The Bouwinvest Retail Fund invests long term in the Dutch retail market on behalf of institutional investors. The fund has a clear investment strategy focusing on three pillars: attractive market segments, portfolio optimisation and sustainability improvements.
Selected market segments Success as an investor in a challenging and complex market is only possible with a coherent investment plan. The fund focuses on the best retail destinations and busiest high streets (Experience) as well as supermarket-anchored neighbourhood shopping centres for daily purchases (Convenience). We also keep a close eye on all other market opportunities.
Portfolio optimisation We are constantly optimising our portfolio via redevelopments and the active asset management of our existing properties. We are proactive and critical in our approach to acquisitions and selective when identifying retail assets, which need to meet all our investment criteria. This strategy is labour-intensive, but we believe it helps us to optimise our property portfolio from a risk/return perspective.
"Despite the challenging market conditions, our retail portfolio is performing above average."
Sustainability improvements Our goal is to make our real estate portfolio fully ‘Paris Proof’ – or carbon neutral - by 2045. As part of our investment strategy, we purposely direct our efforts to making our existing real estate more sustainable. By adapting our properties to modern demands, we create attractive and sustainable assets that will continue to meet the needs of consumers and tenants in the future. We do that by working closely with our tenants, municipalities, developers and estate agents. Our properties thus retain their investment value while we also help to make our society more sustainable.
Investing in Bouwinvest’s Retail Fund Historically, retail property has had an attractive risk/return ratio and institutional investors in our fund can continue to count on a stable return and a positive social impact now and in the future. Would you like to participate in the Bouwinvest Retail Fund? For more information, please contact Collin Boelhouwer or Jaap Landkroon.
Recognition
In 2020, index provider MSCI recognised the Bouwinvest Retail Fund as the best performing property fund in the Netherlands. Over the past three years, the fund showed a relative outperformance of 3.2% compared with the sector benchmark.
In recognition of our efforts, in 2022 the fund was awarded a five-star GRESB sustainability certificate, which places it in the top 20% of the best performing real estate funds in the world.
SFDR
On 10 March 2021, the Regulation on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (hereinafter: SFDR) came into force. The aim of the SFDR is to create more harmonisation in the sustainability-related disclosures that investment managers provide their clients and to make it easier to compare the financial products in terms of their sustainability.
Bouwinvest qualifies its products as light green, promoting ecological and social characteristics.
The Level 2 requirements of SFDR are applicable since the beginning of 2023. In addition to the generic statements, Level 2 requires statements on the level of financial products. In accordance with the SFDR requirements, all Bouwinvest funds are classified. The Dutch Retail Fund classifies as article 8 fund under SFDR and promotes ecological and social characteristics.
The product specific statements are included in the Information Memorandum and the annual report of the fund. In addition to these statements, the attached document provides the required information about the Dutch Retail Fund. Further information on SFDR and all statements can be found on the SFDR page.
