News

Investment in property technology (proptech) is on the rise, yet sorting the wheat from the chaff is a challenge, according to Sheridan Ware, Chief Information & Technology Officer at Charter Hall, who presented at the PFA 2022 Conference in Cairns.

Issues surrounding Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in commercial property was a strong theme at the Property Funds Association (PFA) 2022 Conference in Cairns.

Australian commercial property continues to look attractive to global capital, according to David Green-Morgan, Head of Asia Pacific Real Estate Research at MSCI Real Capital Analytics, speaking on global fund flows at the recent Property Funds Association (PFA) 2022 Conference in Cairns.

Latest ASIC surveillance operation to include wholesale funds
ASIC recently announced it would commence a surveillance operation into the marketing of managed funds, which will include funds marketed to wholesale investors.

ASIC reviews governance of responsible entities
ASIC recently released findings from a high-level review of the governance practices of 10 large responsible entities of managed investment schemes. ASIC says: “As at 30 June 2021, these responsible entities collectively managed approximately $588 billion in registered schemes.”

The challenges of raising and deploying capital in a pandemic was the theme for a recent PFA Learning Series, which brought together three different perspectives on unlisted property funds, via Ben Harrop, Head of Distribution at Centurial Capital, Steven Bennett, CEO Direct Property at Charter Hall, and Mark Pratt, Executive General Manager of Property at Australian Unity.

A recent PFA Learning Series polled professionals working in or with the unlisted funds management community on some key issues facing the sector. The event, on Raising and Deploying Capital During a Pandemic, took place in December 2021. Here are some key findings:

David Green-Morgan, Managing Director Asia Pacific for Real Capital Analytics, recently joined PFA for an informative webinar on Property Capital Markets Through a Global and Local lens.

Property Funds Association met with ASIC in late November, to discuss various issues impacting the unlisted property investment community. Here’s a summary of the main issues discussed:

The PFA Learning Series Event: Was a lively discussion on how three Fund Managers navigated the challenges, successes and processes of raising capital before, during and as we emerge from COVID; from the perspective of retail, wholesale and sophisticated investors.

Yardi’s Chris Barbier, Industry Principal of Investment Management and Bernie Devine, Regional Director break down the top three trends they are seeing in the world of investment. With major capital waiting to be distributed, people are becoming much more aware of how they communicate with their investors. Quarterly reports are just not cutting it anymore. The investors want to know what their risks of exposure are in real time and in great detail.

Yardi’s Chris Barbier, Industry Principal of Investment Management and Bernie Devine, Regional Director discuss the main issues companies face when reporting to investors. Barbier notes that some investors now often require information such as rent collections – down to that level of detail. And this is largely the result of COVID-19. Investors are realising that what is happening at the asset is going to impact their returns. Timely and accurate reporting is more crucial than ever.