03 Feb 2020

Liquidity is important in several contexts: daily traded retail funds; the relentless move from DB to DC over the coming years and the current difficulty of getting non-daily-traded funds onto DC platforms; and the unfortunate association with Woodford.  Together with the Investment Association, AREF is engaged in a number of workstreams on this important topic:

  • The first is media and investor education around what kind of liquidity can be expected from daily-dealt property funds under different market conditions, and countering negative perceptions. 
  • The second is a wider piece of work on submissions to Government to widen the UK funds regime for illiquid assets and make sure that it is fit for purpose. 
  • The third is working to get the DC platform restrictions on non-daily-dealt vehicles widened. 

Author

Paul Richards

Paul Richards

CEO, AREF

Paul is the CEO of AREF.  Before joining AREF in 2020, Paul was Head of the European Real Estate Boutique within Mercer’s investment consulting business for almost 10 years, previously he was Head of Indirect Real Estate Investment and Global Managed Accounts at LaSalle Investment Management, where he was responsible for managing global portfolios of unlisted real estate funds for clients from Europe and Asia Pacific.

He has over 25 years of real estate experience in investment, corporate finance and research, and has advised investors, occupiers and venture capital companies on property portfolio strategy and on financial structuring, including PFI, senior and mezzanine debt and joint venture arrangements. His employers have included LaSalle Investment Management, Cushman & Wakefield and Henderson Investors.

Before coming into the world of real estate, Paul worked in marketing and market research. He originally studied Physiological Sciences at Lincoln College, Oxford and has a Master of Science in Real Estate from City University Business School, London, now Cass Business School.

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