Sandra Schaap of Aviva Investors: ‘Range of opportunities in secondary trading area’

Sandra Schaap tells PropertyEU about her new role in Aviva Investors’ global real estate multi-manager team.

Sandra Schaap joined Aviva Investors as a fund manager in its real estate multi-manager team last November. Based in the Dutch city of Utrecht, she is responsible for the investment management of European funds as well as deepening Aviva's senior portfolio management capacity. Schaap was previously a senior portfolio manager of international real estate at Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance. Here, she tells PropertyEU about her new role.

PropertyEU: Will you be responsible for the Dutch market only or a wider region?
Schaap: I’m responsible for the investment management of European (including UK and Dutch) funds.

PropertyEU: How does Aviva’s multi-manager fund model work and what makes it attractive?
Schaap: Aviva Investors was one of the first entrants into the real estate multi-manager space with our first mandates in 1997. We have more than £5.5 bn (€6.7 bn) invested through real estate multi-manager strategies. This approach involves using a number of different fund managers (third parties) for individual fund investments, with Aviva managing the overall portfolio. This enables us to create broadly diversified and actively managed real estate portfolios.
We’re attractive to clients, firstly due to our scale. We’re one of the largest managers and are able to aggregate clients’ capital to secure advantageous terms for each client, which they would not be able to achieve investing on their own. We also see a range of opportunities (especially in the secondary trading arena) that smaller operators may not and are able to seed new funds or commit to co-investment structures.
Secondly, real estate multi-manager investing is becoming an increasingly sophisticated and global business. With an investment team of over 20 located around the world supported by specialist teams from across the group we have the capability and infrastructure to deliver client requirements.
Finally, we invest in a range of investment styles and geographies from core through opportunistic, debt and equity products and developing to emerging markets.

PropertyEU: Why is Aviva Investors expanding its capability in mainland Europe?
Schaap: We continue to see strong demand for real estate multi-manager strategies from UK and European pension funds and have already had considerable success in the Dutch market which we are looking to build upon. Expanding our team with a European appointment will enable us to further strengthen our presence and capabilities in the region enabling us to embrace future opportunities.

PropertyEU: Do you expect institutional investors to allocate more money to real estate in the short term?
Schaap: We generally expect allocations to real estate to remain stable or increase over the short to medium term. In a world looking to secure income, traditional commercial real estate’s long-term stable cashflows look attractive especially given the historically attractively high spreads to bonds / risk free rates. Institutions are also looking for long-duration, inflation-protected income and/or enhanced yield so look favourably at alternative segments (student housing, healthcare etc); infrastructure; and, increasingly real estate debt strategies.

PropertyEU: How do you view fund-raising prospects in 2013?
Schaap: Capital raising definitely remains more challenging than a few years ago. However there is plenty of capital available for those managers that are bringing forward strategies in the right areas and that can comply with client requirements.