Pramerica reopens German RE fund, imposes institutional deadlines

In a move likely to bring some relief to the beleaguered German open-end property fund industry, Pramerica Real Estate will on 11 December re-open its TMW Immobilien Weltfonds to client capital redemptions. It has been closed since October 2008, and the move follows recent closures of two other funds which had re-opened since that time. "We've done our homework and used the last few months to make TMW Immobilien Weltfonds sustainable by implementing some essential innovations," said Portfolio Manager Sebastian Lohmer. The fund has built up adequate liquidity to satisfy expected outflows thanks to steady net inflows, recissions from planned acquisitions and from disposals - all of which were made above market value, he said, evidence for the quality of properties in the global portfolio. The move follows renewed closures last month by GOEFs run by Aberdeen Property Investors and Axa Immobilien, the unit of the French insurance group, after heavy outflows forced a new halt to capital withdrawals after they had re-opened. The e86bn-strong German open real estate fund community is watching developments with some concern. (See upcoming PIE/PFE editions for full story)