LaSalle Investment Management is creating a property derivatives platform with BGC Partners to provide its real estate investment clients with a tool to control risk.
The firm said interest in property derivatives is continuing to grow as clients seek new ways to manage and balance their portfolios. It pointed to a poll at IPD’s quarterly briefing in February indicating that 36% of delegates would consider using derivatives this year.
“We do not believe that property derivatives will replace investment in direct real estate but rather that they will equip fund managers with another risk and portfolio management tool,” said LaSalle’s UK managing director, Alan Tripp. “There appears to be appetite for this sort of diversified strategy.”
Derivatives are useful for clients hoping to compensate for overweight investment in falling market sectors or to protect underperforming assets that clients would rather not sell. BGC is helping LaSalle establish systems that will allow LaSalle’s fund managers to identify and execute derivatives trades.
©2011 funds europe
