BlackRock and Schroders Suspend UK Real Estate Funds
April 02 2020 - 12:47PM
Dow Jones News
By Julie Steinberg
BlackRock Inc. and Schroders PLC are among the latest additions
to the list of asset managers that have suspended their U.K. real
estate funds.
BlackRock said that due to the difficulties for outside firms to
value assets within the portfolio, it suspended trading in its 3.4
billion-pound ($4.21 billion) U.K. property fund as of March
20.
Schroders PLC said it was suspending its GBP2.4 billion U.K.
real estate fund as of March 18 for the same reason.
Aviva Investors, Janus Henderson Investors and Kames Capital
have made similar moves in recent weeks, for which the funds blamed
turbulent market conditions and uncertainty.
Before the spread of the coronavirus, property funds were caught
up in Britain's exit from the European Union. Fund management giant
M&G PLC in December blocked investors from trading in its
property fund. That suspension was related to liquidity issues,
however. The fund remains suspended, though the company has said it
is making progress in raising cash.
Several U.K. property funds also suspended redemptions in the
immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote in 2016. The suspensions
showed the dangers of funds that offer daily buying and selling of
shares backed by hard-to-sell assets.
Write to Julie Steinberg at julie.steinberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 02, 2020 12:32 ET (16:32 GMT)
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