With reduced access to mortgage finance and home ownership since the Global Financial Crisis, and with the consequent growth in long term renting and the expansion of the PRS sector in the UK, customers of property fund managers are no longer just companies.  An increasing number are individuals and families living in their long term homes.  

As technology changes the way that real estate is used, be it homeworking affecting the amount and layout of office space used, or on-line shopping radically changing the high street, the industry is instrumental in reshaping these parts of our built environment. 

For these and other reasons investors are increasingly scrutinising the social and environmental impact of investments independently of their financial performance.  Indeed this can be a deciding factor in an investment choice.  AREF and its members have been actively involved in these issues for a long time.