AXA Real Estate has maintained its lead as the biggest fund manager in Europe, according to a new survey by INREV in cooperation with its Asian counterpart ANREV. In total, the Paris-based fund manager had EUR 39.8 bn assets under management (AUM) as of end-December 2011.

AXA Real Estate has maintained its lead as the biggest fund manager in Europe, according to a new survey by INREV in cooperation with its Asian counterpart ANREV. In total, the Paris-based fund manager had EUR 39.8 bn assets under management (AUM) as of end-December 2011.

Credit Suisse takes second place in the European ranking with EUR 29.9 bn of AUM, followed closely by CBRE Global Investors with EUR 29 bn.

In Asia Pacific, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing is the largest player with EUR 12 bn while The Blackstone Group leads in North America with EUR 41.9 bn. Blackstone is also the largest fund manager worldwide specializing in non-listed real estate funds with EUR 52.7 bn AUM.

In terms of funds, CBRE Global Investors is the largest player in Europe with EUR 18.6 bn AUM, followed by IVG Immobilien with EUR 18 bn and Credit Suisse with EUR 15 bn.

The ranking is based on a survey of 122 fund managers which manage a total of 2,612 direct real estate vehicles. These comprises non-listed real estate funds, direct separate accounts and joint ventures and listed funds investing directly into real estate. INREV and ANREV are the organisations for the non-listed real estate sector in Europe and Asia.