Henderson Global Investors is to reopen its UK Property Paif and feeder fund in mid-October following “good progress in asset sales”.
Having been suspended since July 6 following a surge in outflows after the EU referendum result, the fund will officially reopen and resume daily dealing on 14 October, Henderson said in a statement.
The fund house said the portfolio had “[re-established] a liquidity buffer” following recent asset disposals.
Henderson’s decision follows Columbia Threadneedle’s September 12 announcement that its own fund will reopen on September 27. Canada Life has also permitted its own property fund to resume trading this month.
Funds run by Standard Life Investments, M&G, and Aviva Investors remain suspended. Aviva said last month its fund could remain closed until the first quarter of 2017.
In its statement today (September 19), Henderson said it would accept client subscriptions and redemptions for the October 14 reopening date as of September 21. The company said the notice period was intended to allow investors to make informed decisions ahead of the reopening.
Ainslie McLennan, co-manager of the funds, said: “We are pleased with the pricing attained on the assets sold in the period since June 23, 2016, with the majority of sales exceeding December 31, 2015 valuations, and comfortable that this was achieved without compromising the diversification and performance potential of the remaining property portfolio.”
She said that the focus remains on holding a portfolio of defensive, core assets with a mix of robust tenants on long leases across all sectors.
“The portfolio provides an attractive net historical income yield of 3.2 per cent (4.0 per cent estimated gross yield for eligible investors), which in the form of contractual rental income offers a steady income stream and remains attractive relative to bonds and equities. Around a third of the income comes from leases with either fixed uplifts or Retail Price Index (RPI) linked increases, providing an element of rental growth.”
