GOEFs book negative return in May: IPD

German open-ended real estate funds (GOEFs) posted a negative monthly return of -0.1% in May, a slight improvement on the -0.5% booked in April, according to IPD's German Monthly Open Ended Fund (OFIX) index.

The OFIX sub-index for funds with a global allocation performed best of the three sub-indices with a return of 0.2%, followed by that for funds focused on Germany with 0.1%. However, the sub-index for funds mainly invested in Europe produced a negative result of -0.2%. These are the findings of the latest monthly report by IPD's German office in Wiesbaden.

Taking a longer-term view a different picture emerges, IPD said. Measured over a three-month period, the German funds provided the best return of 0.5%, while globally invested funds reported a negative performance at -0.3%. However, funds focused on Europe also performed worst over the longer term with a return of -0.8%. This was mainly caused by the specific one-off impact of the devaluation of funds that went into liquidation recently.

Each month IPD publishes the performance of all open-ended real estate funds that are available to private investors. The overall OFIX index combines all 22 funds. IPD sub-indices correspond to the regional asset allocation of the funds. The OFIX Germany sub-index incorporates those funds with at least 50% of real estate assets invested in Germany.

The OFIX Europe sub-index incorporates those funds with less than 50% of real estate assets invested in Germany, but more than 75% in Europe. The other funds are included in the OFIX Global sub-index.