Standard Life Investments, the global investment manager, has relaunched its £420m Select Property Fund as the Standard Life Investments Global Real Estate Fund.
Andrew Jackson, Head of Wholesale and Listed Real Estate, will lead the fund, with Svitlana Gubriy as deputy manager. They will be supported by a team of portfolio managers and real estate securities analysts.
The Fund is seen as a unique investment solution in the UK and European mutual fund market. Its new strategy permits investment primarily in real estate markets in both direct and listed real estate securities, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), on a global basis. As well as this, it aims to hold a higher and more persistent investment in direct real estate assets, seeking 50%-80% of the Fund’s total value in this area. It is hoped that this will bring a more stable mix of assets, less volatility in the Fund’s price movements and the prospect of a higher income yield.
The yardstick of the Fund will change from the IMA Property Sector, which is becoming more and more populated by real estate securities only funds, to a more representative IPD Direct/MSCI World Real Estate Custom Index, which includes both direct and listed real estate assets. Additionally, the Fund will no longer hedge its foreign currency exposure.
“We engaged with clients over a period of time and conducted extensive research across a range of distribution channels into how this Fund might adapt to best support the needs of our investors going forward,” Andrew Jackson said. “We believe this positive realignment of the Fund will enable us to take ongoing but increased advantage of the tangible benefits of direct real estate investment alongside the enhanced accessibility of real estate securities.”
He added: “Investing in real estate on such a diverse basis spreads investment across a range of markets and sectors. Following the global financial crisis and subsequent recession, many economies are now at different stages of recovery and, as a result, many real estate markets around the world are becoming more attractive.”
“The international hybrid structure of the Global Real Estate Fund means that we have the flexibility to move between those real estate markets and sectors that we believe offer the best return opportunities at any given time,” he concluded.
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