By ADRIAN LOWCOCK 12/06/2009
Henderson has announced they are planning to re-open the International Property fund which was closed last year by New Star.
The fund was closed in November 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, as investors looked to cash in their investments – threatening forced sales of the portfolio’s assets at distressed prices. The managers refused to sell at heavy discounts citing concerns that it would not be in the best interests of investors.
Following the takeover of New Star in April 2009, Henderson has completed their review of the International Property fund and has drawn up a programme of disposals which the company believes will result in the fund being able to re-open in December. They are looking to dispose of selected assets and will not sell if the price is too low.
The way in which clients have been affected by this suspension depends on their need to access the money they have invested. If you didn’t need the money, then waiting until a better time to sell the assets should be a good thing. However, if you need to access the money then the suspension of trading has not been particularly beneficial.
We believe that there are opportunities starting to appear in commercial property. With income yields of 8% we expect to see an increase in demand in this asset class. Our preferred fund in this sector is the Schroder Global Property Securities A.
If you have any queries please call our advisers on 020 7189 9999.
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