For most asset allocators, property or real estate falls under the category of “alternatives”, a group that includes other asset classes or sectors such as hedge funds and private equity. This reflects both the relative size of the asset class as well as the perception of the risks and returns that it provides. It also implies, although some may argue with this, that it is not core to the portfolio and that there is some opportunistic element in its weighting.

But even within the real estate asset class, there are parts of the market that we generally do not regard as core. These typically are smaller, have less liquidity and transparency and, again, may be more opportunistic in terms of pricing and the performance expectations that they provide. What is core and non-core will, to some extent, vary from investor to investor, but most would probably regard retail, offices and industrial/logistics as being in the former. In many markets, but by no means all (the United King