Canadian firms push into NYC brokerage market

Two Canadian firms are trying to make their mark in the New York City commercial brokerage business, the Wall Street Journal reported, and are giving top brokers significant financial incentives to join their teams.

Investment bank Brookfield Financial, which is owned by Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, recently hired Eric Anton and Ronald Solarz, two high-profile brokers from Eastern Consolidated, to launch their New York City team, while Avison Young, a Canadian brokerage firm, hired Gregory Kraut, a CBRE Group alumnus, as a principal.

Anton and Solarz reportedly received seven-figure signing bonuses when they first joined Brookfield, while Avison’s principals get equity in the firm, which currently has no debt and is flush with cash, according to the Journal.

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Mark Rose, CEO of Avison Young, defended his firm’s ability to attract talent.

Competitors “have a vested interest to explain the movement away with signing bonuses. It is just not true for us,” he said. [WSJ]