LOS ANGELES—CBRE Global Investors has expanded its Global Separate Accounts practice in response to the healthy global investments market. Leading the group are James Clifton-Brown, who will serve as chairman, and Pieter Roozenboom, who will serve as executive director.

CBRE Global Investors ended 2014 with $37 billion in global separate accounts under management, which is a 10% bump over 2013. “There is a need for greater diversification, stretching outside local region end borders,” Mike McMenomy, the global head of investor services, tells GlobeSt.com. “Cross border capital flows have increased substantially, and we note that before much of that investment structure was inside a comingled fund. This new program will provide a little bit more of a control element in the real estate investment execution, versus a complete discretion mandate given to the investment manager, and this control is delivered via a separate account. Inside that separate account structure is more of a core/core-plus return objective versus the fund structures, which are an enhanced return.”

Clifton-Brown is the senior managing director, chairman of EMEA Separate Accounts and a UK chief investment officer. He has worked with the firm for 30 years, and takes on this new role in addition to his other separate accounts work with the firm. Roozenboom has recently been named global head of separate accounts, a new position at the firm in which he will focus on day-to-day coordination of the global business and work with the regional separate accounts leaders. “Over decades, they have developed a solid track record in the separate accounts practice,” says McMenomy. “They are well-known professionals and well respected within the industry. Their market expertise, their knowledge of the separate account execution and their market presence were all factors in their selection as team leaders in the global separate account practice.”

This new leadership team will help to provide consistency of service for the firm's global clients, and will work with regional offices to provide clients services that include communication in the native tongue and knowledge of the varied cultural business and real estate practices around the globe. “We have chosen a leadership team that will ensure best execution in a cross-border, separate account vehicle. That means bringing together professionals who are domiciled in 21 different countries, investment professionals who practice separate account execution work, acquiring and disposing asset management and collaboration with research professionals,” explains McMenomy. “The firm selected two very senior individuals to lead the global separate account practice to ensure consistency of process and communication of best ideas.”

A recent CBRE report showed that Canada had the most cross border deals in the US last year, despite the increase in overseas capital flows. “While we have seen rapidly rising Chinese global investment and oil-rich countries in the Middle East or Norway increasing their allocations to global real estate, Canadian buyers continue to dominate foreign investment in the US and should remain on the radar screens of American investors and owners of US real estate,” says Chris Ludeman, global president, CBRE Capital Markets.

Instant Insights /

CBRE Expands Global Separate Accounts Business

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