CBRE Global Real Estate Securities Bets on Asia

June 25 2008 - CBRE Global Real Estate Securities, a fund that manages $2.5 billion of property trusts and stocks, is cutting investments in the U.S. and adding REITs and shares of developers in Asia, betting on growth in the region.

“Asia is where you get a good long-term growth and you can acquire the shares at a discount,” said David Fan, managing director of CBRE Global Real Estate Securities Japan. “We have progressively trimmed our position in the U.S.”

The Bloomberg Asia REIT Index that tracks 77 trusts in the region has fallen 31 percent since a peak in May last year as borrowing costs rose worldwide following the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Real estate companies and trusts rely on borrowings and equity raisings to fund property investments.

The fund manager plans to invest in stages because of market volatility, seeking better average returns in the medium term, said Fan, whose fund is a unit of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate brokerage.

CBRE Global Real Estate Bets on Asia as It Cuts U.S. Investment
by Kathleen Chu | Bloomberg