Boarded-up shop fronts. “For Rent” signs. Empty shells. Rolled-down metal screens that for all we know won’t open again. Reports of the death of Asian retail real estate are an exaggeration. But it has been on life support as Asia stumbles through a protracted pandemic with no clear endgame.
An innovation wave is sweeping through the Asia Pacific region, bringing about new engines of growth for economies. Innovation clusters are emerging alongside the expansion of technology companies, potentially creating significant and sustainable demand for real estate.
Real estate benchmarking has been dogged by problems since its very inception. Investors have commonly bemoaned a lack of transparency, sample degradation created by market changes, the ineffectiveness of risk measures and the rate at which data is updated — particularly when compared with benchmarks in other asset classes.
Australia has a need for innovation in housing. Demand for housing is expected to grow, and within that demand, a desire for premium product with amenities, services and sustainability outcomes that have not previously existed in the Australian marketplace.
It’s easy to claim you are engaged in aligning interests between investors and investment managers. It’s another thing entirely to actually do something that aligns those interests. To be clear, connecting people with similar interests is not the same thing as aligning those interests.
The swift development of vaccines during the pandemic has shone an even brighter light on the importance of the life sciences industry amid the already long-term, growing needs of ageing populations.
South Korea’s National Pension Service is planning to increase its proportion of its alternative investments to up to 15 percent of its total operating assets by 2024. And by the end of 2021, the Korea Teachers’ Pension plans to increase its allocation to global alternative assets to more than 24 percent.
Australia’s Future Fund has captured an annual return of 22.2 percent, the strongest in the fund’s history. The fund earned A$35.7 billion (US$25.88 billion) for the year, growing to A$196.8 billion (US$142.68 billion) as of 30 June.
Australian Catholic Superannuation (ACS) and NGS Super have confirmed that, following discussions and extensive due diligence over the past 12 months, the funds will not merge.