Comparison · 14 material differences
ACG vs PREA
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Professional association
Verified September 2026 ACG
Middle-market mergers and acquisitions professionals: private equity investors, corporate development officers, lenders, investment bankers, lawyers, accountants and advisers…
Professional association
PREA
Institutional investors in real estate (public and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurers and family offices) together with the investment managers, advisers…
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: ACG: Reduced young-professional rates are limited to first-time members aged 35 and under; PREA: No published maximum age at joining.
- Industry restriction: ACG: No published industry restriction; PREA: Corporate membership: organisations providing investment management, advisory, consulting, property management, legal, accounting, appraisal or other services to institutional investors, including REITs and real estate operating companies.
- Annual dues: ACG: Dues are set by each chapter, so the amounts above are examples rather than a national schedule.; PREA: $9,995 a year.
Side by side
| ACG | PREA | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Professional association | Professional association |
| Founded | 1954 | 1979 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, United States | Hartford, United States |
| Geographic footprint | 61 local markets worldwide, grouped into seven regions (Canada, Central, Europe, Great Lakes, Northeast, Southeast, West); most chapters are in North America, with chapters in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom | Primarily North America, with international institutional investor and manager firms among members; PREA runs conferences in the United States and abroad |
| Members | 14,000as of September 2026 | 700as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 61 | No chapters; PREA operates as a single association with a conference and research programme. |
| Primary audience | Middle-market mergers and acquisitions professionals: private equity investors, corporate development officers, lenders, investment bankers, lawyers, accountants and advisers, plus PE-backed CEOs | Institutional investors in real estate (public and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurers and family offices) together with the investment managers, advisers and service firms that work with them |
| Typical member | Members come from corporations, private equity firms, lenders and professional service firms working on middle-market transactions. ACG reports that 75% of members say they have done business with another member. Specialist networks exist for corporate development officers, family offices, PE-backed CEOs, operating partners, women and young professionals. | PREA's membership is organisational. Its own description covers public and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, investment advisory firms, REITs, developers, real estate operating companies and industry service providers. The dues structure separates institutional investors, defined as organisations investing predominantly for their own account, from corporate members selling services to them. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | Reduced young-professional rates are limited to first-time members aged 35 and underApplies to discounted categories only (for example ACG New York's Forward membership, available for a maximum of two years); standard membership has no age limitverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published maximum age at joining |
| Industry restriction | No published industry restriction | Corporate membership: organisations providing investment management, advisory, consulting, property management, legal, accounting, appraisal or other services to institutional investors, including REITs and real estate operating companiesverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Not documented |
| Application process | Applicants pick a chapter using ACG's chapter locator and join or renew through the central portal at my.acg.org. There is no published interview, sponsorship or committee review; payment of chapter dues completes membership. A member referral programme exists but referral is not required. | Applicants apply online, logging in first if they already hold a PREA account. Applications are reviewed before member-only access is activated; once approved and paid, access is granted the same business day. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed: ACG publishes no acceptance criteria or rejection data, and membership appears to be open to anyone working in middle-market M&A who pays chapter dues | Not publicly disclosed. PREA states applications are reviewed but publishes no criteria beyond the category eligibility tests and no acceptance rate. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Dues are set by each chapter, so the amounts above are examples rather than a national schedule. | $9,995 a yearFull Corporate membership: unlimited company representativesverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed: no separate initiation fee was found; the first-year rate is higher than the renewal rate at some chaptersverified September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee appears alongside the published dues.verified September 2026 |
| Local chapter dues | $725 a yearACG New York standard membership, first yearverified September 2026 · source ↗ | Dues are charged to the member organisation, not per individual. First-year billing covers the full calendar year and a prorated credit is issued in year two. |
| Membership term | Annual, renewed through the chapter | Calendar year; first-year billing covers the full calendar year with a prorated credit in year two |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | More than 1,200 events a year across the network; individual chapters typically run monthly or more frequent programmes, plus national conferences including DealMAX | Conference programme through the year plus research and publications |
| Peer forums | No confidential peer forums; members organise through chapters and seven cross-chapter specialist networks (corporate development officers, family offices, PE-backed CEOs, operating partners, Women of ACG, young professionals) | No confidential peer forum structure is published |
| Confidentiality | Could not be independently verified: no published confidentiality policy was found | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Event-focused | Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | No |
| Local chapters | Yes | No |
| Virtual membership | No | No |
| Online community | Partial | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | No |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Not documented |
| Investment discussions | Yes | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | Yes | Partial |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Low |
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