Published in November 2007 by PEI Media Ltd Second Floor ...

Introduction & Methodology.
INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY
As the private real estate asset class continues to
grow, so too has the Second Edition of The
Global Directory of Investors in Private Real
Estate Funds. The Directory now covers profiles
of 800 investors (first edition had just over 500
profiles). It has also been noted that whilst many
investors are increasing their allocation to the
asset class, they are also investing across a wider
geographic base.
To assist General Partners about to hit the
fundraising trail, the aim of this volume is to help
those looking to raise capital from the institutional
investor base to understand that universe better.
A successful fundraising needs to be organised,
well planned and, above all, targeted. Knowing
which investors to approach with a fund offering is
key. Based on the very positive feedback we
received on the first edition, it is hoped that this
Directory will once again assist General Partners
in this regard. Ultimately we hope that this
Directory continues to help the private real estate
fundraiser to raise funds easier, faster and with
more confidence.
Our goal with this second edition was to continue
to produce the most comprehensive international
guide to investors in private real estate funds. As
such, we were determined that the Directory
would be truly global in scope. So while you will
find within the larger, well-known investors from
North America, you will also find investors from
Western Europe and the UK, from the Asia Pacific
region, from the Middle East and from elsewhere.
Within the following pages you will find (amongst
others) local authority pension funds from the UK,
banks from India, corporate investors from Japan,
insurance companies from Hungary, fund of funds
managers from Sweden and government
agencies from Abu Dhabi. And you will also find
the public plan sponsors and foundations and
endowments from North America that you would
expect.
A team of multi-lingual researchers has built the
Directory from the ground up. Institutions to be
profiled were sourced from a variety of sources,
including publicly available directories, primary
research, and discussions with the market. And it
goes without saying that our monthly publications
– PERE (Private Equity Real Estate) magazine,
Private Equity International magazine – as well
as PrivateEquityRealEstate.com and
PrivateEquityOnline.com, our global private equity
news sites, were invaluable resources.
Targets for inclusion in the Directory were sent a
survey to fill in, asking them for details on their
private real estate investment appetite. The
process of chasing responses to this survey
formed the bulk of the research time for the
Directory. In many cases we were able to go
through the survey with an institution over the
telephone, a process that proved invaluable for
teasing out some of the nuances of an institution’s
appetite for the asset class.
Many institutions responded to the survey and
provided us with the information sought and we
are grateful for the time and effort taken by so
many people. As would be expected, however,
many respondents either partially filled in the
survey or chose to ignore it altogether. Many
institutions, particularly the well-known groups
from the United States, have little need for any
publicity and are, in point of fact, deluged with
fund offerings. In such cases, however, we had
some success with the argument that the more
information the institution provided us the less
solicitations from fundraisers it would receive, as
users of the Directory would know whether their
fund offering was a match for the institution’s
private real estate appetite. GP groups on the
fundraising trail would do well to remember this
argument.
Wherever possible, the information contained in
the Directory has been sourced from the
institution in question itself. In most cases this has
meant an institution filling in our survey, or
providing us with the information over the
telephone. In other cases we were able to obtain
the necessary information directly from the
institution via other means, with websites and
annual reports proving invaluable in this regard. In
some cases, however, information has been
sourced from third-party publicly available
sources. Users of the Directory should bear this in
mind.
Even in those cases where we have had to resort
to external sources we have made every effort to
ensure the information provided is as accurate as
possible. However, the publisher accepts no
responsibility whatsoever for any errors or
omissions within this publication or for any
expense or other loss alleged to have arisen in
any way in connection with a reader’s use of this
publication. Nothing in this Directory should be
construed as the giving of investment advice. The
profiles contained within are provided merely for
© 2007 PEI Media Ltd. The Global Directory of Investors in Private Real Estate Funds – Second Edition
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