THE TR Property Investment Trust (TRPIT), incorporated in 1905 and managed since late 2004 by Thames River Capital, now has assets of £585 million.
Its aim is to maximise returns by investing in direct property and property shares on an international basis. About 90 per cent of TRPIT's assets are invested in Pan European listed property securities, with the remainder in directly owned UK r
eal estate.
The investment selection process focuses on finding well-managed companies of all sizes, especially those with a focus on a particular type of real estate business.
The manager, Chris Turner, who has been at the helm since 1995, has a higher regard for future growth and capital appreciation potential than immediate initial yield or discount to asset value.
On direct property holdings, Turner adopts a long-term buy-and-hold strategy rather than moving tactically between sectors, which helps to keep costs down.
As of March this year – the latest valuation of the holdings – the value had declined by 6.3 per cent over the previous six months, which although disappointing still compared favourably with the 14 per cent fall in capital value of the Investment Property Databank monthly index over the same period.
Just over half the indirect holdings are in UK property companies and real estate investment trusts, such as Land Securities, British Land, Hammerson and Great Portland Estates.
As co-manager Marcus Phayre-Mudge said, "the strength of the euro has helped the performance of the trust's assets. We don't envisage any changes to the mix of the fund".
The trust has retained a cash position of about £4m. The management fees are tiered with a charge of 0.7 per cent a year for assets up to £450m and 0.4 per cent on the excess. There is also a performance fee of 15 per cent of any returns of more than 2 per cent above the S&P Citigroup European Property index.
TRPIT is available as a direct share holding or via a Share plan and is ISA compatible.
For further information contact TR Property on 020 7360 1200.
• Barry O'Neill is a director at Thomson Shepherd (incorporating Coggans Wood).
The full article contains 368 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
