La Francaise Forum Securities has committed to establishing a long-term presence in the Middle East and developing innovative investment solutions with and for GCC institutional investors.
After the creation of the first Shariah-compliant OPCI (collective direct real estate investment vehicle) dedicated to institutional investors by La Francaise Group in 2012, global real estate securities investment firm La Francaise Forum Securities launched its first Shariah-compliant real estate securities separately managed account on behalf of an Islamic banking and investment services provider based in Kuwait.
La Francaise Forum Securities, a La Francaise Group member firm, is one of the few listed real estate investment specialists to offer an investment solution that associates the firm’s cycle-tested expertise in global real estate securities with the Shariah screening capabilities of IdealRatings.
IdealRatings, founded in 2006, is a market leader in Islamic capital markets and a solutions provider for responsible investment solutions. They cover over 40,000 listed companies/securities, including some 2,000 real estate securities, in over 150 countries. The IdealRatings solution is able to screen global listed securities for Shariah compliance in accordance with any Shariah rulebook.
La Francaise Forum Securities helps define the global real estate securities universe and will select securities with an above average risk-adjusted total return, from a Shariah-screened pool of about 150 securities. The portfolio is a concentrated one, with about 30 to 50 stocks.
“We have worked on developing this unique investment strategy for a few years and are very pleased to be able to bring it to life and offer institutional investors with an Islamic finance focus, from the Middle East and Southeast Asia or elsewhere, an opportunity to diversify their asset allocation with Shariah-compliant real estate securities; this asset class is starting to be attractively valued again, with double-digit discounts to NAV, and an ability to identify and exploit mispricing between public and private real estate markets globally,” said Jana Sehnalova, managing director of La Francaise Forum Securities and portfolio manager. “Recognizing the potential interest in this strategy, we are also investigating with Groupe La Francaise the viability of developing a fund as part of the existing product line managed by Groupe La Francaise.”
