It’s an old saying that has stood the test of time: “A problem shared is a problem halved.” It’s how agony aunts work the world over, and investors and investment managers active in the real estate world could certainly use an agony aunt right now. In many respects, though, in various aspects of current political and economic behaviour around the world, it’s as if the saying is being stood on its head and turned into “My problem may be your problem, too, but I’d rather deal with my problem by myself in my own way. Butt out.”

Investing in Asian real estate holds great promise for non-Asian institutional investors. But while there are great rewards, the risks are also great. However, many have overcome their fears of investing in the region, and allocations to Asian real estate by European and North American investors have been going up.

I became a portfolio manager for the German real estate and infrastructure group of Generali when I joined the indirect investment team during the middle of the financial crisis. From speaking to senior professionals, whom I knew from internships, I was able to land a job at an institutional real estate investor.