ABSTRACT
Property fund managers are intermediaries who raise third party equity and debt capital and pool it to form collective investment vehicles that can invest in direct property and property securities. Similar forces drove fund manager growth in other markets. In the US, pension funds started investing in real estate from the mid-1970s. A further burst of cross-border investment and fund management activity occurred in the 1980s, led by Japanese investors with the Dutch and Swedes close behind. The main motivation of fund managers and real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate operating companies (REOCs) differs. First and foremost, REITs and REOCs look to optimise the return on assets to create shareholder value. In contrast, fund managers are service companies who prosper through retaining and winning new investor clients and growing their total assets under management. Some mainstream fund managers, as opposed to REIT managers, invest in both the public and private markets.
