As part of its global investor outreach program, Nareit recently visited China and Korea to meet with institutional investors, asset managers, and policy makers. John Worth, executive vice president of research & investor outreach, and Bonnie Gottlieb, senior vice president, member services and strategic initiatives, represented Nareit on this trip.
A highlight of the trip was a productive visit with South Korea’s largest pension fund. This visit allowed Nareit to present the research-based case for increasing the allocation to listed real estate to the fund’s portfolio. Nareit participated in a seminar hosted by KAREIT, the Korean Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, with which Nareit has entered into an agreement of cooperation. At this seminar, attended by institutional investors, asset managers, and REITs, Worth discussed Nareit’s research on REIT performance and the role of REITs in a diversified portfolio. Worth and Gottlieb also had one-on-one meetings with several asset managers, as well as a large conglomerate that manages the largest Korean office REIT.
The trip began in Sanya, Hainan Island, China, at the 2019 Global REITs Hainan Seminar, a conference that brought together policymakers, academics, asset and fund managers, and institutional investors to discuss the development of REITs in China. Gottlieb discussed REIT development in the U.S. and how REITs can benefit investors and the economies in the countries and regions where they exist. Worth joined a panel to discuss how the lessons learned from the U.S. REIT experience can apply to China as it works to develop a REIT regime. Worth and Gottlieb also met with a large Chinese insurance company that is exploring REIT investments. During the conference, Nareit also met with representatives of its strategic partner the Asset Management Association of China.
(Contact: John Worth at jworth@nareit.com)