Analysing the performance of nonlisted real estate funds: a panel data analysis

Abstract

The rapid growth of nonlisted real estate funds over the last several years has contributed towards establishing this sector as a major investment vehicle for gaining exposure to commercial real estate. Academic research has not kept up with this development, however, as there are still only a few published studies on nonlisted real estate funds. This article aims to identify the factors driving the total return over a 7-year period. Influential factors tested in our analysis include the weighted underlying direct property returns in each country and sector as well as fund size, investment style gearing and the distribution yield. Furthermore, we analyse the interaction of nonlisted real estate funds with the performance of the overall economy and that of competing asset classes and find that lagged Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and stock market returns as well as contemporaneous government bond rates are significant and positive predictors of annual fund performance.