PGIM Real Estate’s defined contribution practice expands globally and adds senior leadership
PGIM Real Estate, the real estate investment business of PGIM, has made several promotions as it expands its defined contribution platform.
David Skinner was promoted to a global head, and Sara Shean was appointed to an executive director.
PGIM Real Estate launched one of the first daily-valued real estate fund vehicles for U.S. defined contribution plans in 2006. Since then, PGIM Real Estate has grown its defined contribution platform to more than $2.2 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2018, more than tripling its assets under management since 2014. These assets are managed across two daily-valued strategies that invest in PGIM Real Estate’s open-end commingled funds, with allocations to public real estate securities to provide daily liquidity.
“In recognition of the evolving trends in pension systems in the United States and around the world, PGIM Real Estate is bolstering its defined contribution practice and capabilities to better serve plan sponsors and their consultants,” said Mark Chamieh, global head of business development for PGIM Real Estate. “The expansion of our defined contribution platform is aligned with our commitment to helping these sponsors incorporate direct commercial real estate and real estate securities into their portfolios to improve participant outcomes.”
Skinner has been promoted to global head of PGIM Real Estate’s defined contribution practice — expanding his U.S. coverage — in addition to his role as a portfolio manager for PGIM Real Estate’s two daily-valued real estate portfolios. Skinner will partner with PGIM Real Estate senior leadership globally to further evolve product development strategy for defined contribution markets in Europe and Asia Pacific. Skinner is currently on the executive board of the DCREC and was formerly co-president from 2012 to 2015. He also sits on PREA’s Defined Contribution Affinity Group.
Shean joined PGIM Real Estate as an executive director and a senior member of the defined contribution practice. She will primarily focus on developing relationships with U.S.-based defined contribution plans and their consultants. She will also work to expand PGIM Real Estate’s defined contribution products. Based in Madison, N.J., Shean reports to Skinner. Prior to joining PGIM Real Estate, she served as the head of institutional defined contribution for Cohen & Steers. Earlier, Shean was a vice president and senior defined contribution investment strategist with JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services.
PGIM Real Estate’s defined contribution platform leverages the full breadth and depth of PGIM’s multi-manager model, through its partnerships with PGIM’s institutional defined contribution practice, led by Josh Cohen, and QMA’s multi-asset target date funds platform. PGIM Real Estate has been working with plan advisers for more than a decade to promote the benefits of including direct commercial real estate and real estate securities within defined contribution plans. The company also took a leadership role in the formation of the Defined Contribution Real Estate Council (DCREC) in 2013 to further education, advocacy and best practices for such investments.
