Home > Investments > Property
Hargreaves Lansdown changes stance towards property
Hargreaves Lansdown has added the Threadneedle UK Property fund to its Wealth 150 buy-list as it moves away from its previously-held negative view of the commercial property market.
Mark Dampier, head of research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said he was moving his stance on the UK commercial property sector to a tentative buy for the first time in six years.
He said it was time for investors to reappraise the commercial property sector, as the low interest rates make the asset class an attractive proposition and offers an alternative to gilts.
"One of the consequences of the crash in the commercial property market is that many yields have now risen to 8 per cent, around double the yield available on government gilts," he added.
"Only a few years ago it was actually below the gilt yield so that is a rapid change and suggests commercial property could be the cheapest it has been since the 1990s."
Mr Dampier said the Threadneedle fund had an advantage over larger funds because of its smaller size and was not forced to buy larger properties.
He said: "One of the beauties of the Threadneedle fund is that it is quite small, which means it can buy into smaller properties where there is currently greater availability."
The fund had survived the worst of the downturn in good shape, Mr Dampier said, thanks in part to its large cash position.
