Jonathan Brasse
Ellis Short, the former principal at Lone Star, has raised $1.5bn in just five months for his new firm’s European real estate debt investment fund and is thought to have another $1bn of capital commitments competing for the remaining $500 million of units.
The global alternative asset manager has appointed Niel Thassim as head of Asia for its Private Funds Group to drive fundraising for private investment vehicles across its asset classes.
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation has stockpiled cash during the year to March 31 as it awaits better investing conditions. Adopting a cautious outlook, the sovereign wealth fund nonetheless increased its allocation to alternative assets by 1 percent.
China Investment Corporation saw its total assets grow to $482bn in 2011 but registered a loss of -4.3 percent for the year. To mitigate current volatile market conditions, the state fund has continued to increase its exposure to alternative assets.
The $627bn sovereign wealth fund has merged its Real Estate Department and Infrastructure Department as it seeks to streamline functions.
The Hong Kong-based private equity real estate firm’s decision to expand its investment horizons to include private equity and infrastructure is understood to have contributed to founder and chief executive officer Rong Ren’s decision to resign.
Australia’s Future Fund reported an increase in its infrastructure, real estate and private equity holdings in the three months to June 30. However, Its overall return for the quarter slid 3.3 percent to 0.6 percent, excluding its holding in Telstra, the Australian telecommunications company.
The Australian sovereign wealth fund continues to increase its exposure to real estate, private equity and infrastructure, according to its Q1 2011 portfolio update. Future Fund’s infra and timberland assets increased by A$562m in the first three months of the year.
HSBC Specialist Investments has been renamed InfraRed Capital Partners. The infrastructure and real estate platform has more than $4bn of capital under management. HSBC will consider further commitments to future funds of InfraRed on a 'case by case' basis.
Australia’s Future Fund has made further increases to its real estate, private equity and infrastructure portfolios as its overall assets under management grow past the A$70 billion (€50.6 billion; $69.4 billion) mark for the first time.