Knoflach: BNP Paribas to broaden investment scope in 2016

BNP Paribas Real Estate will broaden its investment strategy in 2016 to focus more on pan-European deals rather than just individual markets, the company’s global head of investment management Barbara Knoflach has told PropertyEU.

Knoflach, who was appointed in August to head a team of 300 employees in eight countries, said in an interview at Expo Real in Munich that the Paris-based investment manager had the potential to grow into a European player with ‘substantial weight’.

Knoflach was named Woman of the Year by Cash.Gala in September for her achievements in managing core and core-plus income-producing products during a 15-year career at SEB Asset Management, including a decade as CEO. Cash.Gala is a German initiative which issues annual awards to leading financial industry professionals.

‘What I see is a very nice starting place for a new European player with substantial weight,’ she said. ‘We already have about €20 bn in assets under management and the ambition for next year will be to grow.

‘The way we're working right now is a little bit more country-focused… we are very good at producing local products for local clients and the aim for next year will be to broaden our offering so that we are also looking more intensively at European products.’

Watch the interview with Barbara Knoflach on PropertyEU's YouTube channel