The Townsend Group has appointed Damien Smith, former Chief Investment Officer of ING Real Estate Select, as a Principal in their London office to focus on portfolio management and investment underwriting in the European region.
The Townsend Group has appointed Damien Smith, former Chief Investment Officer of ING Real Estate Select, as a Principal in their London office to focus on portfolio management and investment underwriting in the European region.
Nick Cooper, Principal for The Townsend Group said: 'Bringing Damien on board is a critical step in Townsend’s global expansion plans. We believe Damien’s expertise in underwriting real estate investment opportunities and building global portfolios for institutional clients is unmatched. Townsend continues to see a trend of large institutional investors attempting to access real estate investment opportunities around the globe. We believe we are in a unique position to access proprietary and diverse deal flow that, with Damien’s help, will add value to our clients’ portfolios.'
Smith previously led the investment team of ING Real Estate Select’s global multi manager business. Prior to joining ING, he was responsible for the analysis and management of direct property funds in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and London for Lend Lease Corporation and the Macquarie Goodman Group.
The US-based Townsend Group is one of the largest global providers of real estate advisory and investment management services to institutional investors. The company advises on over $100 bn (EUR 79.4 bn) in property investments around the world on both a discretionary and non-discretionary basis. Its clients include major European, Asian and US corporate and public pension schemes; sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations and high net worth investors.
