L-R: Julia Faurschou, reporter at Investment Adviser, Matt Jarvis, senior fund manager on the L&G UK Property fund, and Richard Romer-Lee, managing director at Square Mile Investment Consulting & Research
The L&G UK Property Paif was launched in May 2014, with the aim of achieving long-term growth and providing income by investing in a diverse portfolio of UK properties.
Managed by Michael Barrie since 2006 and Matt Jarvis since 2010, the strategy has gathered more than £2.3bn of assets, and was one of the few open-ended property funds not to be temporarily suspended during the summer’s liquidity crisis in the sector.
The vehicle did adopt a fair value price adjustment that went as high as 15 per cent in July, before gradually reducing and being removed altogether in September.
Against this difficult backdrop, this fund impressed the judges, who noted the team is “probably the best” in the sector.
The portfolio is mainly invested in direct property, at 72.9 per cent of the fund, while real estate investment trusts account for 5.7 per cent.
In terms of property sector exposure, the largest weighting is to industrials at 20.6 per cent, while regional office holdings take up 17.4 per cent of the portfolio. But the fund’s latest factsheet shows that as of August 31, the largest weighting in the sector breakdown was in cash and equivalents at 21.4 per cent.
What the judges say
In a difficult year for the sector, the judges believed this fund’s management team stood out from the crowd.
