Property investment funds, still inaccessible to small investors

Investment management companies are calling for easier access of small investors to the real estate market, through the elimination of current legislation conditions, which require individuals to have significant amounts of cash so that they may participate in real estate investment funds.
Managers regard property investments as an additional tool for the diversification of investment funds’ portfolio, as well as a tool to spread the risk thin, considering current rules need to become more flexible.
“Securities collective placement bodies should have access to the real estate market. Pursuant to the current legislation, this is not quite possible. Only a highly restrictive category of funds can make such placements.
“Required sums are very high,” stated Florin Dolea, a manager with Pioneer Asset Management, the investment management arm of Italy’s UniCredito financial group.
According to Regulation 15/2004 issued by the National Securities Commission (CNVM), funds that are allowed to invest in real estate assets are accessible to qualified investors only.
An individual can be viewed as a qualified investor if he/she owns a securities portfolio of more than 500,000 euros, has an at least one-year experience with the financial sector or conducted at least 10 transactions, of a significant value, over the past year.
In the case of companies and institutions, the category of qualified investors can include lenders, financial investment services companies, as well as public central and local administration authorities.
Dolea considers that, under the current Romanian legislation, funds should be created only for wealthy persons, while in other countries common investors’ access is free.
“The role of a collective placement body is to help small investors reach inaccessible markets, such as the real estate one. Large, wealthy investors can invest directly, whereas small ones cannot.
“This segment of the Romanian market is not intermediated because there are no funds.
“I believe that, access on this market, sooner or later, is very important,” specified Dolea.
Razvan Rusu, a financial analyst with Certinvest investment management firm, also spoke of the need for funds to become open to the real estate market.
Rusu considers such placements can give volume and stability to a fund’s portfolio.
“The real estate sector usually sees considerable sums being invested. Romania is going through a period of real estate investment boom, but the real estate market is generally more stable, less volatile, than the equity market,” said Rusu.