This compelling discussion with Gravis’ Matthew Norris and George Nikolaou reveals why powerful mega trends and other 21st century developments are providing significant opportunities for real estate investors who know where to look for value.
Today’s economic environment is one of the most challenging on record. That’s why IFA Magazine’s real estate webinar, which took place over the summer, looking at how property investment can offer a hedge against inflation, made a refreshing change.
It provided an excellent opportunity for advisers and wealth managers to hear a particularly positive investment outlook from Gravis’ Matthew Norris and George Nikolaou.
They explained the various threats – and more notably, the considerable opportunities – facing property investors in today’s challenging market conditions.
A large audience of advisers and wealth managers tuned in live on the day and we’ve had plenty of excellent feedback showing they clearly found Norris and Nikolaou’s views and outlooks on the topics discussed to be of value.
During the discussion, Norris, who is Director of Real Estate Securities and the fund adviser to the VT Gravis UK Listed Property Fund, candidly talked through why he believes that the real estate sector, which he clearly knows so well, is strongly positioned to deliver growth for investors.
Of course, the economic backdrop is challenging to say the least. UK inflation is at a 40 year high and, with the Bank of England forecasting a peak of over 13% by October, there is clearly more pain for consumers and businesses in the months to come.
Investors are clearly concerned, not only about the perilous implications of inflation, but also threats of recession and stagflation. They are also on the lookout for possible solutions which might enable them to mitigate the worst effects of these threats by diversifying the asset allocation strategy of their clients’ investment portfolios.
Historically, real estate has been viewed as an asset class which can offer some protection – or act to some degree as a hedge – for investors during periods of rising inflation.
The VT Gravis UK listed Property (PAIF) Fund (GULP) is an open-ended fund which invests in listed real estate companies – primarily in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate operating companies (REOCs). What differentiates it from its competitors is a focus on powerful multi-year mega trends, such as an ageing population, generation rent, digitalisation and urbanisation. These are all trends that the fund’s management team believe to be creating favourable tailwinds for investors.
Norris and Nikolaou discussed how investing in property through REITs and by focusing on these powerful mega trends, they are finding clear opportunities for growth, as well as income for investors. As they delve into the technicalities, their perspective and insight is both thought provoking and compelling.
One key benefit that they see from investing in this asset class is the inbuilt inflation protection that it can provide. Through investing in companies which own buildings that have property leases which are contractually linked to inflation rates, they are able to offer investors protection from the rises that we have been seeing in recent months.
The pair highlight healthcare, a sector set to benefit from the UK’s ageing demographic, as having a notably high level of inflation protection, with those companies with considerable exposure to care homes at a particular advantage. These companies tend to have a very high level of income which is CPI/RPI linked, thus providing protection to investors from rate rises.
In addition to talking about particular areas of the real estate universe which can offer good inflation protection – and why and how they are achieving this – Norris and Nikolaou also talk about the benefits of investing in REITs compared to investing into direct property, and how this underpins the foundations of the Fund. They clearly identify the risks which can be involved when investing in the asset class – including liquidity risk, something that has been at the front of people’s minds since so many property funds suffered from gating in the period post-Brexit – although they do explain how these can be mitigated. They also talk through the biggest challenges facing property investors like themselves.
Norris is articulate in the way he summarises the opportunities he and his team face, which focus on the importance of growth income, not fixed income, on how quality trumps value when it comes to real estate investing and, of course, the mega trends which are offering such significant opportunities. https://ifamagazine.com/article/ready-for-a-positive[1]view-on-property-investment-as-a-hedge-against[1]inflation-check-out-the-recording-of-our-latest-webinar/
Listen to the webinar recording to discover the answers to questions such as:
About Matthew Norris
Matthew is a fund manager and Director of Real Estate Securities at Gravis. He is responsible for the oversight of the VT Gravis UK Listed Property Fund and the VT Gravis Digital Infrastructure Income Fund.
Matthew has more than two decades investment management experience and has a specialist focus on real estate securities. He served as an Executive Director of Grosvenor Europe where he was responsible for global real estate securities strategies. He joined Grosvenor following roles managing equity funds at Fulcrum Asset Management and Buttonwood Capital Partners. He also provides expert input to research projects run by EPRA, which focus on the importance of emergent real estate sectors.
Matthew graduated with a degree in Economics & Politics from the University of York. He is a CFA charterholder and holds the IMC.
