Our approach to real estate equity
We bring together our research-led view on key thematic trends and deep understanding of local market dynamics across Europe. Investing with conviction and discipline, we aim to find value in the places where people want to live, work, play and learn and focus on long-term demand drivers and structural changes. We aim to create value for investors through active management throughout each asset’s lifecycle.
Our product suite aims to meet client needs across the risk spectrum. We can tailor our real estate equity solutions as part of broader multi-asset or multi-sector offerings, or they can be focused on specific thematic opportunities by sector or geography. We seek to deliver alpha by leveraging our collective market insight into the inherently inefficient and cyclical nature of real estate.
Potential benefits of real estate equity
Real estate equity can create value to meet a variety of investment goals.
Value creation
We aim to enhance returns through asset repositioning, development and rigorous active management.
Illiquidity premium
The private nature of the asset class, together with the network needed to access it, typically commands an illiquidity premium.
Full risk spectrum
A wide array of solutions to meet a diverse set of investment objectives.
*ESG integration means the integration of ESG factors and consideration of sustainability risk as part of the investment decision making process. This process is applied beyond any specific binding constraints (in the objective or strategy of the fund as detailed in the prospectus or investment management agreement and in accordance with our Baseline Exclusions Policy). The investment manager retains discretion on decision making taking all risks into account, beyond any binding criteria.
Real estate equity team
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Ben Sanderson
Managing Director, Real Estate
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Imogen Ebbs
Head of UK Funds, Real Estate Equity
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James Stevens
Head of Investment – Global Real Estate
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George Fraser-Harding
Head of Pan-European Funds, Real Estate
Key risks of real estate equity strategies
Investment risk
The value of an investment and any income from it can go down as well as up and can fluctuate in response to changes in currency and exchange rates. Investors may not get back the original amount invested.
Real estate risk
Where funds are invested in real estate, investors may not be able to redeem any units in the fund when they want because real estate assets may not always be readily saleable. If this is the case, we may defer a request to switch or cash in shares or units.
Valuation risk
Certain assets held in the fund could, by nature, be hard to value or to sell at a desired time or at a price considered to be fair (especially in large quantities), and as a result their prices could be very volatile.
Explore our real assets range
Need more information?
For further information, please contact our investment sales team.
Real Assets Study 2024
Demand remains strong, but the investment drivers are changing. At a time of macroeconomic uncertainty, real assets continue to play a significant role in the investment strategies of global institutions. The sixth edition of the Aviva Investors Real Assets Study is our biggest yet and seeks to answer some key questions.
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Real assets views
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Real Assets
Real asset stories: Curtain House
8 Aug 2024
In the first instalment of a new series of case studies on our real asset investments, we look at Curtain House, a Victorian warehouse Aviva Investors is converting into a modern, environmentally friendly office building.
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Real Assets
Illiquidity premia in private debt: Q2 2024
7 Aug 2024
In our latest real assets deep dive, our research team explains how our data on illiquidity premia indicates the benefits of a multi-asset approach to private debt investing.
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Real Assets
Relative value in real assets: A spectrum of opportunities
2 Aug 2024
Our real assets research team drills into proprietary data to compare risk and return across sectors.
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Pensions
A new chapter: Time to prepare for the next phase of the real estate cycle
17 Jul 2024
David Hedalen and Jonathan Bayfield from our real assets research team highlight data that shows real estate markets in the UK and Europe may be on the brink of an important shift.
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Responsible Investing
The future of green premia in real estate, part two: Searching for value and resilience
8 Jul 2024
Do energy-efficient buildings have more pricing power, and what could that mean for those investing in the built environment? We bring together the views of leading capital markets researchers, a valuer and an asset manager for the second part of our deep dive into green premia, analysing the investment implications.
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Responsible Investing
Avoid, reduce, remove, align: Finding climate transition investment opportunities in real assets
3 Jul 2024
In this article, Luke Layfield and Zoe Austin explain four key pillars that can help real asset investors align their strategies with the climate transition and uncover opportunities to deliver attractive returns.
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Responsible Investing
The future of green premia in real estate, part one: The view from the ground
27 Jun 2024
Do greener buildings have more pricing power, and if so, how much? We bring together the views of leading capital markets researchers, a valuer and an asset manager for a two-part deep dive on the latest market dynamics.
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Real Assets
Cyclical, structural, vintage: The outlook for real estate equity
10 May 2024
High inflation and rising rates hit activity in real estate markets over the past year. But cautious optimism is now returning to the investment landscape in the UK and Europe, say Imogen Ebbs and George Fraser-Harding.
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Real Assets
Building better: Opportunities for DC schemes to invest in the climate transition through real assets
22 Mar 2024
By investing in climate-aligned real assets, defined-contribution pension schemes can help propel the transition while also benefiting from portfolio diversification and attractive risk-adjusted returns, says Mark Meiklejon.
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Real Assets
Resilience and recovery: The outlook for real estate long income
21 Mar 2024
Renos Booth, Isabel Gossling and Kris McPhail from our real estate long income team consider the outlook for long-lease assets after a challenging period for investors.
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Real Assets
Rents, rates and the refinancing gap: The outlook for real estate debt
19 Mar 2024
After a challenging 12 months for real estate debt investors, Gregor Bamert discusses what lies ahead for the market in 2024.
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Real Assets
Illiquidity premia in private debt: Q4 2023
12 Mar 2024
In our latest real assets deep dive, our research team crunches the data to see how evolving macro conditions are reflected in private debt returns.
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Real Assets
Des res: Opportunities in rental housing for institutional investors
25 Jan 2024
Jonathan Bayfield examines the fundamentals of this asset class, as well as the opportunities and risks for real-estate investors.
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Responsible Investing
Common ground: Earning a social licence to operate in real asset investing
18 Jan 2024
Successful real asset investing requires acceptance of asset managers’ practices and procedures from a variety of stakeholders. We explore what this means for managers, their clients and investment outcomes.
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Pensions
Plus ça change…The outlook for infrastructure debt in 2024
11 Jan 2024
Infrastructure demonstrated characteristic resilience in 2023 in the face of significant macroeconomic headwinds. Darryl Murphy from our infrastructure team explains why he expects current themes to persist in 2024.
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Real Assets
Tech, trees and tailwinds: The outlook for climate transition real assets
9 Jan 2024
In this Q&A, James Tarry and Luke Layfield explore the themes shaping the landscape for real asset investors with a climate transition focus.