Savills Investment Management’s first open-ended core fund in Asia, Japan Residential Fund (JRF) II, has raised an initial $200m (€166m).

Backed by an unnamed global multi-manager acting as cornerstone investor, the newly launched fund has invested in a portfolio of nine residential assets in Greater Tokyo, the manager said.

The fund, which marks the fourth Japanese fund launched by Savills IM, will primarily target residential investments in the Greater Tokyo market.

The previous fund’s are the JRF I, the Japan Value Fund I and the Japan Value Fund II funds.

Alex Jeffrey, global CEO of Savills IM, said: “The launch of Japan Residential Fund II is a further indication of the trust investors have in our local fund teams and in particular our Japanese business where our Japan team has a 20-year track record.

“We are delighted to have been able to achieve a first close, despite the challenging COVID market backdrop, and especially to have a quality institutional book of further demand and underpinned by such an excellent cornerstone investor.”

Tadaaki Kurozumi and Tom Silecchia, co-heads of Japan, Savills IM, said: “The defensive nature of low-risk assets such as Greater Tokyo multifamily strikes a strong chord with investors during these times of global uncertainty.

“We are grateful for the trust of such investor institutions and believe we can scale the Japan Residential Fund II into another flagship vehicle, capable of deploying capital quickly while continuing to provide investors with outperformance.”

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