For those who don’t know me, I have worked in the real estate industry since 1988 in roles across market forecasting, corporate finance, investment strategy, indirect fund management and actuarial consulting. I’ve been a non-executive Director of AREF for the past six years. From my experience on the investor side of the business I understand the important role that property and other illiquids play in an investment portfolio. From my experience on the fund management side I understand the problems of regulation and media perception that property fund managers face.
I will be spending the first few months talking to all members, and to other industry participants, to make sure that I understand their priorities and where AREF can provide value. However, already there are four immediate areas of challenge which stand out: Liquidity, Brexit, Social Impact and Access for Talent. As well as responding to these challenges, we will be working to enhance the wider reputation of the real estate investment industry and to showcase its contribution to the pensions and savings system, to the combating of climate change and to shaping the urban environment in which we live, work and play.
You can click through to learn in more detail about what AREF is doing in these crucial areas but, for those who just want the executive summary, these are the priorities that I will be pursuing this year:
- As good an outcome as possible for the industry from Brexit, preserving flows of capital and talent to and from the Continent and, crucially for the UK investment management industry, the ability to delegate investment management to the UK from Continental entities.
- Countering the negative narrative around daily-dealt property funds and emphasising their rightful place in the investment landscape.
- Giving platform-based DC schemes the access to illiquid assets that their portfolios need.
- Responding to the growing scrutiny of the social and environmental impact of property investments.
- Widening access to employment in the industry and giving the industry access to a wider talent pool.
- Emphasising the positive contribution of the property investment industry to the pensions and savings system, to combating climate change and to the urban environment in which most of us live and work every day.
An important development for AREF last year was our entering into a special membership of the Investment Association. AREF has been co-located with the IA for some time, but we now have access to their considerable resources in the areas of policy and regulation, and to the breadth and depth of their relationships with Government, regulators, central banks and the media. AREF and the IA already have several joint workstreams on Brexit, liquidity, the UK funds regime, social impact and talent. The developing relationship is important for both organisations and we have a lot to learn from each other. In future newsletters I will describe in more detail the way we work together.
I can’t finish without thanking John Cartwright for steering AREF for the last decade and for his contribution to the industry. We all wish him a long and happy retirement. I also need to mention the team already running AREF’s considerable programme of events and policy activity. Clare, Ed, Eve, Jacqui and Mel have made me welcome and pointed me in the right direction when I needed it.
I’m also grateful for the many messages of support that I have received from members. I look forward to working with you over the coming years on the challenges and opportunities facing us.
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