GLOBAL - Thomson Reuters has launched UCITS-compliant indices of "highly liquid" real estate securities in Asia, the Americas and the EMEA to capitalise on real estate's recent strong performance and a perception that the market has bottomed out.

The firm developed the indices with Global Property Research (GPR) primarily for the exchange-traded fund (ETF) market.

GPR analyst Jeroen Vreeker said existing indices used by ETF issuers lack liquidity.

"Our focus on the top 100 globally is basically addressing these concerns," he said.

Thomson Reuters spokesman Jamie Robinson said the recent sector revival, combined with increasing rental income, had encouraged ETFs to look more closely at real estate.

"Interest in the sector is renewing based on recent performance and investment inflows," he said.

"Liquidity is important for ETF investing, and renewing interest means there will be demand for real estate ETFs."

The TR/GPR Global 100 index features what the firms claim are the 100 most liquid real estate stocks globally.

The index comprises real estate investment management firms, rather than property developers.

While the top 100 index is designed for investors seeking global exposure, GPR retrieved historical data from its repositories to come up with three regional indices.

These are based on a split into 40 securities in the Americas, 30 securities in Asia-Pacific and 30 securities in the EMEA.

Vreeker described the regional index series as "very easy to use" for specific exposure to underlying listed regional real estate.

"There seems to be particular enthusiasm in relation to Asian real estate and growing confidence in the US market," said Robinson. "Our efforts are devoted to all three regions."

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