Investors

Why the temporary halting of redemptions by German open-ended property funds is not good news for private equity real estate. PERE magazine December 2008/January 2009

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which guarantees the pensions of about 44 million Americans, has hired gatekeepers as it prepares to allocate a portion of its $5.5bn in assets to private equity and real estate.

As the real estate industry looks forward to 2009, PrivateEquityRealEstate.com looks back at the past 12 months and the most read stories of the year. Dreier founder, Marc Dreier, admitting to key aspects of a $113m scam was the number one story.

The Switzerland-based firm was targeting $1bn for its second Asia-focused ‘programme’, a series of vehicles which will invest in primary funds and secondary transactions and also partner on direct investments.

In a move to shift away from equity risk, The State of Wisconsin Investment Board has raised its real estate and private equity targets 1% each and doubled the target of its tactical multi-asset allocation.

CalPERS veteran Anne Stausboll will lead the US’ largest public pension plan and influential private equity investor. The pension is still searching for a CIO following the departure of Russel Read earlier this year.

The $17bn endowment has suffered from declining financial markets. The university says it has been establishing reserves in anticipation of 'substantial' write-downs in its private equity and real estate portfolio. Real assets, including real estate, makes up a quarter of the fund's portfolio.

Voting for the first round of the third annual Global PERE Awards will close on January 5, 2009. Have you nominated the people, firms, funds and deals that stood out in 2008 yet? If not, cast your vote now.

The asset management arm of the German insurance firm has appointed Stefan Brendgen as its chairman and CIO with effect from next year. The move will release current CEO Karl Ralf Jung to return full time to managing Allianz’s private equity, real estate and infrastructure investments.

The $97bn pension, which has lost about $30bn since the end of June, increased the upper limit of its target private equity allocation to account for the denominator effect.