HIH Invest Real Estate (HIH Invest) has massively expanded its Multi Manager Business (MMB) division with its funds of funds, master funds and bundling solutions. The ten-strong team led by Katharina Hopp increased assets under management by €1.2 billion to €5.4 billion in fiscal 2022. The growth trend is also continuing in 2023: In the first quarter, assets under management increased further to 6.2 billion euros. Negotiations are also underway for further new mandates. In total, more than 70 external asset managers and six different custodians have now been connected.
The range of services in the multi-manager business includes the administration of funds of funds or master funds as well as areas of risk and fund management. Management and consulting services can be combined into an individual service package as in a modular system – from the development and review of the investment strategy, the portfolio and property analysis of the entire real estate portfolio, the preparation of a comprehensive ESG report, the selection, review and subscription of target funds to the assumption of representation of interests in investment committees. The Multi Manager Business solutions are particularly targeted at professional pension funds, retirement funds, savings banks and cooperative banks.
“We are seeing increased demand for fund-of-funds and bundling solutions, as these enable our customers to better absorb difficult situations and individually manage their balance sheets, e.g. by selectively reducing hidden reserves. In addition, fund-of-funds solutions enable investors to pursue an efficient distribution policy; the amount and timing of the distribution can be determined individually. We work with clients to realign strategies and reallocate portfolios. In master funds, for example, risk potential of individual funds can be absorbed by the surplus risk cover assets of other funds. Close cooperation with our in-house research is essential for this and helps us to react quickly to developments on the market. As fund of funds managers, we have a close look at how the individual target fund managers are acting in the current market phase, for example with regard to the amount and timing of capital calls. Depending on the need, we support our investors with our expertise,” explains Katharina Hopp, Head of Multi Manager Business at HIH Invest.
In five of the new MMB mandates, the team has bundled infrastructure target funds from different providers. “This reflects the growing importance of the infrastructure asset class for institutional investors. We have been registering increased demand for infrastructure investments for some time and are monitoring investment offerings in this area very closely. HIH Invest has also responded to the needs of its customers in its own fund products and launched a fund in 2022 that invests in onshore wind power and photovoltaics,” explains Alexander Eggert, Managing Director of HIH Invest.
