AXA Investment Management – Real Assets has launched a new open-ended core fund that has already secured €500m (£386m) of backing from institutional investors.
The majority of the 10 initial investors are pension funds and insurers who have invested in their local markets but have lacked the scale and presence to invest in larger deals across Europe.
Isabella Scemama, head of funds group at AXA Investment Management − Real Assets, said: “There is a lot of demand from among the medium and smaller institutional investors with a willingness to increase their allocation to real estate.
“We need to have this brick in our product offering − offering an open ended vehicle for asset managers looking to allocate more to real estate and diversify their strategy.”
The fund expects more investors to join over the next year, attracted by target returns of around 7%.
It will focus on offices in prime cities across France, the UK, Germany, Italy and other major European countries, as well as retail and other sectors, depending on the opportunities available.
The core fund will be managed by Rainer Suter with portfolio managers based in the UK, France and Germany.
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