Commitment to Diversity
Diversity and inclusion are increasingly topical and many institutional investors are now developing policies and strategies to address diversity and inclusion both internally and externally. For this award, the judges would be keen to see evidence of at least one of the following:

• commitment to improving diversity and inclusion within your own organisation
• achievements in improving diversity and inclusion within pensions, asset management and financial services generally
• accomplishments and commitment to diversity and inclusion within corporate governance
• industry level contribution on any level in raising awareness of diversity and inclusion issues

Your entry should relate to at least one key diversity inclusion area, including:

• ethnicity
• gender equality
• age
• sexual orientation
• able-bodiedness

Core and Core Plus Strategies
For this category, you will need to explain what differentiates your core + from a core strategy, if you run both, how your strategy is composed, its objectives including time horizons, how you implement it, what measures you judge success by and figures/data to show outcomes to date. You should also explain how you construct your mandates and who runs them.

A core strategy is based on stable income producing properties and markets and is attractive to institutional investors looking for safe and reliable returns. Core strategies are additionally considered a means of diversification for long-term investors and your entry should begin by establishing why you chose to invest in core properties and its role in your overall risk adjusted returns.

Core + strategies target properties that offer the same secure characteristics as core assets but offer extra investment potential, to increase their net operating income such as renegotiating upcoming lease rates and tenancy rents.

More explicitly, for both core and core +, the judges will ideally look for strategies targeting properties with:

• credit quality tenants
• long-term leases
• stable locations
• in primary and secondary markets
• secure and reliable return characteristics
• diversification benefits

Debt Strategy
The concept of institutional investors providing finance is growing fast and real estate is one of the key asset classes where they can back projects and developments with long-term benefits that match their long-term risk reward expectations and liabilities. You should therefore explain the role debt plays in your overall investment strategy, including the risk it carries and how you manage it.

Debt is a generic term and there are many different types of real estate debt available to institutional investors, including:

• mortgages
• loans to finance development and/or renovation projects
• mezzanine debt
• senior debt

You should outline the types of debt you invest in and why you chose those types. You should also include details about how you construct your relevant mandates and who manages them. You should also highlight any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level.

Direct Strategy
Although the concept behind direct real estate investments is relatively straightforward, the judges will be keen to see how you research and invest in target assets and who manages them both financially and operationally.

You should consider including:

• documenting clearly the benefits of running a direct portfolio
• any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level
• examples of your portfolio, especially deals and activity
• any minimum or maximum investment value
• the types and sectors you prefer
• how you source and building relationships with partners
• explaining how a direct strategy supports your long-term objectives
• how you manage the risks that direct investments incur

Indirect Strategy
An indirect strategy can be described simply as a means of gaining exposure to real estate via unlisted funds and other pooled or mutual investment vehicles. Your entry should provide full details of your indirect strategy, how you construct your mandates and who manages them.

Explicitly, the judges will be keen to know:

• why you prefer to invest indirectly
• any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level
• examples of your portfolio, especially deals and activity
• any minimum or maximum investment value
• the types and sectors you prefer
• how an indirect strategy supports your long-term objectives
• how you manage the risks that indirect investments incur

Investment in Asia Pacific
With Asia Pacific considered a region of significant growth for real estate investors, especially markets such as China and Australia, this award will be judged on how your investments in this area complement your investments in other regions and support your overall long-term value objectives.

• the benefits of investing in Asia Pacific
• any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level
• examples of your portfolio, especially recent deals and activity
• the types and sectors you prefer
• your vision for its future role
• the mandates and types of vehicles used to obtain exposure
• the risks investing in this region pose and how you manage them

Investment in Emerging Markets
With Emerging Markets considered an area of significant growth for real estate investors, this award will be judged on how your investments in markets such as India and other emerging Asian markets, Latin America and Russia, to name a few, complement your investments in other regions and support your overall long-term value objectives and risk return profile.

Examples of deals are essential and you should also include the following:

• the benefits of investing in emerging markets
• any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level
• examples of your portfolio, especially recent deals and activity
• the types and sectors you prefer
• your vision for its future role
• the mandates and types of vehicles used to obtain exposure
• the risks investing in this region pose and how you manage them

Investment in Europe
Europe offers institutional investors a wealth of dynamic opportunities in various sectors and individual markets at different stages of the economic cycle. This category seeks to reward and measure how you optimise your European portfolios in relation to your investments in other regions and how these support your overall long-term value objectives and risk return profile.

