El Segundo, Calif.- based Griffin Capital Company announced that its Griffin Institutional Access Real Estate Fund, an interval fund, has surpassed $2 billion in assets under management since its start in 2014.
Griffin's success in raising capital for real estate comes at a time when other private real estate investment vehicles, most notably non-traded REITs, have struggled as regulators have raised concerns about their high commissions, illiquidity and lack of transparency.
Finra has handed out large fines to many broker-dealers for selling non-traded REITS and sales of those products have plunged more than 70 percent in the last several years. Last June, W.P. Carey & Co., one of the most respected companies in the real estate business, decided to exit the non-traded REIT market.
Structured as an interval fund, Griffin's fund offers to repurchase about 5 percent of outstanding shares from investors each quarter, according to a representative. The fund is available to investors through financial intermediaries associated with many national and regional broker-dealer firms and investment advisory firms.
Many observers believe the interval fund structure will displace non-traded REITs because they provide enhanced liquidity and transparency. Griffin's fund is a continuously offered investment fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that reports a daily net asset value.
Griffin Institutional Access Real Estate Fund says it gives investors access to real estate securities that have previously only been offered to institutions and wealthy individuals, according to the release.
Randy I. Anderson, Ph.D., CRE, president of Griffin Capital Asset Management Company, stated, “We attribute the fund’s consistent, strong performance to disciplined active management while adhering to our stated objective: To deliver returns comprised of income and appreciation with low volatility and lower correlation to the broad markets.”