FranklinTempleton targets real estate

Franklin Templeton Institutional has achieved a first close of the Franklin Templeton European Real Estate Fund of Funds, a private equity real estate fund, with initial commitments totalling €59.5m from a number of investors including some Local Authority funds in the UK as well as some Nordic pension funds. The fund has also received a commitment from Franklin Templeton Investments of around €10m. The fund, domiciled in Luxembourg as a Fonds Commun de Placement (FCP) fund, will invest in selected private real estate managers.

The fund target is €300m and a second close is expected within the next few months.

Fiduciary Trust International’s New York based global real estate team, headed by John W. Foster, director of global real estate, is the investment manager of the fund. Raymond Jacobs and Marc Wiedner, European portfolio managers, will be leading the investment program.

David Smart, managing director of Franklin Templeton Institutional, said: “The timing of the fund’s establishment coincides with an increased interest among European institutional investors in private real estate fund investments. As a result, an increasing number of institutions are making investments in European real estate markets as they seek diversification into uncorrelated asset classes with the potential for higher returns.”

Fiduciary Trust International, a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments, has been managing its international real estate investment program for institutional clients worldwide for over 20 years. These clients have committed over €1.2bn (US$1.4bn), directly and through fund-of-funds, to 48 private real estate funds in Europe, Asia and the Americas.