The Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System has changed its investment agreement with one of its general partners as it senses value in the US hospitality sector.
The US firm wants to raise the money to help pay down debt in its German residential business, Gagfah, as well as alleviate funding issues at its other real estate investments, according to a report.
The tenth largest pension fund in the US has reported a 5.6% fall in returns for real estate in 2008, but the sector still outperformed other asset classes.
The $1.5bn pension, concerned that GPs were not ‘realistic’ during the boom period, will also delay an initial allocation to the private equity asset class.
Fund managers say the private equity and real estate markets are entering a new paradigm, with fees one area set for potential change. Fees, one GP said, had gotten “out of hand”.
As real estate values continue to fall, real estate investment managers admit they are struggling to meet the increasing demand for information. Investors want information on a ‘daily basis, not monthly or quarterly’, according to a new report.
The online news service of PERE magazine celebrated the registration of its 10,000th user today – a US-based real estate acquisitions professional – by awarding a free pass to the upcoming PERE Forum in Hong Kong.
Unilever’s fund called Progress wants to switch out of direct property holdings and into indirect holdings.
The $153bn pension allocated $200m to Bank of America for investments with emerging managers, and $350m to minority-owned Parish Capital as part of its emerging private equity managers programme.
The UK-based association representing more than 20 investor institutions, including the Wellcome Trust, Hermes and the USS, is seeking to raise its profile and better represent LPs during the downturn.