Products August 18, 2016

Investment Products and Services

TIAA Announces Super Regional Mall Fund; Northern Trust Launches Exclusive Partnership with Software Firm; and Wilshire Launches Crisis Index.

Reported by

Javier Simon

TIAA Announces Super Regional Mall Fund

TIAA Global Asset Management has announced the successful closing of the T-C U.S. Super Regional Mall Fund LP, also know as the “U.S. SRM Fund,” after raising $1.25 billion from investors.

TIAA’s U.S. SRM Fund aims to give institutional investors access to “dominating super-regional malls via ventures with top-tier operators.” The fund complements TIAA’s existing $15 billion equity and debt holdings representing 64 million square feet of malls, grocery-anchored shopping centers and urban retail locations.

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“Super-regional malls have proven to be a distinctly strong and stable performer throughout multiple cycles,” says Suzan Amato, managing director at TIAA Global Asset Management. “They have demonstrated high NOI growth, low volatility compared to other property sectors, and a history of out-performing the NCREIF Property Index.”

The fund has capital commitments from several domestic and foreign institutional investors as well as TIAA’s General Account. To date, the fund has invested approximately $685 million and is seeking additional assets. With leverage, the equity commitments will allow the fund to target a portfolio of approximately $2.5 billion.

“With the increased demand from institutional investors in real assets, we are continually leveraging our global investment experience to develop products that tap into high performing sectors,” says Scott Kempton, managing director and the fund’s portfolio manager. “We believe that U.S. super-regional malls present a sound, long-term investment given the current lack of mall construction and the shift toward consumers seeking entertainment experiences outside the home. These assets are unique, hands-on environments, often offering extensive food hall and fine dining options, as well as movie theatres and other attractions that can ultimately help drive traffic and sales.”

Additional information on the U.S. SRM Fund is available here.

NEXT: Northern Trust Launches Exclusive Partnership with Software Firm

Northern Trust Launches Exclusive Partnership with Software Firm

Northern Trust has announced an exclusive partnership with financial software firm BEx LLC to develop new foreign-exchange (FX) solutions for its clients.

Northern Trust will collaborate with BEx in creating customized FX software including components used in Northern Trust’s electronic FX trading platform.

“The FX market is evolving rapidly and Northern Trust is committed to being at the forefront of eCommerce developments,” says William Huber, head of Global FX at Northern Trust. “It’s critical to have the advanced technology and expertise available to execute FX trades as efficiently as possible, while reducing transaction costs for our clients. With this partnership, we now have exclusive access to BEx products, providing a key differentiator for us in the marketplace. This enables us to deliver an increasingly highly competitive suite of FX products to meet the evolving challenges of our clients.”

Headquartered in Chicago, BEx was founded in 2013 and aims to provide large financial institutions with access to global foreign exchange markets with a primary focus on efficient execution in the spot, forwards and swaps market.

For more information, visit www.northerntrust.com.

NEXT: Wilshire Launches Crisis Index

Wilshire Launches Crisis Index

Wilshire Associates has launched its ABR Crisis Alpha Index. Created and owned by ABR Dynamic Funds, this index is calculated by Wilshire and designed to measure a strategy that aims to capitalize on extended periods of market crisis, “such as the Financial Crisis, Flash Crash, and the Greek Debt Crisis.”

The index will measure strategies specifically aiming to generate significant returns during sustained periods of market crisis and preserve capital during extended bull markets. It applies a proprietary market volatility model to determine an appropriate blend of exposure to the market as defined by the S&P 500, and volatility as defined by the S&P VIX Short-Term Futures Index and cash.

“Wilshire Analytics is thrilled to help fuel yet another Powered by Wilshire index offering from ABR Dynamic Funds,” says Robert J. Wade, managing director at Wilshire Associates. “Wilshire’s calculation and analytical expertise combined with ABR’s impressive, growing suite of proprietary indexes demonstrate the value of a Powered by Wilshire approach which can help clients bring new investment benchmark strategy ideas to market quickly.”

Wilshire Associates is a global financial services firm providing consulting services, analytics solutions and customized investment solutions to plan sponsors, investment managers and financial intermediaries.

For more information about the ABR Crisis Alpha Index, click here.