IPD's publication of the new SFIX Quarterly Indicator will help to increase transparency in the market for institutional property investments.
The Indicator, published for the second time at the end of the second Quarter of 2012, covers those property Spezialfonds regulated by the German Investment Law, together with public real estate funds for institutional investors.
The total market defined in this way includes about 200 funds with a Net Asset Value of 43.3 billion, of which the SFIX Quarterly Indicator covers 57% by value. It thus shows the combined performance of 103 funds managed by 19 investment companies, with a total volume of 24.9 billion.
"With the upgrade of the annual Spezialfonds Indicator SFIX to a quarterly format, IPD meets the wishes of many investors and fund managers for a reliable, meaningful and timely point of reference," says Dr. Daniel Piazolo, Managing Director of IPD Investment Property Databank GmbH.
IPD publishes the results of the SFIX Quarterly Indicator together with sub-indicators segmented by region and sector six weeks after the end of the quarter.
This report currently refers to an indicator rather than an index, as IPD is as yet unable to incorporate all historical returns on the SFIX funds. IPD indices are always based on a full and representative set of data on the market concerned over the whole time period covered. For the SFIX this at present only holds true for the first two quarters of 2012.
Results for Q2 2012
In Q2 2012 property funds for institutional investors achieved a total return of 0.4%. Funds with a focus on Germany achieved a higher return of 0.7%, while pan-European funds returned 0.2%. Funds focused on retail properties showed a performance of 0.8% compared to a lower return on office-focused funds of 0.2%.
In terms of rank order, the results are similar to last quarter's results, with German- focused funds outperforming those focused on Europe, and retail-focused funds outperforming office funds.
"Returning merely 1.0% in the first half-year, German institutional funds fall behind their long-term average. But those funds that deviate from the classical office-focused strategy tend to beat the indicator," says Sebastian Gläsner, Head of Fund Services at IPD in Germany.
Source: IPD
