Copley Real Estate Advisors is being scrutinized by the Labor Department over property valuations in a commingled real estate fund. Industry sources say Copley is not the only real estate manager under scrutiny by the DOL. The agency requested information about valuation and appraisal practices from as many as 20 real estate managers in early 1995, and regional offices have continued an examination of a few of the firms.
A partner in Ackerson & Wiley, an appraisal firm, confirmed the DOL's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration unit hired it to conduct a review of the appraisals in a Copley commingled fund. Industry sources believe Copley's Developmental Property Account is the subject of the investigation. The fund has been a poor performer.
James Benages, director of the PWBA's regional office in Boston, declined to discuss the situation. ``We are doing an investigation. That's all I can say.''
Larry Dwyer, a spokesman for Copley, said company executives aren't aware of an investigation or that the federal agency had hired Ackerson & Wiley.
