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As the proliferation of REITs in countries across the globe continues, it is no surprise that investors’ desire for portfolio diversification on a global scale has also intensified. The number of global real estate mutual funds has increased in the last three years from 20 funds in 2003, 68 funds in 2005 to 93 funds in 2006. The origination of the

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funds spans across 19 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan and United States.

This upswing of global mutual funds is also represented by the total assets under management (AUM) from the last two years.

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At the end of 2005, the global funds had approximately of $14.5 billion AUM. However, at the end of 2006, the global funds produced $39 billion AUM, which is more than double the previous year’s total returns.

In fact, it should come as no surprise that four of the top five open-end real estate mutual funds in 2006, according to Lipper, were globally ranked: EII International Property Fund (EIIPX) with 59.78 percent total return, Morgan Stanley International Real Estate (MSUAX) with 56.06 percent total return, Cohen & Steers International Realty Fund (IRFAX) with 43.88 percent total return and Fidelity International Real Estate Fund (FIREX) with 42.87 total return.

Global Funds