LaSalle Expands Separate Accounts Biz in Americas

CHICAGO-LaSalle Investment Management on Wednesday said it's expanding and rebranding its separate accounts business, which will now be known as its custom accounts group. Karen Brennan, a 15-year veteran of the firm, has been named leader of the new business unit, based in Chicago.

PERE reported earlier this month that the new group was intended to expand LaSalle's former separate accounts business in the Americas to also include one-off joint venture investments along with club deals. The firm's separate accounts businesses in Europe and Asia will remain unchanged for the moment.

"We're seeing an increasing flow of domestic and international investor capital toward customized single-investor or club-style investment strategies," says Jason Kern, Americas CEO at LaSalle. "Our new custom accounts group addresses this shifting landscape by supporting our fundamental principle of developing customized investment solutions for our clients, while allowing us to bring in additional international capital and manage it through appropriate structures."

Brennan is currently a managing director and head of Americas strategic partnerships at LaSalle. She's bringing domestic and international experience in acquisitions, asset and portfolio management, client relationship management and business development to her new role within the company.

"The creation of the custom accounts group enables us to expand the breadth and depth of the expertise and resources we offer investors," she says. "Our enhanced capabilities will help LaSalle provide the most sophisticated, strategic real estate investment solutions possible to our global clients."

Brennan will be responsible for driving growth and profitability of the custom accounts business through existing and prospective mandates. In addition to her new role, Brennan will continue working with LaSalle's acquisitions unit and global client capital group to connect international capital sources with investment opportunities across the Americas.

LaSalle's direct separate account mandates across North America, Europe and Asia range in size from $100 million to more than $3 billion, encompassing core, value-added and opportunistic investment strategies. Citing a November 2013 investor presentation, PERE reported that the separate accounts business accounted for $22.1 billion of LaSalle's $47 billion in assets under management at the end of the third quarter of '13. Its fund management represents $14.2 billion in AUM, while public securities accounts for $10.4 billion.