KiwiSaver, tax revamp attract listed property giant to NZ

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The prospect of investment tax changes and the imminent launch of KiwiSaver has lured the Deutsche Bank-owned property arm RREEF to promote its products in New Zealand.

Tuesday, February 20th 2007, 5:59AM

by David Chaplin

According to Ekins, New Zealand investors have been able to invest in the RREEF Global Real Estate Securities Fund since October 2004 but “we haven’t marketed it there yet”.

“However, it’s proven to be very popular in Australia where there are several different versions available,” Ekins said.

He said the coming tax changes should make collective investment vehicles such as the RREEF products more attractive to investors here.

“Irrespective of the [New Zealand] tax structures there are limited opportunities for listed property investments in New Zealand,” Ekins said. “We look at 400 companies globally - it’s a much wider opportunity set.”

However, RREEF will not be marketing direct to financial planning groups but instead will focus on platform providers and KiwiSaver funds for distribution.

The global property securitisation market is expanding rapidly with opportunities opening up in Asia and Europe - joining the more mature listed real estate markets of the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Recent legislative changes in several jurisdictions in Asia and Europe have enabled the creation of tax-advantaged real estate investment trusts (REITs) which has excited interest from professional property investors with stellar returns in the last couple of years.

Ekins said while the global listed property market may not sustain the 30% and over returns it has seen recently, the asset class remains attractive. “It’s hard to conclude real estate securities are expensive - in fact they look cheap,” he said. “There are still good returns ahead.”

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