Canadian pension funds increasingly turning to Canadian real estate as source of income and long-term protection against inflation

MONTREAL, July 25, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ – Standard Life Investments, a major global asset manager, today announced that the Standard Life Real Estate Fund (“SLREF” or the “Fund”) now has over CDN$1 billion in assets under management. The Fund’s latest acquisition is 8 West in Calgary, AB.

Real estate houses the economy

“Our Fund’s milestone is symbolic of the growing importance of real estate as a source of income and as a hedge against inflation for Canadian pension fund investors. A strong real estate portfolio can protect value through economic cycles because well-situated, high-quality real estate literally houses the economy,” stated Peter Cuthbert, Head of Canadian Real Estate with Standard Life Investments in Canada.

Since inception, the SLREF has earned an annualized return of 9.4%¹, and has only ever had one negative annual return in its 29-year history. Due to its limited use of debt and the fact that it seeks investment returns primarily through income, the Fund has experienced very low volatility of returns for its pension clients.

Not just a milestone, growing beyond the $1 billion mark reduces risk and enables Standard Life Investments to seek out a greater spectrum of opportunities for corporate funds looking for exposure to real estate in the Canadian market.

Commercial mortgage rates continue to remain attractive, supported in large part by bond yields that have continued a downward march. As of Monday July 23rd, the yield on 5-year GOC bonds was 1.12%. Financing options remain available for stronger assets below 3.50% on five year money.

Source: Bank of Canada