Assets under management and servicing at Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers grew by 17 per cent in 2012, reflecting the attraction of new capital and clients, expansion in Europe, and continued investment growth.
Cornerstone ended the year with USD38.9bn in assets under management, up from USD33.2bn, and more than 185 fund and advisory clients globally. Newly-raised capital from a range of global private and institutional investors exceeded USD1.45bn for investment in Cornerstone’s debt and equity fund products and in separate account mandates.
Highlights of Cornerstone’s 2012 activity included:
• Equity property acquisitions and sales of more than USD1.75bn involving apartment, office, retail, industrial and hotel properties;
• Debt investing totalling more than USD3.5bn in commercial mortgages;
• The close of Cornerstone Real Estate Fund VIII, with USD546m in capital raised for investment in property types and markets – such as technology, energy and health – where Cornerstone expects to experience above-average growth potential as the US economic recovery evolves; and
• The close of Cornerstone Enhanced Mortgage Fund, with USD315m raised from a range of US and international institutional investors for investment in mortgage debt secured by real estate that is transitional in nature.
Expanding its global reach, Cornerstone extended its lending platform to the UK, where it has an existing equity operation. Further expansion of its lending platform in Europe is planned for 2013.
At the same time, Cornerstone augmented its presence in Asia with the opening of a Tokyo office to serve its Asian clientele and to introduce other Asian institutional investors to its US and European investment opportunities.
“Investors are attracted by our ability to deliver one-stop access to experienced management and high quality debt and equity investment opportunities, both public and private, in the US and internationally,” says Cornerstone chief executive David J. Reilly. “We look forward to continuing to meet our clients’ needs by growing our investment platform both organically and opportunistically by acquisition.”
Charles Weeks (pictured), chief executive of Cornerstone Europe, says: “The successful launch of our European lending platform and the completion of our first European real estate debt transaction was a major achievement. Our key focus for 2013 is to continue to grow and expand our platform across Europe, as well as to accelerate our lending activity and further utilise our network of local European offices to source and create investment products and services for our clients.”