The move comes after RICS recommended the lifting of material valuation uncertainty on UK real estate
The £2.9bn L&G UK Property fund is set to reopen in October, seven months after the coronavirus chaos forced bricks and mortar funds to suspend dealing.
It comes after Columbia Threadneedle and St James’s Place unfroze their funds earlier this month on the back of new guidance on valuations.
In a statement Legal & General Investment Management said: The board of the funds’ authorised fund manager, Legal & General Limited intends to reopen the funds at 12:00 noon on 13 October 2020. This means we can receive client orders to trade after 12:00 noon on 12 October.
The board is now confident that the following the criteria are met, and providing no new material issues come to light and it remains in the best interests of investors, the funds can reopen on 13 October, it said.
According to Morningstar data L&G UK Property, which is the UK’s largest property fund and is managed by Michael Barrie and Matt Jarvis, had 18% of univested cash at the end of July.
The decision comes after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors recommended the lifting of material valuation uncertainty on UK real estate.
As a result, SJP lifted suspensions on its £1.3bn SJP Property Unit Trust, £1.1bn SJP Property Life fund and £1.2bn SJP Property Pension fund.
Similarly, the Threadneedle UK Property Authorised Investment fund (PAIF) and the firm’s feeder fund, the Threadneedle UK Property Authorised trust, will reopen on 17 September 2020.
In June, BMO became the first firm to unfreeze a property fund – reopening its £449m Property Growth and Income strategy, managed by Citywire AA-rated duo Marcus Phayre-Mudge and Alban Lhonneur.
The Financial Conduct Authority in August unveiled proposals that would require investors in open ended property funds to wait up to six months to get their money out to help a ‘liquidity mismatch’ in the sector.
L&G added: We will continue to monitor investor intentions and the factors outlined above in the lead up to the planned opening date. Should anything materially change, further communications will be issued.