About George Nikolaou
George is a Senior Research Analyst at Gravis. He is responsible for investment analysis and research, covering areas such as listed infrastructure (e.g. core, digital & clean energy infrastructure equities) and real estate (e.g. REITS and REOCS).
George joined Gravis in 2021 having spent 7 years working as a portfolio manager and analyst within the investment management sector.
He has a MSc Finance and Investment from the University of Durham and a BSc Economics from the University of Athens and is a CFA Charterholder. George also holds the IMC and the CFA UK – Certificate in ESG investing.
Explore our rigorous three-E: exclusion, evaluation, and engagement – approach to investing in our dedicated ESG strategies and how we work to provide solutions that
This week, many expect the Bank of England to raise rates by 0.75% in an effort to combat inflation. In response, ten brokers were asked
Ahead of this week’s planned mini-Budget, or ‘fiscal event’, expected to be delivered on Friday, AJ Bell experts comment on some of the key business,
Brooks Macdonald Group plc has announced its audited results for the year ended 30 June 2022. These include financial highlights, the strategic process and an
Your webinar invitation Investing in a digital future Thursday 22nd September 10-11am Register now to hear from Matthew Norris, Fund Manager and Director of Real Estate
During this webinar we will be looking at the opportunities that investing in the digital infrastructure sector can offer, as well as exploring the upside
abrdn has launched a range of practical support to help adviser businesses in their preparation for the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new Consumer Duty regime.
All eyes will be on the Chancellor on Friday when he sets out his ‘mini-Budget’, with speculation of a cut in the basic rate of
By Libby Cantrill, Managing Director, Public Policy at PIMCO With the growing energy crises in Europe and the U.K., and the increasing likelihood that the
Written by Steve Webb, Partner at LCP “After years of a revolving door for pensions ministers, it has been good to have a period of
In this week’s episode of IFA Talk, Sue Whitbread and Brandon Russell look at a way to make the complex modern world of digital banking,
This week, IFA Talk is looking at the murky world of cyber security as we welcome a cyber security specialist to the podcast. Financial advice
With the Great Wealth Transfer coming our way in the not-so-distant future, Ruth Handcock, CEO of Octopus Investments says advice firms need to think about
Given the economic headwinds of inflation and the (considerable) threats to global growth which exist today, the old 60/40 asset allocation model can often be
This week’s podcast episode is something a bit different for IFA Talk…but certainly not an episode to be missed! Sue and Bex talk to Sir
Cutting through the jargon and getting to grips with the serious issues facing the global economy today – and all in just a 20 minute
In this week’s episode of IFA Talk – the show where we talk to people who matter about subjects that matter in the world of
In this in-depth podcast led by IFA Magazine editor, Sue Whitbread, M&G Wealth‘s Vince Smith-Hughes discusses with Sue the benefits and possibilities that intergenerational financial
Celebrating London Climate Action Week, this podcast features as part of IFA Magazine’s editorial campaign throughout this week, which aims to highlight key issues, news
Celebrating London Climate Action Week, this podcast features as part of IFA Magazine’s editorial campaign throughout this week, which aims to highlight key issues, news
IFA Magazine – for today’s discerning financial and investment professional.
Published ten times a year, IFA Magazine has been winning a keen and enthusiastic following among Britain’s premier financial advisers, planners and paraplanners.
© 2022 All rights reserved to IFA Magazine | Website by: Nivo Digital | Terms and Conditions
Keep updated on the most important financial events
Make sure you are an informed
wealth professional..
Adblock Blocker
We have detected that you are using
adblocking plugin in your browser.
We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.
You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in .
This policy explains how IFA Magazine collects, stores, uses and shares personal information (including but not limited to information from which you can be personally identified such as your name, address, job title, company, email address, or telephone number) and information about your visits to the network, including the pages you view, the links you click and other actions taken in connection with www.ifamagazine.com, www.gbinvestments.co.uk , www.robopromedia.com, www.mvpromedia.com
IFA Magazine Publications Limited may update this Policy at any time. It is your responsibility to check for updates to this Policy, as your continued use of the website denotes an acceptance of this Policy. Unless stated otherwise, IFA Magazine Publications Limited’s current Policy applies to all information that IFA Magazine Publications Limited has about you and your account.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
More information about our Cookie Policy
About Author
