BlackRock lists accumulating share classes of European and Asian property ETFs

Dec 18th, 2018 | By | Category: Alternatives / Multi-Asset

BlackRock has listed accumulating share classes on Deutsche Börse Xetra for two existing ETFs that provide exposure to European and Asian real estate companies.

BlackRock lists accumulating share classes of European and Asian property ETFs on Xetra

The funds provide exposure to leading real estate indices targeting Europe and Asia.

The accumulating share classes provide investors with the option to re-invest income payments received from the funds.

European real estate

The iShares European Property Yield UCITS ETF is linked to the FTSE EPRA/Nareit Developed Europe Index, arguably the leading barometer for the performance of the real estate sector within developed European markets excluding the UK.

The index was developed through a partnership between FTSE Russell, the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA), and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit) – the US-based association for REITs and publicly traded real estate companies.

Germany and France make up the bulk of the index’s country allocation with weights of 37.9% and 24.4%, respectively, followed by Sweden (11.1%), Switzerland (8.0%), and Belgium (5.7%).

Real estate holding & development companies account for over half (57.5%) of the index weight, with retail REITs (19.6%), and industrial & office REITs (16.0%) making up most of the remaining exposure.

The design of the index makes the fund an attractive proposition for income-seeking investors – REITs, by definition, are required to distribute at least 90% of their taxable income to investors in the form of dividends, while real estate companies must meet certain dividend thresholds to be included in the index. The fund is currently yielding 3.2%.

The new accumulating share class trades in euros under the ticker IPRE GY. The original distributing share class, which was initially introduced in 2005, is offered across most major European exchanges.

The fund contains over €1.2 billion in assets under management and comes with a total expense ratio of 0.40%.

Asian real estate

The iShares Asia Property Yield UCITS ETF tracks the FTSE EPRA/Nareit Developed Asia Dividend + Index which provides similar real estate exposure but focuses on companies and REITs listed in developed Asian markets.

The majority of the index’s exposure is linked to companies from Hong Kong (35.7%), Japan (31.4%), and Australia (21.4%). The largest sector exposures are real estate holding & development companies (33.5%), retail REITs (23.5%), industrial & office REITs (20.6%), and diversified REITs (12.2%).

The new accumulating share class trades under the ticker AYEP GY. The fund was originally launched in 2006 and has accumulated $300 million in AUM. It also has listings across most major European exchanges.

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