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Open- vs. Closed-End Real Estate Funds: How the Choice Mattered 

Real Estate Investing

The aggregate performance of closed- and open-end real estate funds in the U.S. was strikingly similar in recent years, despite large differences in their strategy and roles in portfolios. But did some investors gain an edge through fund selection?

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How Inflation Could Affect Multi-Asset-Class Portfolios 

Real Estate Investing , Fixed Income , Global Investing , Integrated Risk Management

Market participants are hotly debating whether U.S. monetary and fiscal policy may cause inflation. We consider four scenarios — reflation, disinflation, an overheated economy and stagflation — and their potential impact on multi-asset-class portfolios.

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Currency-Risk Hedging in Real Estate Benchmarks 

Real Estate Investing , Risk Management , Global Investing

Global real estate investors can expose themselves to currency risk. Using a hedged index, they may better align their benchmark and investment approach and ensure currency risk is accurately treated in allocation modeling and performance attribution.

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2021 Real Estate Trends to Watch 

Real Estate Investing

COVID-19 has caused a severe and rapid economic contraction and accelerated secular changes already hitting parts of the real estate markets. Investors face a fundamental question: How will real estate evolve as a sector and asset class? Here are our 2021 real estate trends to watch.

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Was Infrastructure Solid During COVID-19? 

Real Estate Investing , Risk Management

Infrastructure investments have not been spared the effects of the pandemic. A closer look across investment types, subsectors and risk levels over time may provide useful perspective as private-capital firms and their investors manage through.

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Missed Rents’ Impact on Real Estate 

Real Estate Investing , Fixed Income

Some commercial tenants have stopped paying rent amid COVID-19. Without rental income, property funds are not able to pay distributions to shareholders and borrowers cannot service their debt. We analyzed property-fund data to assess the impact on investors.

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Corporate Bonds Through a Factor and ESG Lens 

ESG Research , Factor Indexes , Factor Investing , Factors , Fixed Income , Risk Management

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on how companies manage cash flows and liquidity. Bond investors face the possibility of increased leverage, rating downgrades and defaults. Can factors and ESG metrics shed light on these risks?

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Measuring Climate Risk in Real Estate Portfolios 

ESG Research , Real Estate Investing

By evaluating real estate portfolios in terms of different physical risks as well as under different transition-risk scenarios, investors may be able to build a more complete picture of their exposure.

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COVID-19 and Real Estate: The Devil Is in the Dispersion 

Real Estate Investing , Risk Management

Many real estate markets were showing signs of a slowdown even before COVID-19’s negative impact on property portfolios. Has this correction been similar to previous ones? We looked at dispersion of returns, within and across real estate sectors, for the answer.