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AMSTERDAM—Total global real estate assets under management hit a record $3.6 trillion at the end of 2019, according to the recently-published Fund Manager Survey 2020 by real estate associations ANREV, INREV and NCREIF.
The Blackstone Group topped the list with AUM of nearly $283 billion billion, ahead of Brookfield Asset Management with $204 billion and PGIM Real Estate with $181 billion. Nuveen and Hines complete the line-up of top five managers with $134 billion and €133 billion, respectively.
These reflect a significant increase of 15.7% over 2018’s tally of $3.1 trillion, despite the fact that a number of managers were unable to respond to the survey because of the COVID-19 global health pandemic. The growth in total AUM was largely attributable to increased investor inflows and capital appreciation.
Collectively, this year’s top 10 asset managers account for around 40% of the overall total, each achieving at least $96 billion of AUM.
Despite the gap in average AUM separating the top 10 managers from the rest, the overall growth rate for medium and smaller managers outstripped that for larger managers at 18.6% and 11.5%, respectively.
The report also pointed to the boost certain sectors received from continuing changes in consumer behaviour. The upsurge in online shopping, for example, has positively impacted the logistics sector helping Prologis to increase its AUM by almost 25%, from $96.1 billion to $119.7 billion, and placing it sixth in the overall rankings.
Regional Variances
Regionally, managers focused on North American strategies account for the highest percentage of total AUM at 36.6%, closely followed by those in Europe with 33.8%, while managers in Asia Pacific contributed 16.7% to the total.
PGIM leads the North American rankings, while CapitaLand is the largest manager in Asia Pacific with AUM of $63 billion. Swiss Life Asset Managers is No.1 in Europe with $101 billion of AUM, which also pushes it into the overall top 10 list for the first time. The firm’s growth exemplifies the increasing trend of investors leveraging their platforms to raise and manage third-party capital.
The survey results also highlight the continuing trend for market consolidation. As in 2019, 20% of respondents reported having been involved in M&A activity over the past decade, with a third of them citing a desire to extend their geographic reach as a key motivation.