Barings to shun eastern Europe in property hunt

Barings Asset Management is not about to follow the pack and invest large-scale in the east European property market since increasing its exposure to international property. Instead the company's Dublin-domiciled Multi Manager Property Fund is to play it safe by focusing on western and central Europe, according to David Coombs, Barings director of multi-manager investments.

'There are some pockets that have room to grow in the UK but there is strong demand from overseas investors for Germany, France and Spain and we are putting ourselves in a position to take advantage of that,' Coombs told the Citywire website. He said new investments would be treated cautiously ‘as foreign tax treatments can often make for complicated scenarios.'

Multi Manager Property Fund recently changed its mandate to allow 30% to be invested outside the UK because falling yields there. The fund would like to increase its overseas holdings even further, Citywire said. Baring Asset Management is part of the MassMutual Financial Group, the fleet name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual). Multi Manager Property Fund has capital of £16.6 mln (EUR 24.5 mln).