Sharpe Ratio: The Institutional Risk-Adjusted Benchmark
A 20% IRR with high volatility can be inferior to a 14% IRR with low volatility. The Sharpe ratio is how institutional LPs decide which deal actually deserves capital.
The Formula
The risk-free rate is typically the 10-year Treasury yield. Standard deviation measures the volatility of returns over the measurement period.
Strategy Bucket Targets
- Core: 8% IRR · 0.8 Sharpe
- Core-Plus: 11% IRR · 0.7 Sharpe
- Value-Add: 15% IRR · 0.6 Sharpe
- Opportunistic: 20% IRR · 0.5 Sharpe
Lower expected Sharpe for higher-risk strategies is normal — the absolute return compensates for the volatility.
Calculate Your Sharpe & Sortino
Benchmark your deal against strategy-bucket targets — the way institutional LPs evaluate it.
Open Risk-Adjusted Return Calculator →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Sharpe ratio?
The Sharpe ratio measures excess return per unit of total risk. It is calculated as (Investment Return − Risk-Free Rate) ÷ Standard Deviation of Returns. Higher is better; institutional LPs use it to compare deals across risk levels.
What is a good Sharpe ratio for CRE?
Core strategies target 0.8+; core-plus 0.7+; value-add 0.6+; opportunistic 0.5+. Lower expected ratios for higher-risk strategies are normal — the absolute return compensates for the volatility.
Sharpe vs Sortino — which matters more?
Sharpe uses total volatility (both up and down). Sortino uses only downside volatility. For asymmetric return profiles common in value-add and opportunistic real estate, Sortino is often more informative.