Total global real estate assets under management (AUM) hit a new record high of €4.1 trl in 2021, surpassing the figure achieved at the end of 2020 when AUM reached €3.3 trl.
The Fund Manager Survey 2022, published today by ANREV, INREV and NCREIF, highlights the continued strong appetite for real estate as an institutional asset class, with AUM more than doubling in size since 2015. There was growth across the board with the average AUM for each manager reaching €28.6 bn – up from €21.5 bn the previous year.
Seemingly, ‘big is beautiful’ with 79% of this year’s total AUM concentrated within the top quartile by number (36 out of a full sample of 143 managers). Likewise, the top 10 global managers account for 41% of total AUM (up from 37% in 2020), with an average AUM of €169 bn. The combined AUM of these managers stands at €1.7 trl, which is more than half of the 2020 global total.
The latest results also underscore a significant stockpile of dry powder amounting to more than €214 bn of undrawn, committed cash at the end of 2021 – up from €195 bn in 2020. Again, the largest managers collectively account for the majority (€153 billion) of these undrawn capital commitments.
Top of the pops
The top five global fund managers are Blackstone (1st – €419.3 bn), Brookfield (2nd – €221.1 bn), Prologis (3rd – €189.6 bn), PGIM (4th – €184.5 bn), and Nuveen (5th – €133.8 bn), all of which maintained their positions from the 2020 results. The first four all reported AUMs of above €180 bn – with combined assets under management accounting for around 25% of the overall global total.
Blackstone remained the only fund manager to feature in the top 10 rankings across all three main regions, as well as for global strategies.
The remainder of the global top 10 is made up of MIM1, (6th – €131.2 bn), CBRE Investment Management (7th – €112.9 bn), AXA IM Alts (8th – €107.3 bn), UBS (9th – €100.9 bn) and GLP (10th – €93.7 bn) which was the only new entry into the top 10 in this year’s survey.
In Europe, Blackstone (€85.7 bn) was in first place, followed by Swiss Life (2nd – €85.4 bn), AXA IM Alts (3rd – €82.7 bn), Union Investment (4th – €54.8 bn), and abrdn (5th – €48.5 bn). NN Investment Partners entered the European top 10 list for the first time in sixth position (€48.4 bn).
The remaining positions are filled by Credit Suisse Asset Management (7th – €47.8 bn), DEKA Immobilien Investment (8th – €47.5 bn), Patrizia (9th – €46.4 bn), and UBS (10th – €45.3 bn).
North American strategies take poll position
With 38% of total global AUM, North American strategies overtook European strategies (34%), as the most popular in 2021. Asia Pacific strategies were in third position (16%), followed closely by global strategies with 12%, which have seen an upsurge in interest.
Non-listed real estate vehicles – including funds, separate accounts, joint ventures, club deals, funds of funds and debt products – account for the largest proportion of AUM at 84.8% (€3.4 trl). Other types of real estate – such as listed and derivatives – account for the remaining 15.2%.
Non-listed real estate funds continue to be the preferred product globally, with 49.5 % (€2.0 trl) of the total non-listed real estate AUM. This is followed by separate accounts investing directly, then JVs and club deals, and debt funds.
The share of debt vehicles remained stable at around 9% of the total non-listed real estate AUM, highlighting the continued importance of debt products within real estate portfolios.
