The board of BMO Real Estate Investments has appointed Matthew Howard as the company’s lead manager, effective 19 July 2022.
Howard will replace Peter Lowe, who will continue managing the firm’s assets, with the support of BMO’s Real Estate Partners (REP) team, until he hands over his responsibilities to Howard. Lowe will continue to support Howard and the team “to ensure an orderly transition”.
Prior to joining BMO REP in 2017, Howard spent six years at Hermes Investment Management, now Federated Hermes, and is a member of BMO REP’s investment committee.
Howard is also manager of the RSA Shareholders Real Estate Fund and deputy manager of the BMO Commercial Property Trust.
Vikram Lall, chairman of BMO Real Estate Investments, said: “We are delighted that Matthew will take on the role as our lead manager and look forward to working with Matthew on building on our impressive NAV performance track record.
“We continue to believe the company’s share price is not reflective of [the] company’s value and quality of portfolio. The board are addressing the fact that the shareholder returns do not match the performance of the portfolio.”
Lall will continue in his role as chairman for an extended period, despite the firm’s announcement on 31 March that he would be stepping down from the board later this year. He will stay on as a result of the management change and the retirement of director Rebecca Gates “to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities and provide continuity for shareholders”.
The firm has commenced the process of finding a replacement for Gates.
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