All Real Assets articles in February 2006 (Online)
View all stories from this issue.
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News
Firms selling property to pay for pensions
REAL ESTATE - Two of Britain’s most high-profile firms are to plug pension fund deficits with property assets. BAE Systems says it plans to help plug its £2.4bn (€3.5bn) main pension fund deficit with £240m in property asset...
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Swiss funds urged to up real estate
REAL ESTATE - Credit Suisse has urged Swiss pension funds to increase their real estate holdings to 20-30% – but the Zurich-based bank’s own corporate pension fund says it has no intention of doing so.
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Unite embroiled in student debt row
REAL ESTATE - Unite, which develops and manages student accommodation in the UK, has become embroiled in a row over student debt after extending contract terms. The firm is to extend mandatory contract terms for students in its Birmingham property...
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Marks & Spencer ‘could get REIT boost’
REAL ESTATE - Marks & Spencer could increase its share price by almost 80p to 580p if it places its property portfolio in a REIT, investment bank Morgan Stanley says. A research note issued by the bank’s real estate desk, anticipating th...
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BNP Paribas reduces Klepierre holding
REAL ESTATE - BNP Paribas has played down its decision to sell part of its share in French property firm Klepierre. A spokeswoman for the bank described the decision to reduce its shareholding from above 53% to below 51% as “not a significa...
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Alaska fund to buy into Simpson Housing
REAL ESTATE - The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation is to acquire a 50% interest in Simpson Housing Corporation which is currently held by the State of Michigan Retirement System. The transaction is set to close by the end of March. The size of ...
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Corio in court action over Italy deal
REAL ESTATE - Retail property management firm Corio has filed suit for €46.8m against Italy’s Barletta Group over the 2003 turnkey acquisition of Campania shopping centre outside Naples. Corio claims the company has failed to comply w...
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Texas Teachers starts €2.4bn real estate move
REAL ESTATE - The $96bn Teacher’s Retirement System of Texas has started its process of investing 3% or $2.88bn (€2.4bn) of its total assets in real estate. Its initial investment was a $100m allocation into the BlackRock Diamond Fund
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UK schemes warm to real estate - Watson
REAL ESTATE - It’s taken them five years but UK pension funds are at last warming to real estate in a bid to diversify away from equities, according to research conducted by Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting into its clients’ approach to...
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London scheme wary of real estate
REAL ESTATE – SAUL, the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London, is avoiding real estate amid wider concerns about the transparency of ‘alternatives’. An investment committee meeting last week failed to decide on ...
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Investors eye Eastern Europe – selectively
REAL ESTATE - The robust trade in Eastern European real estate has continued with acquisitions for GE Real Estate and divestments for IVG. GE expanded its Slovakian retail portfolio with the acquisition of three “Max” shopping centres...
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Dutch institutions in frame at Schiphol
REAL ESTATE – Dutch institutional investors could be in the frame if proposals to part-privatise Amsterdam’s Schiphol come through. With political agreement as remote as ever, the Dutch finance ministry has suggested a compromise combi...
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European yields not deterring investors
REAL ESTATE – Recent figures from European real estate firms show that there’s continuing investment in the asset class despite declining average yields. Yet much of the investment is taking place outside investors’ domestic mar...
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CalPERS to build industrials in Europe
REAL ESTATE - The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) is to invest between $200 million and $400m in a joint venture to develop industrial properties in Europe. Portfolio manager Jose McNeill said: "We think that this ki...
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CalSTRS creates value-added apartment fund
REAL ESTATE - The California State Teachers Retirement System has established a $1bn apartment fund to invest in value-added transactions. The Waterton Residential Property Fund IX will be run through Chicago-based Waterton Associates LLC. There...
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RREEF and NexCore in medical venture
REAL ESTATE - RREEF and NexCore Group have created a joint venture to invest $500 million in medical office buildings. A specific equity allocation for the venture has not been decided. The relationship will be handled on a deal-by-deal basis. De...
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UK REITS problems ‘ not insurmountable’
REAL ESTATE - A semi-optimistic consensus has emerged in the industry response to draft UK Real Estate Investment Trust legislation after initial responses slammed the proposals as opaque and prohibitive. The draft, published in January, even fou...
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HSBC the latest to set up infrastructure firm
REAL ESTATE - HSBC is to set up an offshore investment company to exploit seemingly limitless investor appetite for infrastructure. The bank predicts an initial dividend yield of 5.75% in the company’s first financial year. HSBC spokesm...
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UK funds 'need new real estate mindset'
REAL ESTATE - UK pension funds need to upgrade their real estate managers if they’re to expand mandates into mainland Europe and beyond, according to Mercer consultant Greg Wright. Wright argues that yield compression and the opportunity...
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CalSTRS goes big on Beacon office fund
REAL ESTATE - The California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTERS) has made a $350m commitment to the Beacon Capital Strategic Partners IV fund. The pension fund regards this commitment as a follow-up investment. It has invested in two prev...
