Sovereign wealth funds pile into property

Sovereign wealth funds are piling into property at an unprecedented pace in a bid to improve performance as the world’s largest investors grapple with low interest rates.State-backed

Sovereign funds including the Qatar Investment Authority, the ninth-largest sovereign fund in the world, have made a spate of high-profile investments over the past year.

In its annual report released in March, it said it planned to increase the number of staff within its property division from 104 to 200 by 2017 .

A person who works with sovereign funds on their investment plans, who declined to be named, said: “[State funds] are chasing returns, because traditional investments have disappointed.

Sovereign wealth funds posted average returns of 4.1 per cent last year, despite having a combined target of 5.9 per cent, according to Invesco, the asset manager that carried out the research.

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