Real estate is perceived as attractive based on supply of investment opportunities In last year’s report, we monitored sovereign investment in real estate, with its perceived superior supply-side dynamics relative to other real asset and alternative categories. While asset allocation shifts have slowed this year, the trend towards real estate has accelerated, driven by capacity for sovereign investment. For example, it is noted that while relatively few countries offer private investors access to a wide range of investment-grade infrastructure investments, there is broad access to commercial and office sectors across major developed and emerging markets, causing sovereigns to cite real estate as the asset class with the fewest execution challenges (figure 14).
Furthermore, investment sovereigns with large internal teams noted that real estate was unique in its scope for greenfield investment. Sovereigns continue to develop internal asset management capability in real estate (figure 15 highlights the high levels on internal management within real estate), enabling them to generate investment opportunities themselves, rather than source and compete for real estate deals with other investors. In an environment where challenges executing against target real asset and alternative allocations drag on investment returns, supply depth is a key differentiator for real estate.
24
Target illiquid alternative allocations have increased, despite deployment challenges.
mM 2016 M2017
Fig 14. Underweight asset classes due to execution challenges (% citations)
Infrastructure Real estate
Private equity
Sample is based on sovereign investors and excludes central banks. Sample: 2016=20, 2017=41.
i Real estate i Private equity WS Infrastructure
Fig 15. Internal management of international illiquid alternatives (% AUM)
Sample is based on sovereign investors and excludes central banks. Data is not weighted by AUM. Sample: Real estate=31, Private equity=26 Infrastructure=24.
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