Timbercreek Asset Management has launched the Timbercreek Global Real Estate Fund in Canada.

A final prospectus was filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities on 5 August and the offering is scheduled to close on 26 August 2010.

The syndicate of agents is co-led by BMO Nesbitt Burns and Raymond James, and includes CIBC World Markets, Macquarie Capital Markets Canada, National Bank Financial, Scotia Capital, Manulife Securities, HSBC Securities (Canada), Canaccord Genuity, GMP Securities and M Partners.

The fund, an investment fund formed under the laws of the Province of Ontario, was established to invest in a globally diversified portfolio of premier real estate securities including common equity, preferred shares and debt of both public and private real estate investment trusts and real estate companies in Canada, the US, the UK, Continental Europe, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and other countries.

The manager has engaged FSX Securities Canada to provide portfolio management services to the fund.

Through the manager's partnership with FSX Securities Canada, the fund will be supported by a team of real estate analysts based in Toronto, New York, London and Hong Kong.

The fund's investment objectives are to provide unitholders with quarterly distributions initially targeted to be CAD0.21 per unit (CAD0.84 per annum representing an annual cash distribution of seven per cent based on the CAD12.00 per unit issue price); and preserve capital while providing the opportunity for long-term capital appreciation for unitholders.

The manager believes there is a compelling investment opportunity to invest in a globally diversified portfolio of premier real estate securities that exists because the global real estate securities market is inefficient relative to that of the direct real estate or broader equities markets. The fund's investment strategy has been designed to capitalise on these pricing inefficiencies in order to deliver a stable income stream.

The manager, a wholly owned subsidiary of Timbercreek Asset Management, is an investment management company that employs a conservative and risk-averse approach to real estate-based investments. The manager and its affiliates currently manage approximately CAD1.1bn in real estate-related assets, including direct ownership and mortgages.