FINANCE: BlackRock has launched a fund that aims to give investors a new way to invest in property.
The iShares MSCI Target UK Real Estate UCITS exchange-traded fund will buy shares in listed property companies while hedging risk by buying inflation-linked government bonds.
The combination of equity and bond investments is designed to more closely resemble the real characteristics of buying property than simply investing in REIT shares, while maintaining the low entry barriers and liquidity offered by property shares.
It launched a US real estate ETF in the UK a couple of months ago.
Altaf Kassam, MSCI’s head of equity applied research, Americas and EMEAI, said: “The MSCI UK IMI Liquid Real Estate index aims to reflect the risk and return profile of investments in traditional real estate by combining listed real estate equities and fixed-income instruments.
“It reflects the performance of our IPD UK real estate index and draws on the strengths of listed real estate equity indexes, such as investability and transparency.”
