SLI signs distribution agreement with Nordea group

Standard Life Investments, one of the largest property investors in Europe, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Nordea, one of the Nordic and Baltic regions largest financial groups, to distribute its Global REIT Focus Fund across the Nordic and Baltic Sea region.

The Global REIT Focus Fund (SICAV) invests largely in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or securities and companies principally engaged in real estate activities on a global basis. The fund aims to maximise total return from income and capital growth over the longer term. By investing in indirect property, the fund offers unique access to global property markets and the ability to diversify investors' existing property portfolios.

Managed by Svitlana Gubriy and Andrew Jackson, the fund aims to outperform the FTSE

EPRA/NAREIT Global Index by 2% per annum. Svitlana Gubriy and Andrew Jackson are the same portfolio management team behind the highly successful Select Property Fund (see notes to editors). The Global REIT funds will employ largely the same rigorous investment process to ensure the prospect of strong returns.

Åsa Norrie, Investment Director - Denmark, Finland, Norway & Sweden, Standard Life Investments, said: "The signing of this agreement represents another major step in the development of our European business and a growing recognition of our experience and expertise in property fund management. Nordea is one of the regions most respected and fastest growing financial institutions.

"By working closely with Nordea we hope to be able to meet a growing demand from investors for access to global property markets through a high quality product. The Global REIT Focus Fund combines the unique insights of our extensive property research team with enhanced access to company management afforded by our scale and market coverage. By investing in the fund, investors can look forward to the prospect of accessing an asset class with low correlation to other key asset classes over the long term and with daily liquidity at low costs.

"We hope that by providing quality products not just in global real estate but also in other asset classes such equities, fixed income, global absolute return products and private equity we will be able to offer clients investment opportunities which complement their existing domestic product offering."

Standard Life Investments already has partnership agreements in the region with Aktia, the Finnish Savings Bank, to distribute its Global REIT Focus Fund and with Merrant, the Swedish multi-manager company, to distribute its China and India Equity Fund (SICAV).