Starting this issue, the Market Perspective column will be authored by a rotating panel of four industry experts — Ted Leary, president of Crosswater Realty Advisors; Nori Gerardo Lietz, founding partner of Areté Capital; Randy Zisler, CEO of Zisler Capital Associates; and Stephen Roulac, founder of Roulac Global Places. We trust that you will find these articles to be insightful and thought-provoking. As always, your comments and feedback are encouraged. Send them to me at m.consol@irei.com. We kick things off with Ted Leary. Enjoy the read. — Ed.

After fears heightened following the sovereign debt events in Europe and the United States during the summer of 2011, economic sentiment has since shifted in different ways across the major global regions. Economic growth for the United States has gradually improved, yet remains mild. Asia Pacific has entered a period of weaker growth, and monetary loosening is expected to put a floor under economic growth levels there. In Europe, continued debt issues and political uncertainty are driving a weaker short-term outlook.

Shaken by stock market volatility and low bond yields, investors have been gravitating toward equity real estate but have become concerned about what appears to be limited property availability. Despite these concerns, significant opportunities do exist and can be identified by considering demographic, economic and real estate market trends.

Dr. Richard Barkham, group research director at Grosvenor, is the author of a book titled Real Estate and Globalisation.Richard Fleming,editor of The Institutional Real Estate Letter – Europe, spoke recently with Barkham about the reasoning behind his new book, how and why investors should consider real estate investment in the wider context, and the role of real estate in the investment world of the moment.

Despite economic uncertainties characterized by a fiscal cliff and shaky global economy, REITs recorded a strong return of 19.7 percent in 2012, making it the fourth consecutive year that equity REITs have outperformed other asset classes, according to the FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index.

The board of trustees of the $47.4 billion Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (APFC) has approved a $100 million commitment to U.S. industrial real estate during its July 18 meeting.

Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management has surpassed its fundraising target for Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners, raising $4.4 billion in a final close.

The Vermont Pension Investment Committee (VPIC) is currently accepting proposals from investment firms to manage a noncore real estate mandate (value-add, opportunistic and/or real estate debt) for the system.

For institutional real estate investors in Asia, the word “sustainable” seems each year to cover a wider waterfront, and also to become more vital to successful and long-term money management.