Zelman Expands Real Estate Investment Banking Team with Experienced Senior Banker

Zelman & Associates, a Walker & Dunlop Company, announced that Alex Virtue has joined the company as Managing Director. Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Virtue will expand Zelman’s investment banking coverage in multifamily and other asset classes and will work in close collaboration with Tony McGill, senior managing director and head of Investment Banking at Zelman in New York.

"Alex’s multi-decade track record will greatly enhance our ability to provide a more holistic suite of asset and entity-level advisory services to our corporate and institutional investor clients. He has extensive experience executing M&A and capital markets transactions for leading REITs and commercial owners and developers in both the public and private markets,” said Ivy Zelman, executive vice president and co-founder of Zelman. “Alex will make an immediate impact on our team and clients. Investment banking is a core component of Walker & Dunlop’s Drive to ’25 and we plan to continue expanding this business.”

Mr. Virtue brings over twenty years of investment banking experience to Zelman, including M&A and capital raising transactions across real estate sectors. Mr. Virtue began his investment banking career with Merrill Lynch’s real estate investment banking group followed by senior positions at Eastdil Secured / Wells Fargo Securities and CBRE Capital Advisors. Most recently, Mr. Virtue was SVP and head of capital markets at Xebec, a national real estate development and asset management firm focused on the industrial logistics sector.  

"Alex will be an incredibly valuable addition and an important contributor to our team,” said Tony McGill. "He is a veteran capital markets professional with experience in a broad array of often complicated transactions. This skillset is especially valuable for our clients today who are navigating a volatile operating environment. Alex aligns with our commitment to placing our clients’ interests first, acting with conviction, and performing by the highest standards of character and integrity, making him an ideal fit with us and for clients.”

Zelman has earned an impressive reputation among institutional investors and business executives for its unbiased, in-depth research, insightful analysis, and comprehensive investment banking services. Walker & Dunlop acquired Zelman & Associates in July 2021 with the overarching goals of generating more actionable insights, providing bespoke M&A and capital raising transaction services, and becoming a more valuable overall partner to its clients.

About Zelman & Associates

Founded in 2007 by Ivy Zelman and Dennis McGill, Zelman is the leading institutional research advisory and investment banking firm dedicated exclusively to the housing and commercial real estate industries. Zelman provides distinguished institutional research and investment banking capabilities with the highest levels of client service, trust, sophistication, and credibility unique to the housing, institutional research, and investment banking industries.

All securities offered through Zelman Partners LLC, a registered broker dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory services firms in the United States. Our ideas and capital create communities where people live, work, shop, and play. The diversity of our people, breadth of our brand and technological capabilities make us one of the most insightful and client-focused firms in the commercial real estate industry.