Examples of deals are essential and you should also include the following:

• the benefits of investing in Europe
• any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level
• examples of your portfolio, especially recent deals and activity
• the types and sectors you prefer
• the mandates and types of vehicles used to obtain exposure
• the risks posed by investing in Europe and how you manage them

Investment in North America
As with Europe, Canada and the US offer a wealth of dynamic opportunities in various sectors and individual markets at different stages of the economic cycle. This category seeks to reward and measure how you optimise your North American portfolios in relation to your investments in other regions and how these support your overall long-term value objectives and risk return profile.

Examples of deals are essential and you should also include the following:

• the benefits of investing in North America
• any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level
• examples of your portfolio, especially recent deals and activity
• the types and sectors you prefer
• the mandates and types of vehicles used to obtain exposure
• the risks posed by investing in Europe and how you manage them

Listed Strategy
Exposure to real estate using a listed strategy typically includes buying shares in property companies and investment vehicles such as REITs that are listed on stock exchanges and are therefore publicly tradable.

As with the direct and indirect strategies, you should first point out why you have developed a listed strategy as part of your real estate portfolio and how this supports your overall long-term objectives and risk return profile. Your entry should provide full details how you construct your mandates and who manages them.

Explicitly, you should also include:

• the reasons for the level of your commitment
• any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level
• examples of your portfolio, especially recent deals and activity
• the types and sectors you prefer
• the costs of investing and running listed mandates
• the mandates and types of vehicles used to obtain exposure
• the risks that listed investments incur and how you manage them

Opportunistic Strategy
Other than outlining your more short-term buying and selling skills to benefit from properties that are undervalued, distressed and/or under-managed, you should explain why and how adopting an opportunistic approach complements your long-term objectives and risk return profile. Your entry should provide full details how you construct your mandates and who manages them.

Explicitly, you should also include:

• the reasons for the level of your commitment
• any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level
• examples of your portfolio, especially recent deals and activity
•  the types and sectors you prefer
• the costs of investing and running opportunistic mandates
• the mandates and types of vehicles used to obtain exposure
• the risks that opportunistic investments incur and how you manage them

Portfolio Construction
For this award, you should present a more holistic view of your real estate portfolios and how you construct them in relation to your overall long-term objective and risk return profile. Many institutional investors will run a variety of strategies and approaches in their real assets portfolios as a means of diversifying and balancing risk.

For this award, you should ideally therefore endeavour to cover:

• your overall real estate risk budget
• how you implement different strategies
• how you develop partnerships
• how the different strategies and investment approaches interact and balance each other out at both portfolio and overall levels
• the way you construct your mandates within certain regulations and restrictions
• how you research and analyse the potential benefits or impact of new sectors and investments
• how you measure and manage portfolio risk
• how you measure the overall success of your real estate portfolios

Sustainable Strategy
First and foremost, you should highlight how the elements of the sustainable strategy you adopt supports your long-term objectives and risk return profile. Niche markets such as forestry, agriculture and windfarms are equally considered viable forms of real estate sustainable strategies and may form the basis of our entry.

A long-term institutional investor’s approach to investing sustainably in real estate ideally goes beyond just proving the green credentials of buildings they own or invest in. This is an area where the environmental aspect of ESG plays an equally important role, as does supporting local communities.

The judges will then be keen to see clear evidence and examples of deals of an inclusive and practical approach that seeks to:

• reduce your carbon footprint
• protect the environment
• support local community and economy

You should also include where you can:

• energy efficiency targets for your holdings
• how you implement your strategy practically
• the percentage of your portfolio certified according to certain standards
• proof of effective stewardship
• place-making schemes
• use of and replacing natural resources

Value-Added Strategy
A typical definition of a value-added approach is investments in properties that are acquired at a favourable price with the potential to increase value by redevelopment or restoration.

This category highlights how adopting a value-added strategy is appropriate to your long-term objectives and risk return profile. You should show how increasing the value of long-term commercial investments in properties with high vacancy rates that also often require some restoration or redevelopments poses no undue risk. Your entry should provide full details how you construct your mandates and who manages them.

Explicitly, you should also consider including:

• the benefits of investing in a value-added strategy
• how you research and invest in potential assets
• who manages your assets both financially and operationally
• any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level
• examples of your portfolio, especially recent deals and activity
• the types and sectors you prefer
• the costs of investing and running value-added mandates
• the mandates and types of vehicles used to obtain exposure
• the risks that value-added investments incur and how you manage them