More than £8bn assets now in suspended property funds

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Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.

With pricing uncertainty in the commercial property market, it was inevitable that funds would have to suspend. This is done to protect existing investors and stop investors who wish to sell redeeming at an artificially high price. So, while this will be hugely disconcerting for investors who are trapped in these funds, it’s important to remember the underlying reasons for asset managers making this move.

Coronavirus is having an unprecedented impact on financial markets and we are all having to adjust to the new reality of serious economic disruption, notwithstanding the impact it is having on people’s lives. Fund suspensions are a tool in the armoury to protect investors and as the world looks for ways to tackle the virus, this is one necessary step to ensure that financial markets do not become totally disorderly. Now is a time to be patient and over time, it is expected that equities, bonds and property valuations will settle and allow a normal market to function again.

Performance of UK property funds

Highlighted funds have been suspended. Suspended assets currently total £8.1bn.

Performance (%)
Fund Fund Size 1m 3m 6m 1yr 3yr 5yr 10yr
Aberdeen UK Property £1,050m -0.5 -2.7 -5.3 -8.1 - - -
Aviva Inv UK Property £460.7m -0.1 -1.2 -5.5 -6.5 3.8 0.7 31.9
BMO UK Property £509.9m 0.1 6 6.2 0 9.5 19.2 -
Janus Henderson UK Property PAIF £1,975.2m 0.4 0.8 1.5 2.7 16.3 20.4 66.6
Kames Property Income £585m 0.3 -0.1 0.1 1.4 5.4 18.7 -
L&G UK Property £944.8m -0.4 0.3 1.1 2.4 16.7 29.7 84.5
LF Canlife UK Property £365.3m -0.1 -1 -1.6 -1.9 - - -
M&G Property Portfolio £2,338.5m -0.5 -0.3 -5.3 -7.6 1.7 2.9 39.2
Royal London Property £412.4m 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.4 9.2 22.3 96.9
Standard Life Investments UK Real Estate Platform £1,710.9m 0.1 0 -0.7 -1.6 9.8 11.5 47.8
Threadneedle UK Property Authorised Investment Fund £1,115.6m 0.2 0.4 -0.2 0.5 3.6 13.1 44.5
Average - -0.03 0.22 -0.83 -1.67 8.44 15.38 58.78

Source: FE. Data accurate to 17/03/20. Highlighted funds are those that have suspended.
*Based on January factsheet.
**Based on February factsheet. NA = not available.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.

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Written by:
Russ Mould

Russ Mould has 28 years' experience of the capital markets. He started at Scottish Equitable in 1991 as a fund manager and in 1993 he joined SG Warburg, now part of UBS investment bank, where he worked as equity analyst covering the technology sector for 12 years. Russ joined Shares in November 2005 as technology correspondent and became Editor of the magazine in July 2008. Following the acquisition of Shares' parent company, MSM Media by AJ Bell Group, he was appointed AJ Bell’s Investment Director in summer 2013.