This article appears courtesy of Institutional Investor.
Source: InstitutionalInvestor.com
Property funds in the U.K. have become so popular that many have closed to new investors in fear that the funds won't be able to find enough good investments to produce the kind of returns that attracted investors in the first place.
Financial Times reports that among those turning away new money are the Pooled Pension Property Fund and the Life Property Fund, while Standard Life has temporarily put a plug on fresh investments.
"Suspending further investments in the funds means that we are able to protect existing policyholders," explains Barry MacLennan, a Standard Life investment director in an FT interview.
"This could lead to other companies having to do something similar," Hargreaves Landsown senior analyst Meera Patel told FT.
Typically, returns for property funds hit between 15% and 18%, though those figures are expected to drop as the sector heads into a cool down.