Real Estate in Defined Contribution Pension Scheme Investment

In a changing savings environment, what is the current and future scope for property investment?

Commissioned by the IPF Research Programme, Spence Johnson, an analyst of the UK pensions industry, will present the findings of an investigation into the current scale and appetite for real estate (RE) in UK defined contribution (DC) pension schemes. This study follows on from the 2013 research, again funded by the IPF, Returning to the Core: Rediscovering a Role for Real Estate in Defined Contribution Pension Schemes, which established the case for RE as a core investment within DC.

In seeking to cast light on an area of the market where little data has been available to date, the project explores the current status of RE investment in UK pensions, addressing a number of key issues, including:
• Identifying the major DC schemes invested in RE and what capital they control overall;
• How much they allocate to RE, both within default funds and self-selecting investor portfolios;
• How RE is defined and how much of that investment in DC is direct and indirect; and
• What the main barriers/constraints are to investing in RE.

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