GLOBAL – CBRE Global Investors is to streamline the management of its European separate accounts, exporting the model currently employed in the UK to mainland Europe.
The move – which will include both single-country mandates and cross-border accounts – is the result of growth in the pan-European portfolios of institutional investors and public authorities since the firm acquired ING Real Estate's European and Asian operations in 2011.
John Ozinga, who will take on responsibility for separate accounts in mainland Europe while retaining his role as country manager for France, said: "It means separate-account clients will be dealing with one person at the pan-European level. It's a more efficient, more coordinated approach."
Ozinga said the single-country model used in the UK would require adaptation to comply with market-specific legal and transaction structures.
However, he described the expansion as "a natural evolution".
"We've been managing separate accounts in mainland Europe already, but the main history has been in the UK," he said. "We only changed our presence in Europe a year ago (referring to the company formally assuming responsibility for ING REIM's portfolio), so I'd say we've reacted pretty quickly.
"If you look at our investors, they're truly global, and it's a requirement that we have global coverage. Markets evolve, and it's difficult to say where the future will be.
"In the past few months, we’ve seen stronger demand from investors for a relationship with assets via separate accounts or clubs. Even if they're investing only in Paris or only in London, they still have the source assets in a scarce market."
