BT puts one-third into Europe, Asia property

BT Financial Group has reduced the US exposure in its retail global property fund from 100 per cent to 69 per cent, opening up to European and Asian markets as they in turn embrace listed property structures.

BT’s head of property securities, Antoinette Plater, will be lead portfolio manager for the new 6 per cent Asia (ex-Australia) component based in Sydney, while a 25 per cent European allocation will be run by the existing US third party manager, AEW Capital Management, from London.

The BT Global Property Fund, available to retail investors through BT Wrap Essentials, was responding to adviser and investor demand according to Plater.

“Many Australian investors are already making indirect investments in global property through securities such as Westfield Group, which has 62 per cent of its assets in global retail property. These investors are now making a deliberate decision to ‘go global’ to complement their current Australian property holdings,” said BT’s global property investment specialist, Anne Rozenauers.

Apart from offering a broader array of investable sectors such as hotels and residential developments, Rozenauers said offshore property markets were growing much faster than the mature Australian market.

UBS Warburg forecasts that between December 2004 and December 2007, Australian property capitalisation will grow 15 per cent from $US 59 billion to $US 68 billion, dwarfed by US growth of 26 per cent from $US 278 billion to $US 350 billion, European/UK growth of 33 per cent from $US 102 billion to $US 136 billion, and Asian growth of 47 per cent from $US 114 billion to $US 168 billion.