17 Dec 2020

A high level summary of what's being discussed in recent committee meetings:

  • The Committee is supporting the inclusion of ESG metrics in the AREF Questionnaire.
  • The Committee is monitoring the effect of LGPS pooling on indirect property funds.
  • The Committee is ensuring AREF is considering how Brexit would affect investors in property funds.
  • The Committee is working with the Secondary Markets Working Group on improving trading processes for secondary market deals.
  • The Committee is assisting AREF in writing a paper on what investors should ask their property fund managers.
  • The Committee has been monitoring the proposal for a Professional Investor Fund. 
  • The Committee assists in the planning of the Real Estate Investor Forum

Short Term Objectives

  • Resurrect the AREF Secondary Markets Working Group to look at making secondary market trading easier and more transparent.
  • Improve investors’ knowledge of ESG and responsible investment:
    • Help investors understand the various schemes and benchmarks and where their funds sit.
    • Work with managers to promote a responsible investment approach and to stress the importance to investors.
    • Encourage clear reporting of ESG and impact investing.
  • Improve communication with investors:
    • In the Investors area on the AREF website include an investor chat room/ blog.
    • Hold more investor seminars.
  • Investor representation within funds
    • Heighten campaign for investor representation as the default arrangement.
    • Ensure minor investors are looked after by funds.
  • Address investor concerns in relation to how Brexit may affect their investments in property funds.

Long Term Objectives

  • Evolve AREF’s Quality Mark to include a gold standard with a higher barrier for excellence.
  • Ensure AREF fully embeds the interest of investors in its DNA.
  • Encourage funds to improve governance structures in respect of investor interests.
  • Improve education for investors on regulatory change to include what it means for investors and what investors need to be aware of and ask managers about.
  • Look at the evolution of property funds and whether the current universe of funds available to investors was meeting their needs. This tied in with a research paper AREF planned to commission shortly.
  • Consider how the transition to a low carbon environment would affect funds.
  • Consider how health & safety would have an effect on the reputational interests of funds.

Next meeting: 28 January 2021

View more on the committee here.

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Committee Update Fund Investors

Author

Dugal Hunt

Dugal Hunt

Director, CBRE Global Investors

Dugal Hunt is a Director within the CBRE Global Investment Partners team with responsibility for client portfolio management and sourcing and undertaking due diligence on investment opportunities.

He has 14 years property industry experience and has 11 years of detailed knowledge and experience of investing in real estate funds in the UK and Continental Europe.  In addition to underwriting new investment opportunities, Dugal has been able to use his industry contacts to actively source investments in existing funds on the secondary market.  He has been successful in negotiating attractive entry pricing in a number secondary market transactions on behalf of clients of GIP.

Dugal joined CB Richard Ellis Investors in March 2004.  Prior to this he has worked at Investment Property Databank on the Portfolio Analysis Service for 3.5 years.  Dugal gathered valuable experience during his time at IPD, understanding and analysing portfolio performance statistics.

Dugal is a member of the investment property forum and he has been approved by the FCA to conduct investment business.  He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is a graduate of University of Bristol with a degree in Geography.

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