"They're asking, 'What are we doing to maximize the value of our property?' " said Jim O'Connor, the president of Douglas Elliman Property Management, which manages about 325 apartment buildings.
Ms. Sampson, 46, is director of portfolio management for OakBrook Investments, the fund's adviser, which manages about $800 million, mostly for institutions.
"Owners and managers have to reinvest to compete," said Adam R. Rose, a president of Rose Associates, which manages about 26,000 rentals.
Similarly, Globe Homes and Condos, which manages about 50 properties in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, Calif., recently hired a full-time service manager to assist guests with theme park tickets, child care and other requests.
Mr. Rajaratnam is by far the largest investor in SpotTail, which manages about $35 million.
His gold fund, which manages about $1 billion, was down 12 percent last month.
But its overseas business, which manages about $90 billion, hasn't gained an attractive-enough scale.
Altis Partners, which manages about $1.4 billion in assets, is off by more than 20 percent.
Carlyle, which manages about $76 billion, has long had ties to the region.
This giant portfolio is bigger than the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater, which manages about $150bn.
New Mountain, which manages about $9 billion, bought RedPrairie as part of a focus on business software.
