Bouwfonds REIM rebrands as investment manager of 'real' assets

Bouwfonds REIM is launching a rebranding campaign at Expo Real to promote its new name Bouwfonds Investment Management, the company’s CEO Jaap Gillis told PropertyEU.

‘We do more than just real estate, we are also active in other real asset categories like infrastructure and natural resources. Within the different real asset categories we focus on five sectors: commercial and residential real estate, parking communication, infrastructure and agriculture. This differentiates us from other companies and that differentiating factor is exactly what we want to keep and promote.’

The repositioning marks the culmination of a process that was launched in August 2012 to redefine the Dutch company’s strategy and internal organisation. At present, commercial and residential real estate account for roughly 80% of the total portfolio, with communication infrastructure, car parks and agriculture accounting for the remainder. ‘We think that in the coming years investments in distinctive real asset categories will continue to grow,’ Gillis said.

Pointing to a research paper published in April 2012 by JP Morgan Asset Management, Gillis said the strategy shift reflected a broader trend in the investment environment where recent developments such as low bond yields and equity market volatility are ushering in dramatic changes in asset allocations. Global real assets - real estate, infrastructure, transport and natural resource assets that can provide higher income than bonds and superior risk-adjusted returns to equities - will increase in size and importance in investor portfolios, the asset manager predicts in a paper entitled ‘The Realization: A new world. A new normal. A tectonic shift.’ ‘In the next decade we believe real assets will move from an alternative to a mainstream asset class. Portfolio allocations could rise from roughly 5%-10% today to as much as 25% in the next decade.’