INREV launches new German-only indices

As we reported in these pages recently, the European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV) was now imminently launching its new indices for German non-listed real estate vehicles, which it developed in collaboration with the BVI, the German Investment Funds association. The key proviso for inclusion is that the vehicles must be domiciled in Germany.

The first release of the All German Vehicles Annual Index includes coverage of 177 vehicles domiciled in Germany representing aggregate NAV of almost €100 billion, with historical performance from 2001 to 2015.  The Index can be broken down into Publikumsfonds and Spezialfonds sub-indices.

The quarterly index includes 20 vehicles at Q2 2000 increasing to 175 vehicles at Q1 2016, representing NAV of €25.4 billion and €99.4 billion respectively. 

German-based vehicles have delivered positive total returns in all but one year from 2001 to 2015. The exception was the trough of -0.3% in 2010, largely due to poor returns driven by the liquidation of some Publikumsfonds. Overall returns have since rebounded, reaching 2.7% by the end of 2015.

Spezialfonds, which are only open to institutional investors, significantly outperformed Publikumsfonds over that period, with average annual returns of 3.8% compared with 2.1%. Looking just at 2015 performance, it is clear the current momentum is with Spezialfonds, which returned 5.1% compared to the 2% achieved by Publikumsfonds.

The 2015 results also point to the strength of Germany’s domestic market. Vehicles that invest only in Germany registered an overall return of 5.7%, outperforming those with either a global (4.9%) or a European (1.7%) strategy. Logistics (4.5%) and residential (4.6%) were the best-performing sectors.

Matthias Thomas, CEO of INREV, commented: “We are thrilled to be breaking new ground in terms of the depth of our industry data by introducing the first INREV index that allows vehicle performance to be broken down both by domicile and legal structure. This has only been possible because of the appetite of our members for greater market transparency, so we are pleased to further this important cause and will continue to do so.”