European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) has hit out following the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) proposal for fund redemption notice periods announced. The industry must take care to ensure that this episode does not mislead investors into thinking there is a problem with property. The liquidity issue is a problem with specific funds and how they are structured, yet we are in danger of souring the taste of property investments for individual and institutional investors, completely.
There are “other avenues” through which investing in property is “highly liquid”, such as listed real estate vehicles and exchange traded funds, which “give investors ready access to their capital while exposing them to extremely high-quality property and diversified assets”. It is the role of the fund and wealth industry to make sure that these investments are clearly understood and more widely used in order to safeguard investors’ right to access their capital.