All Real Assets articles in July 2009 (Online)
View all stories from this issue.
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News
PGGM to pursue ESG terms for real estate
NETHERLANDS – PGGM Investments, the Dutch pensions asset manager, will in future scrutinise all real estate investments under environmental, social and governance (ESG) terms as part of its strategy to encourage all companies to abide by responsible investment principles.
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Real estate dominates alternative assets in pensions
GLOBAL – Real estate investments still make up over half of the alternative assets managed by external managers on behalf of pension funds, and despite the economic downturn, suggests a study conducted by Watson Wyatt.
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London property attracts overseas interest
UK - Investment in London commercial property has risen for the first time since the second half of 2007, according to new figures from Cushman & Wakefield.
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New York Common invests in UK underperformers
UNITED STATES - New York State Common Retirement Fund has made a $30m (€21.3m) commitment to the Mountgrange Real Estate Opportunity Fund I in a bid to further diversify into European real estate.
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Crisis shrinks CALSTRS real estate commitments
UNITED STATES – The California State Teachers Retirement System made a total commitment to real estate of just $41.1m (€29.3m) in the first quarter of 2009, compared with over $1bn in the same period last year.
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Ohio Police and Fire’s real estate keeps falling
UNITED STATES – The value of real estate portfolios for US pension funds is still declining as Ohio Police and Fire pension fund has revealed as its real estate assets dropped in value from $1.01bn (€713.9m euros) at the end of 2008 to $784m by the end of the first ...
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Ohio School Employees steps up global REITS
UNITED STATES - School Employees Retirement System of Ohio is increasing its allocation to global REITs from 11% to 15% of its total real estate portfolio.
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NPS partners Carlyle Group in Tokyo office purchase
ASIA - South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has entered into a joint venture with private equity firm The Carlyle Group to purchase an office building in Tokyo.
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German investors return home for safety
GERMANY – Interest in domestic residential property funds is rising among German institutional investors, according to German real estate fund manager Patrizia Immobilien.
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Etera reduces office exposure
FINLAND – The €4.9bn Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company has sold business park Swing Life Science Center in Keilaniemi, Finland to fund manager CommerzReal for approximately €120m.
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Schroders calls for fund structure standardisation
GLOBAL - Greater standardisation of the way funds are structured could deliver significant savings for investors, suggests William Hill, head of property at Schroders.
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Teeside begins UK acquisition programme
UK - The £2bn (€2.1bn) Teesside Pension Fund, administered by Middlesbrough Council, has purchased its first real estate asset through its recently-appointed property manager LV Asset Management (LVAM).
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SBZ begins direct portfolio sell-off
NETHERLANDS - SBZ, the €2.2bn Dutch pension fund for care insurer employees, has made its first two disposals of direct property holdings as part of a transition to a wholly indirect real estate exposure.
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CalPERS in $1bn retail joint venture
US – California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has entered into a joint venture with First Washington Realty, which will purchase close to US$1bn (€700m) in retail real estate assets from Macquarie CountryWide Trust.
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Sarasin launches new green listed fund
GLOBAL – Sarasin has launched what it claims to be the world’s first fund to specialise in investing in sustainable real estate companies.
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South Yorks invests in UK retail development
UK – The South Yorkshire Pension Fund has agreed to fund a shopping centre redevelopment in Wales for £11.8m.
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Florida Board of Administration reassigns MS managed assets
UNITED STATES - Florida State Board of Administration has signed contracts to transfer 85% of the $2.7bn (€1.93bn) separate account assets previously managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate to Heitman, L&B Realty Advisors and Invesco Real Estate.
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Mercer expands real estate operation
UNITED STATES- Mercer Investment Consulting is growing its real estate staff with the hiring of David Nix as a senior researcher.
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AIFM could bring less fund choice, claims law firm
EUROPE – A Paris-headquartered law firm has warned current proposals for the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive could lead to a lack of choice of funds in the future unless European officials can work with US and international counterparts to improve regulatory terms on alternative investments.
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C&W sees German investor return to real estate
GERMANY – Real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) is convinced the slowdown in real estate investment among German institutional investors is over.
