UK - Concerns about the performance of the UK and European propertymarkets mean the London Borough of Enfield is now looking closely atwhether to further diversify its pension fund's real estate allocation.
PaulReddaway, head of treasury and pensions at Enfield council, confirmedthe pension fund is searching for a pan-European fund of funds managerto look after approximately £25m (€35m) in assets, but added officialsare uncertain at this stage whether the investment will go ahead givenconcerns about lowering yields on property prices.
A tendernotice has been issued by the £550m (€764m) local government scheme tobegin the search for a suitable manager, but officials are in no rushto make the appointment, according to Reddaway.
Approximately10% of the pension fund's assets are currently held in UK real estate,Reddaway told IPE, but the scheme is undecided as to where exactlythese assets will be taken from, having recently reduced its equitiesallocation to move assets into hedge funds and infrastructure.
"Weare tentatively looking to place some of our portfolio in Europe. Butwe have not yet decided whether it will come from existing assets ornew money.
He continued: "We made the decision in September butthe market has changed considerably. But we thought we would continueto investigate the possibility of investing. With markets falls inproperty, that has rather changed the game and we may take our time tosee what is out there."
Interested parties must submit their applications by January 21, 2008.
Elsewhere,the Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council has appointed Drivers Jonasas valuer to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund's property portfolio.
The£9.5bn (€12.5bn) scheme announced in September it was reviewingColliers CRE as valuer to the asset class which is managed in-house byCharles Lofstedt, head of property investments. (See earlier IPE story: Greater Manchester fund tenders property valuation)
Atthe last full evaluation to year-end 2005, the fund's directly-ownedproperty portfolio comprised 72 properties valued at £525m.
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