The Pilgrim Global Real Estate Fund is a little bit different.
International real estate funds usually invest only in Asia or only in Europe, but don't combine the two regions in one fund. The Pilgrim fund, a global real estate securities fund, invests in Europe, Asia and the United States, and that makes it unique, said Sherry Rexroad, a portfolio manager at Clarion CRA Securities, Radnor, Pa., which manages the fund. Also, the global opportunity funds usually available to institutional investors are long-term illiquid partnerships, while this fund is liquid and open ended, she added. It was launched Nov. 1, with $25 million in seed money from Clarion's parent ING Real Estate, The Hague, Netherlands.
ING acts as a consultant on the fund, making recommendations for the non-U.S. securities, said Steven Burton, the primary portfolio manager for the fund. Typically the fund holds 40 to 60 stocks, he said.
The fund's allocations are changed each month. Currently, it is overweight in malls, shopping centers and hotels, at market weight in offices and underweight in apartments. "We're positive on the U.S., the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Canada and Singapore; negative on the U.K. and Japan," Mr. Burton said.
So far, the fund has outperformed its benchmark, up 12.3% through March 15 since inception, compared with its benchmark, the Salomon Smith Barney World Property index, which was up 10.7% for the same period.
