Heitman awarded $440m Australian listed property mandate

Heitman has been mandated to manage a AUD500m ($440m) listed property portfolio by a subsidiary of Australian superannuation BT Financial.

The long-only mandate from Westpac subsidiary Advance Asset Management includes a concentrated portfolio of Asia-Pacific, North American and European global real estate securities investing in up to 25% of the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index, currently less than 80 stocks.

Advance typically focuses on asset allocation, manager selection and risk management, with its funds built around long-term strategic asset allocations.

John White, managing director and head of Heitman’s Asia-Pacific public real estate securities group, said: “Investor demand for real estate continues to grow around the world.

“Even in this period of irregular economic growth, occupier demand is showing improvement, and new construction is still limited in most markets.”

Asset classes such as listed real estate offer a “compelling return outlook”, White said, providing investors with an “attractive yield, supported in most cases by stocks that are trading at a discount to their tangible asset backing”.

He added: “Through allocating a considerable amount of capital to listed real estate, Advance is making a strategic move to enhance exposure to opportunities from the current and long-term expected market conditions for listed property.”