Charter Hall opens property fund for advisers

In a statement yesterday, Charter Hall said its Direct Office Fund (DOF) is now available to advisers through BT, Macquarie, CFS, Hub24, Netwealth and Powerwrap platforms as interest in DOF continues.

“The unlisted property fund, DOF, invests in a diversified and growing portfolio of high-quality Australian office properties. It currently comprises a portfolio of 10 fully leased office buildings in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth valued at more than $1 billion,” the firm said.

Head of Charter Hall Direct Steven Bennett said interest in DOF continues from high-net-worth investors, self-managed super funds, investors in retail super and pension platforms and advised investors.

“Overall, we see a noticeable increase in interest for institutionally managed direct property funds, which are providing a starting yield to investors above 6.0 per cent for high-quality assets with conservative gearing,” Mr Bennett said.

DOF’s investment strategy is to acquire core Australian commercial real estate, on long leases with high-quality covenants, the firm said.

“Despite the recent broader listed market volatility, unlisted investor demand for direct property remains robust due to the income yield and growth in distributions driven by long leases with fixed rental growth,” Mr Bennett said.

DOF has returned an average of 17.1 per cent per annum (on Wholesale A Units) compared with the benchmark (MSCI/IPD Australian Unlisted Wholesale Property Fund Index) of 12.1 per cent per annum since 2014, Charter Hall said.