PRESS RELEASE
THE NEW RESERVED INVESTOR FUND LAUNCHES ON 19 MARCH 2025
“I WANT RIF TAKE UP,” SAYS PRODUCT ARCHITECT
London, 18 March 2025: As of 19 March 2025, fund managers are free to launch Reserved Investor Funds. This is a new fund structure, designed specifically to bring real estate investment funds back onshore, with lower fees for savers.
RIFs, as the new funds are known for short, provide pension schemes and other large investors with simple and cost-effective access to illiquid assets. Many such investors already have significant allocations to housing, infrastructure and other private investments – in some cases up to a third of their total investments.
But there is material appetite for more investments – not least because they can offer better investment returns – especially from defined contribution, master trust and open defined benefit schemes.
RIFs can do this because they
- Are onshore vehicles – compared with many real estate funds registered offshore, some of which operate through comparatively expensive master-feeder structures.
- Have lighter regulation – operated through the Financial Conduct Authority’s authorised alternative investment manager regime.
- Provide managers with flexibility – the structure offers a range of exits to facilitate liquidity matching: for example, ranging between a fixed term with no redemptions and quarterly redemptions.
Around a dozen asset management firms , large and small, have RIFs in the pipeline. The first to open for client investment may well be from Newcore Capital. This is a specialist investor in social infrastructure real estate in the UK, holding assets integral to society’s needs whose fundamentals are driven by long-term demographic trends.
Melville Rodrigues, architect of the Reserved Investor Fund, head of real estate advisory at Apex Group and a member of the Association of Real Estate Funds Public Policy Committee: “I want RIF take-up. I want them to create more jobs in the UK. I also want pension scheme savers to achieve better investment returns – because lower fees mean more money in their pockets. I want “spades in the ground” with more social and affordable housing, regenerated town centres and quicker progress to sustainability goals. This is all possible – not least because so many managers are lining up new launches or preparing to convert existing funds.”
Paul Richards, CEO at the Association of Real Estate Funds: “We’ve been talking about RIFs behind the scenes with members, many of whom also operate Long-Term Asset Funds, and it’s fair to say interest is high and demand is meaningful. All of this is good for the real estate investment sector – and, more importantly, the many hard-working savers who depend on it. Congratulations to Melville who has been working on this tirelessly for a number of years.”
---ends---
For further information, please contact:
Paul Richards, AREF: [email protected]
Melville Rodrigues: +44 789 991 0641 or [email protected]
David Butcher, Communications and Content: 07834 350101 or [email protected]
About the Association of Real Estate Funds
The Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) is the body that represents the interests of its member funds, those firms that advise and support them, and the end customers that invest in our member funds. Our membership includes over fifty funds spanning the leading real estate fund management houses in the industry, through to smaller, specialist boutiques, with a collective net asset value of over £50bn. In addition, we have more than fifty affiliate members and several associate members. We are recognised by policy makers, regulators, tax authorities and other official organisations as the leading spokesperson for real estate funds, so through bringing all stakeholders together we can influence the way our industry evolves. https://www.aref.org.uk
About Melville Rodrigues Consulting:
Melville is recognised for his leadership role in the unlisted UK and European real estate funds industry. He is a technical expert in the establishment and operation of funds as well as associated regulatory and governance issues. Melville is highly visible in the real estate funds market, including conference presentations, webinars and judging panels. Melville is the key architect and lead advocate of the Reserved Investor Fund (RIF) initiative. He is an enthusiastic supporter of industry thought-leadership as well as sustainability initiatives. He combines his consultancy services with honorary roles for several non-for-profit and other organisations.