LOS ANGELES — Fred Sands, the man behind California’s second largest real estate and financial services company, has partnered with Pepperdine University in Malibu to establish the Fred Sands Institute of Real Estate within the Graziadio School of Business and Management.
The Sands Institute will include Master’s degree and certification programs, the Fred Sands Chair in real estate, the Fred Sands Fellows Program and Sands real estate conferences. According to a release issued by the school, the “Sands Institute will engage students and real estate professionals at both practical and policy levels.
Conferences will explore real estate development trends and best practices, acquisitions, the brokerage business, financing opportunities, and other timely industry topics.”
Sands is the former chairman of Fred Sands Realtors, which, along with its franchised operations, employed 4,000 people and generated $9.4 billion in annual volume. The debt-free company was sold to Coldwell Banker in 2000.
Today, Sands is the chair and sole owner of Vintage Real Estate LLC, which acquires and revitalizes regional malls across the nation. He also chairs Vintage Fund Management LLC, which invests in growth companies and has historically generated returns that would place it in the top quartile of comparable private equity firms.
The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University offers part-time and full-time executive MBA programs at five Southern California campuses and one Silicon Valley campus. It also offers classes through online and hybrid formats.