Skandia removes La Salle from Reits mandate

Skandia has appointed Cohen & Steers to manage its $300m Reits Global Property Securities fund in place of La Salle Investment Management, which had run the fund since its launch in 2005.

Subject to FSA approval, the vehicle's name will be changed from the Skandia Global Property Securities (La Salle) fund to the Skandia Global Property Securities fund.

Skandia says it took the decision to use the US-headquartered institutional manager Cohen & Steers, as it felt its offering had become the ‘superior proposition' over the four years since the fund's launch.

The move will see a shift in the fund's investment bias resulting from a change in benchmark from the UBS Global Investors index, to the FTSE EPRA NAREIT Developed index.

Consequently, the benchmark weight to the US will fall from around 50% to near 40%; while Asian weights, most notable Hong Kong and Japan, will rise slightly as a result. Cohen & Steers will take active positions against the benchmark.

Skandia CIO James Millard says: "We feel this is a very good result for clients as we are very excited by the introduction of Cohen & Steers.

"We believe the firm will manage the portfolio in a pragmatic yet disciplined style with the aim of providing consistent investment returns."