Industry bodies INREV, ANREV and NCREIF have launched the first Global IRR Index, providing data on the since-inception performance of value-added and opportunity, closed-end, non-listed real estate funds in Asia Pacific, Europe and the US.
The best average internal rate of return (IRR) across all three regions was 18.39%, recorded by funds with a first closing in 2013. But this vintage was also marked by regional variances. Asia Pacific saw a wider spread of returns than other regions which could be explained by the generally more diverse strategies pursued in this region. And US returns for 2013 were likely driven by substantial investments in domestic residential assets, which performed well in subsequent years.
Funds launched between 2011 and 2016 posted the highest average IRRs across the time series of the index. Those with the lowest average IRRs were launched between 2005 and 2007. The lowest average IRR in the entire index was -1.02%, which was recorded for funds started in 2006.
The 2008 vintage revealed the widest spread between IRR quartiles, ranging from 12.54% in the top quartile to -2.06% in the lower quartile. These results probably reflect the diversity of strategies and stock selection employed by managers and investors dealing with the challenges of the 2008 financial crisis.
Henri Vuong, INREV’s director of research and market information, said: ‘This is an important evolution of the original INREV IRR Index. As a money-weighted measure, it provides global investors and managers with an additional view of fund performance, enabling them to assess whether a fund’s cashflow is sufficient to meet its specific investment goals. Given the current challenging circumstances presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, this perspective will no doubt be particularly relevant.’
Amélie Delaunay, director – research & professional standards for ANREV, added: ‘The new index helps to make real estate more easily comparable with other asset classes, which routinely use IRR to gauge performance. This is particularly valuable for investors making global capital allocation decisions across their portfolios.’
Dan Dierking, president of NCREIF, commented: 'Collaboration and harmonisation are more important than ever at this time of uncertainty, and initiatives such as the Global IRR Index become very relevant indeed.’
This first edition of the index is made up of 294 funds (258 value added and 36 opportunity) with vintages dating from pre-2002 to 2018. Of the total, 62 funds are from Asia Pacific, 102 are European and 130 are from North America.
