Real Estate Institutional Investor Survey
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Real Estate Institutional Investor Survey November 2008 2008 © Probitas Partners Contents Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 The Private Equity Real Estate Fund Landscape ...................... 2 Institutional Investor Survey of Real Estate Investing ......... 3 Survey Findings: Overview ....................................................... 3 Profile of Respondents ............................................................ 3 Geographies of Investor Interest ....................................... 7 Targeted Areas of Interest .................................................... 7 Structural Issues & Emerging Managers ......................... 18 Greatest Fears .......................................................................... 21 Conclusion ................................................................................ 24 Funds Currently in or Coming to Market ............................... 25 Introduction Probitas Partners is a leading independent knowledge, innovation and solutions provider to private markets clients. It has three integrated global practices that include placement of alternative investment products, portfolio management and liquidity management. These services are offered by a team of employee owners dedicated to leveraging the firm’s vast knowledge and technical resources to provide the best results for its clients. probity ¯¯˘ n. [from Latin probitas: good, proper, honest.] adherence to the highest principles, ideals and character. On an ongoing basis, Probitas Partners offers research and investment tools on the alternative investment market as aides to its institutional investor and general partner clients. Probitas Partners compiles data from various trade and other sources and then vets and enhances that data via its team’s broad knowledge of the market. Also on an ongoing basis, Probitas Partners surveys institutional investors in order to determine more directly their perceptions of various aspects of the market; and the survey of real estate investors included here is part of that process. Included within this Real Estate Market Institutional Investor Survey is our listing of Real Estate and Hard Asset Funds In or Thought to Be Coming to Market over the Next 12 Months. (Investors more specifically interested in details on the infrastructure market should refer to ourInfrastructure Market Review & Institutional Investor Survey, just released during October 2008.) A few important user notes on the funds listing: • The list does not track funds smaller than $100 million or €75 million, as these are not often targeted by institutional investors; • Information is collected from various data sources, but dynamically and accurately tracking when funds are launched and when they are finally closed is a difficult business. We constantly interact with investors and other industry sources in an effort to keep the data updated, and Probitas Partners appreciates receiving any corrections or updates which will help keep this listing as up to date as possible; and • Probitas Partners relies upon its knowledge of the investment pace of previous funds, informal discussions with institutional investors and general partners, and its knowledge of emerging managers. Specifically, we do not seek confirmation of these estimates with general partners in order to avoid SEC public offering prohibitions. For the same reason, Probitas Partners does not include in this listing information on funds it is currently offering; qualified investors seeking information on Probitas Partners’ placed funds should contact Probitas Partners directly in order to have the most complete picture of all institutional funds currently in the market. 1 Confidential & Trade Secret © Probitas Partners 2008 Do not circulate or publish. The Real Estate Fundraising are converging: there is increasing investor Landscape interest in international markets, with a noticeable shift in many large fund groups The fundraising market for private equity real from a North American to a Global focus. estate has expanded significantly over the last five years, as demonstrated by Chart I. The capital markets have become increasingly turbulent with issues in the U.S. sub-prime The growth of interest in fund investing residential market quickly developing into outside the U.S. is highlighted by a significant global issues of liquidity and recession. and increasing portion of funds raised The volatility of the public markets has globally being Euro-denominated (roughly caused many institutional investors to a quarter of the current year’s total). When experience portfolio allocation problems; the observed in combination with the recent rapid commitment pace to all areas of alternative fluctuations in currency values in the market, investment has begun to slow significantly, calculating global fundraising totals in a though the impact of these effects will not be single currency becomes difficult. However, fully evident until 2009. the trends in the various geographic markets Chart I Global Real Estate Fundraising $100 $93.1 $90 $76.5 $80 $76.0 $70 $60 $50 $42.3 $40 $ in billions $30 $20 $24.3 $10 $11.7 $0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Q3 08 Source: Probitas Partners Confidential & Trade Secret © Probitas Partners 2008 Do not circulate or publish. 2 Institutional Investor Survey of Real Estate Investing During October 2008, Probitas Partners conducted an online survey to gauge investor interest, opinions, and perspective on investing in real estate funds. We received responses from 100 senior investment executives from Public & Corporate Pension Plans, Fund-of-Funds Managers, Family Offices, Endowments & Foundations, Consultants & Advisors, Insurance Companies and other agencies. The survey was completed in the midst of the current turmoil in the capital markets and therefore may not fully reflect evolving investor opinion about what has become an increasingly difficult market. Survey Findings: Overview to fund vehicles, reflecting concerns over alignment of interest. The following summarizes the top-line findings • Investors are interested in emerging from the survey on investor preferences, markets; however, they are concerned perspectives and practices: about the lack of experience of the • The largest concern of investors by far managers investing in these markets. is that credit problems in Western or mature markets will dramatically impact performance globally. Profile of Respondents • Investors are much more focused on The first series of questions in the survey opportunistic and value-added funds than created a profile of the respondents in order they are on core strategies. to provide context to the results. • In North America, interest in fund managers pursuing distressed strategies Respondents represented a wide range of has doubled, making it the leading area types of institutional investors including fund- of focus. of-funds managers, insurance companies, state and corporate pension plans, family • In Europe, interest in the United Kingdom offices, banks, endowments, and consultants has increased significantly since our last & advisers. Fund-of-funds managers led in survey, with interest in Germany and the responses at 21%, followed by endowments Nordic countries decreasing. at 16%. • In Asia, interest in India has fallen As noted in Chart III, the majority of noticeably while interest in China and respondents represented firms that are pan-Asian strategies has increased. headquartered in North America, with • As far as fund structure is concerned, there the balance of respondents from Western is a strongly renewed focus on the level Europe and Asia. It is important to note of general partner financial commitment that insurance companies constituted a 3 Confidential & Trade Secret © Probitas Partners 2008 Do not circulate or publish. Chart II Respondents by Investor Type “I represent a...” 25% 21% 20% 16% 14% 13% 15% 12% 8% 10% 5% 4% 4% 5% 3% 0% Fund-of- Endowment Family Insurance State Consultant Corporate Foundation Bank Other Funds Office Company Pension or Advisor Pension Manager Plan Plan Source: Probitas Partners Chart III Respondents by Location of Firm’s Headquarters “My firm is headquartered in...” Asia 5% Middle East 2% Australia 5% Western Europe 22% North America 66% Source: Probitas Partners Confidential & Trade Secret © Probitas Partners 2008 Do not circulate or publish. 4 much greater segment of the respondents over a third report that they will be increasing headquartered outside of North America, allocations. And while 6% reported that they along with fund-of-funds. will decrease their private equity allocations (an increase from no investors looking to There was significant diversity among decrease last year), private equity real estate respondents by size of allocation to real estate seems to be considered an integral segment private equity in 2009, as noted in Chart IV. of investment portfolios despite the ongoing Just over 40% of respondents replied that credit crisis. they would commit under $50 million dollars to real estate private equity in 2009, while The responses vary based on the geographic just under 17% of respondents intended to region of the respondents’ headquarters. commit $250 million dollars or more to the For Asian and Middle Eastern respondents, asset class. The respondents targeting the 64% were looking to increase allocations largest amounts for 2009 commitments to private equity real estate. On the other were based in Western Europe