Norwich Union is to launch a global property fund giving investors an opportunity to invest in commercial property companies in the US, Asia, Canada, Australia and Europe.
The Norwich Global Property Fund will invest in between 50 and 75 real estate investment trusts and be available from 27 November 2006.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are listed companies that own income-producing real-estate related assets such as office buildings, retail shopping centres and logistic warehouses. Because they are publicly listed securities, REITs enable investors to transfer money in and out of the market easily.
REITs diversify portfolios by giving exposure to property-based securities. In general they do not pay corporation tax and have to distribute most of their income as dividends.
The fund will be managed by Morley Fund Management and CBRE Global Real Estate Securities. Morley will be the lead manager and has overall responsibility for formulating strategy and managing the funds UK and European investments. CBRE will be responsible for managing all investments outside Europe and will focus on US and Asia Pacific markets. The fund manager will be Paul van de Vaart.
