Folksam, a major Swedish insurer, has in cooperation with the Aberdeen Property Investors team for indirect investments (API IIM) developed a unique pooling structure - AIPP Folksam Global – a property fund of funds open solely to companies within the Folksam Group. This new type of instrument for indirect property investments is particularly suitable for large multinational companies with separate pension plans.
By using AIPP Folksam Global, companies within the Folksam group can invest via a joint Luxembourg-based structure. This offers the Folksam Group the potential to coordinate its indirect property investments, thereby ensuring cost efficiency and offering greater diversification for the group as a whole.
Esbjörn Wincent, head of alternative investments at Folksam commented:
”I really value working with Aberdeen, which has succeeded in developing and implementing a structure based on an idea that I have had for a long time. Folksam has been an investor in Aberdeen’s fund of funds over a number of years. Their broad experience, professionalism and business acumen make them an excellent partner for Folksam now that we have opted to increase our allocation to international indirect property investments".
AIPP Folksam Global is an umbrella fund with two sub-funds – one for Asia and one for Europe. The initial investment capital is more than €100 million distributed equally between the sub-funds. The structure is open for additional annual capital injections. Aberdeen plans to make an average of one investment in Europe and Asia, respectively, each quarter so that the pool after the first three-year period will contain 10-12 funds in each region. Folksam and Aberdeen are represented on the board of the fund’s management company, which decides on investments.
This is API IIM’s second large exclusive mandate on behalf of a Swedish investor. Previously, it was given the task of building up portfolios of European and Asian property funds for AP3, with an investment of €250 million in each region.
According to Lars Graneld, in charge of the Folksam assignment, it is important to underscore the difference between the mandates, ”Our cooperation with Folksam is different in that we use a separate Luxemburg structure through which the investments are made. This permits investments from a range of Group companies from different countries. We believe this can be an attractive structure for a number of multinational companies, since it offers economies of scale, efficiency enhancement and the concentration of their indirect property investments to one single place.”
Anders Åström, MD of API IIM adds:
We are pleased that Folksam has chosen us to continue to build up its indirect property exposure, both in Asia and Europe. We have been pioneers in the indirect fund market and, among other things, we launched the first European fund of property funds in 2005. We have seen rapid progress since then with additional launches of fund of funds products in Europe and Asia. In September this year we launched our second Asian fund of funds, AIPP Asia Select. Overall, we have investment mandates exceeding € 2.8 billion in equity, which gives us a strong position and excellent market insight.
For more information, please contact:
Esbjörn Wincent, Head of Alternative Investments, Folksam
Phone: +46 8 772 62 98x, +46 70 831 50 04
E-mail: esbjorn.wincent@folksam.se
Lars Graneld, Director, Head of Separate Accounts, Aberdeen Property Investors Indirect Investment Management
Phone: +46 8 412 73 09, +46 70 965 07 24
E-mail: lars.graneld@aberdeenpropertyinvestors.com
Anders Åström, Managing Director, Aberdeen Property Investors Indirect Investment Management
Phone: +46 8 412 80 65, +46 70 522 12 20,
E-mail: anders.astrom@aberdeenpropertyinvestors.com
Ubbe Strihagen, International Director, Aberdeen Property Investors Holding
Phone: +46 70 520 33 80
E-mail: ubbe.strihagen@aberdeenpropertyinvestors.com
About Folksam
Folksam is a modern insurance company that offers a wide selection of different kinds of insurance, savings and loan opportunities to meet every need. In Sweden, fifty percent of all citizens and homes, twenty-five percent of all automobiles and ninety percent of all athletes are insured with Folksam. We use our knowledge to make long-term improvements in traffic safety, contribute better health in our society and decreasing any negative impacts on the environment.
Folksam was founded in 1908 and has offices throughout Sweden. To learn more about us, please visit www.folksam.se.
About Aberdeen Property Investors
Aberdeen Asset Management PLC is a global investment management group listed on the London Stock Exchange and managing more than €130 billion of assets from offices around the world.
The specialist property division, Aberdeen Property Investors, manages some €13 billion in investments through property funds and management mandates on behalf of its institutional client base. Aberdeen Property Investors has some 500 employees at offices in eleven European countries and in Singapore.
About API IIM
API IIM is a subsidiary of Aberdeen Property Investors and Europe’s leading indirect property investment manager. API IIM focuses exclusively on indirect real estate investments for institutional investors. API IIM holds investment mandates of some €2.8 billion and has invested in excess of €1.9 billion in equity in more than 40 real estate funds. The company is represented on some 25 advisory boards on behalf of its fund of funds and separate account clients. API IIM is regulated by the Swedish Financial Services Authority.
Issued and approved by Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited, on behalf of Aberdeen Property Investors, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.