial public offering[1]Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company completed its initial public offering in August 2004, raising $104.3 million and becoming listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

1. 1Cohen & Steersen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Cohen & Steers Homepagecohenandsteers.com
3. 3About us - Cohen & Steerscohenandsteers.com
4. 4Investor Relations - Cohen & Steerscohenandsteers.com
5. 5Corporate responsibility - Cohen & Steerscohenandsteers.com
6. 6Cohen & Steers Appoints Dasha Smith to Board of Directorsprnewswire.com
7. 7Cohen & Steers Appoints Joseph M. Harvey as Acting Chief Executive Officerprnewswire.com
8. 8Cohen & Steers Launches Real Assets Active ETF (CSRA)prnewswire.com