Investors

The New York-based REIT is reportedly in market with a private equity real estate fund targeting distressed retail and office properties.

The Singapore-listed leisure investment firm and developer has held a final close on its Banyan Tree Indochina Hospitality Fund, short of its original $300m to $400m target. The vehicle's core asset will be the Laguna Hue resort development.

Prompted by the ongoing pay-to-play investigation in the US, the European trade body has created a code of conduct to prevent unethical conduct in the European placement industry. The code has the backing of the LP body, ILPA.

The Libyan Foreign Investment Company has become the latest sovereign wealth fund to invest in London commercial real estate directly.

The $182bn pension, the largest in the US, will negotiate with private equity firms for fee reductions on all new commitments. The practice follows a policy the pension implemented in March to negotiate fee reductions with hedge funds.

The ultra and high-net-worth community shrank by 25% and 15% respectively in 2008, according to the latest Merrill Lynch/Capgemini world wealth report. However, the allocation to real estate rose by 4% - despite a general move towards liquid assets.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has proposed a €75 million commitment to Chicago-based Heitman’s European Property Partners IV fund. The vehicle is targeting €600m of equity by its final close in September.

US pension fund Maine PERS has called in outside help to invest the remaining 5 percent of its targeted allocation to real estate. According to reports, this could lead to expanding the pension fund’s investment horizon from core style investing to opportunistic.

The real estate arm of the French insurer has reportedly halted plans to invest in Asia until the market malaise is over, according to executives. The firm said it needed to see signs of 'stability' before re-entering the region's markets.

Ian Hally, Aviva Investors’ Asia Pacific head of strategy and indirect investments, will now take over as real estate chief executive officer for the region.