SLI signs agreement with Nordea Group in the Nordics

Standard Life Investments (SLI) has signed an agreement with Nordea, one of the biggest financial groups in the Nordic and Baltic regions, to distribute its Global REIT Focus Fund across the region. The Global REIT Focus Fund (SICAV) invests largely in real estate investment trusts (REITs) or securities and companies principally engaged in real estate activities on a global basis. The fund aims to maximise total returns from income and capital growth over the longer term.

By investing in indirect property, the fund offers investors the possibility to diversify their existing property portfolios. Managed by Svitlana Gubriy and Andrew Jackson, the fund aims to outperform the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Index by 2% per annum.

Åsa Norrie, SLI’s investment director for Denmark, Finland, Norway & Sweden said: 'The signing of this agreement represents another major step in the development of our European business and a growing recognition of our experience and expertise in property fund management. Nordea is one of the region’s most respected and fastest growing financial institutions.’

By investing in the fund, SLI said, ‘investors can look forward to the prospect of accessing an asset class with low correlation to other key asset classes over the long term and with daily liquidity at low costs'.

SLI already has partnership agreements in the region with Aktia, the Finnish savings bank, to distribute its Global REIT Focus Fund. With more than £13.8bn of property assets, SLI is one of the largest property investors in Europe. The company manages 18 property funds spanning pooled pension products, segregated mandates, mutual funds, sector specialist funds and global property vehicles.