Principal Real Estate Investors, one of the largest institutional real estate managers in the United States, announces an investment management agreement with AustralianSuper, one of the largest superannuation/pension funds in Australia. Under the terms of the agreement, AustralianSuper has selected Principal Real Estate Investors as its investment advisor for its U.S. office strategy, effective immediately.
The non-discretionary mandate will focus on large, high-quality office investments in major U.S. markets, including New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Investments will be made either directly or through joint ventures in properties of US $200 million or greater. AustralianSuper currently manages US $5.2 billion in real estate holdings as part of its more than US $70 billion in funds under management.
“We’ve gotten to know the real estate team at AustralianSuper very well over the past several years and have forged a strong relationship with a like-minded investor,” said Jay Davis, senior managing director, head of private equity portfolio management at Principal Real Estate Investors. “They are very strategic investors with a patient, decisive approach and a long-term investment horizon. We look forward to working with AustralianSuper to create a high-quality portfolio of U.S. office properties.”
For AustralianSuper, the announcement of Principal Real Estate Investor’s appointment follows the establishment of mandates in Australia, Europe, United Kingdom and North America over the past two years aimed at increasing the Fund’s direct investment in global property markets.
“We’ve been tracking the U.S. market for an extended period of time and we see good long-term opportunities in select markets to continue to build our international property portfolio,” said Jack McGougan, head of property at AustralianSuper. “We are excited to formalise our relationship with Principal Real Estate Investors as an investment manager of our U.S. office strategy. We are confident they are the right partner for us given their deep expertise in the sector, strong asset management capability and true national coverage.”
