In the new FundFire Alts article, “Legg’s ‘Crazy’ Real Estate Fund: Manager Mints Unique Hybrid,” Tom Stabile describes the different features of the Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund. The first of its kind to make it to market, this new fund combines the structure of a tender offer closed-end fund, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, with the tax status of a real estate investment trust (REIT).
According to Kimberly Flynn, XA Investments Managing Director of Alternative Investments, private fund managers using a closed-end fund structure provides advisors with direct real estate strategies in a structure familiar to them, while the REIT tax status allows for greater direct real estate investment. “Not all financial advisors who want access to real estate for their clients want to buy a REIT,” she says, “In some ways, it’s a good next step for this market.”
However, this new blended structure might be hard to explain to investors and financial advisors. “It’s a Frankenstein, and people will be confused,” Flynn says, “Is it a REIT? Well, no, it’s a closed-end fund taxed as a REIT. It’s a perception issue, at least until it becomes more common.”
To read the full article, please click here.