CB Richard Ellis and derivatives specialist fund manager Reech Alternative Investment Management today confirmed plans to launch a batch of hedge funds investing in property securities and derivatives.
The joint venture’s first European real estate fund – the £400m Iceberg Alternative Real Estate – was officially unveiled last week and is targeting a relative value absolute return fund of LIBOR +15%.
The fund has attracted interest from across the investment spectrum. Subribers range between experienced hedge fund players and alternative investment managers as well as property investors seeking to hedge their risk to direct property holdings.
Christophe Reech, head of Reech AiM, said: ‘Iceberg is a pure alpha real estate fund and the first true hedge fund play offering an opportunity to invest in a new asset class. The response to the derivatives application of real estate has been extremely positive and we expect the market to grow exponentially.’
Martin Samworth, managing director of CB Richard Ellis, added: ‘Our joint venture with Reech AiM and the launch of the Iceberg Fund are examples of the growing financial sophistication of the real estate markets and the opportunity that this represents for our business.’
